Scientist: Ice melting more quickly in Arctic
( 2003-10-03 10:20) (Xinhua)
Chinese scientists have discovered that ice in the Arctic area is melting at
accelerating speed, which might have a greater impact on the global weather
pattern than ever anticipated.
The conclusion was reached by scientists involved in China's second
scientific expedition which returned to Shanghai on Sept. 26 after a 74-day
exploration in the Arctic.
The thickness of the ice layer in the Arctic is now roughly at 2.75 meters, a
significant decrease from 4.88 meters in the 1980s, said Dr. Zhang Zhanhai,
leader of the expedition and director with the Shanghai-based China Polar
Research Center.
Statistics indicate that as of September 2002, the ice layer in the Arctic
shrank to approximately 5.18 million square kilometers, around 1.03 million
fewer than in the 1980s.
Scientists have also found that the ice layer is usually about two meters
thick at the areas around 80 degrees north latitude in the Canadian basin. In
the areas south of 78 degrees north latitude, scientists could barely find the
old ice layer, which is normally thicker than three meters.
Chinese specialists will carry out further analyses on the data and
information obtained in the expedition and keep an eye on the situations in the
Arctic, said Zhang.
Previous research has proven that Arctic ice layer changes influence the
weather in China, including the temperature and rainfall in the Yangtze River
basin during the rainy seasons.
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