Scientists Connect Record Arctic Sea Ice Loss With Unusual Weather

By Lori Townsend, APRN - Anchorage | September 18, 2012 - 5:22 pm

Graphic from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Arctic sea ice will hit its minimum any day now and freeze up will begin again. But the extent of this summer’s melt has already smashed the previous record set in 2007. Scientists are starting to draw a link between Arctic ice retreat and unusual weather around the world.

Jennifer Francis, a Research Professor at Rutgers University, is immersed in this emerging area of science. She says Arctic ice melt is altering the jet stream waves that govern weather patterns, causing them to move more slowly.

http://www.alaskapublic.org/2012/09/18/scientists-look-for-clues-causing-record-arctic-ice-melting/