Scientists have largely pinned down the cause for the huge loss in Arctic ice volume over the past 40 years. And guess what? It’s because of climate change.
I mean, you already knew that. But scientists like to be thorough.
Researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading used a computer model to look at how much of the ice loss could be attributed to natural cycles (specifically, the “Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation,” or AMO). From The Guardian:
“We could only attribute as much as 30% [of the Arctic ice loss] to the AMO,” [the researcher] said. “Which implies that the rest is due to something else, and this is most likely going to be man-made global change.”
Previous studies had indicated that around half of the loss was due to man-made climate change and that the other half was due to natural variability.
Please note: as much as 30 percent. It could be as little as 5 percent — meaning that between 70 and 95 percent of ice loss is attributable to human carbon emissions.
On the plus side, our giant refrigerators can still produce as much ice as we want. Sorry about your luck, seals/polar bears/future humans! Go buy your own Sub-Zero™s!
