For all of the people who have aspirations to sit on top of the world, you might be interested to know- that it's melting. Scientists are predicting that there is a 50-50 chance that the north pole will be temporarily ice free by September. While scientists from the National Snow and Ice Center say that there will be no immediate environmental repercussions caused by the possible lack of ice, the unprecedented melting is seen as a prediction of things to come. This is just one of the early effects of global warming, the timing of which is an indication of how quickly the environment can shift.
According to the National Snow and Ice Center's senior research scientist, Mark Serreze, "If you talked to me or other scientists just a few years ago, we were saying that we might lose all or most of the summer sea ice cover by anywhere from 2050 to 2100. Then, recently, we kind of revised those estimates, maybe as early as 2030. Now, there's people out there saying it might be even before that. So, things are happening pretty quick up there."
Alleviating the melting would require reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However scientist Mark Serreze is also hinting that there may be something to gain from the melting. In addition to the melting providing a quick sea route for ships that would no longer have to navigate through the Panama Canal or around Cape Horn, Mr Serreze says: "There's also, or course, oil at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean...The irony of that is kind of clear, but the fact that we are opening up the Arctic Ocean does make it more accessible"
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