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2020 Arctic Report Card Released: 15 years of observations document impact of changing polar climate
NOAA’s 15th Arctic Report Card catalogs for 2020 the numerous ways that climate change continues to disrupt the polar region, with second-highest air temperatures and second-lowest summer sea ice driving a cascade of impacts, including the loss of snow and extraordinary wildfires in northern Russia. The sustained transformation to a warmer, less frozen and biologically changed Arctic remains clear.
The average annual land-surface air temperature in the Arctic measured between October 2019 and September 2020 was the second-warmest since record-keeping began in 1900, and was responsible for driving a cascade of impacts across Arctic ecosystems during the year. Nine of the past 10 years saw air temperatures at least 1 degree C above (2.2 degrees F) the 1981-2010 mean. Arctic temperatures for the past six years have all exceeded previous records.Record warm temperatures in the Eurasian Arctic were associated with extreme conditions in the ocean and on the land.
Sea ice loss in spring 2020 was particularly early in the East Siberian Sea and Laptev Sea regions, setting new record lows in the Laptev Sea for June. The end of summer sea ice extent in 2020 was the second lowest in the 42-year satellite record, with 2012 being the record minimum year. Overall thickness of the sea ice... more
In the News
Bitterly cold, frozen and inhospitable to nearly all wildlife apart from polar bears. This is the image of the... more
The new findings identify yet another way in which a warming Arctic might disturb the weather half a world away. The... more
Scientists implement a contingency plan to collect valuable abundance data to support sustainable management of the... more
Feature Publication
OceanObs’19 was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in September 2019. The conference presented a unique forum to share new ideas and concepts in marine data management and to emphasize the opportunities presented by a rapidly changing technology landscape. The OceanObs’19 conference was designed to bring: “… people from all over the planet together to communicate the decadal progress of ocean observing networks and to chart innovative solutions to society’s growing needs for ocean information in the... more