Arctic ice melt is “significant,” say scientists

About 120 scientists from 11 countries met recently in Winnipeg to discuss their findings from the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study, a year-long expedition aboard the Canadian research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen.

As part of the project, scientists sampled ice in the Western Arctic.

David Barber, a sea ice specialist at the University of Manitoba, told the Canadian Press that polar ice is melting at a rate of about 74,000 square kilometres each year and has been for the last 30 years.

“This is a very significant result, and it’s not some sort of trend that’s going to shift back the other way,” Dr. Barber told Canadian Press.