Ice loss shifts Arctic cycles

Record shrinkage confounds models and portends atmospheric and ecological change.

Larger areas of open ocean and warming surface waters will alter evaporation, cloudiness, precipitation and storm patterns across the Arctic and beyond.

E. Baccega/age fotostock/Robert Harding Picture Library

The Arctic ice pack, a primary indicator of climate change, has shrunk in recent weeks to an extent that no computer model and few scientists had thought possible. This year’s record loss has scientists questioning their models, striving to understand the complex cascade of effects — from shifting weather patterns to displaced marine species — that the accelerating retreat could trigger.

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