The Decreasing Arctic Ice Cover

Ongoing monitoring of Earth's north polar region has been turning up numerous signs of change in its atmosphere, waters, and ice pack (see PHYSICS TODAY, November 1998, page 17). Such studies have revealed that the Arctic ice mass is shrinking, but now, it seems, the rates of decline are much more rapid than previously thought. Such changes are of concern because the polar region is expected to amplify any change in Earth's climate.