Arctic Sea Ice
The Arctic ice cap reached its eighth-lowest extent on record at the time of year the sea ice is typically at its minimum coverage.
Scientists at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said that the sea ice had set a record for the smallest winter extent earlier this year and was on track to rival the record minimum set in 2012.
But a cloudy and cooler-than-normal August across the central Arctic slowed the seasonal melting.
“It’s not going to be a staircase heading down to zero every year,” said Ted Scambos of the NSIDC. “[But] the Arctic will continue to evolve towards less ice. There’s no dodging that.”
Lost Islands
Rising ocean levels in the South Pacific have swallowed at least eight low-lying islands in the Solomon Islands and Micronesia, where sea levels have risen by about half an inch each year since the early 1990s.
Australian researchers conducted coastal surveys, analyzed satellite data and spoke with island residents before making the conclusion. They found six of the islands went underwater between 2007 and 2014.
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