Cambridge University's Arctic Ice Expert, Peter Wadhams, believes the Arctic will have ice-free summers by 2016. Although easy to imagine how this thrills oil companies pleased to find this pesky ice gone, it is impossible to imagine the consequences for the world. The speed at which Arctic ice has been retreating each summer far outpaces all existing computer models (Figure 1). If we have underestimated the multiple feedbacks melting the ice, then we have underestimated the time we have to mitigate, stop, or reverse these declines.
展开▼
