Sea Ice Decline and Ice Export through Fram Strait
The Arctic sea ice is shrinking, both in extent and thickness.
In addition to the humanmade contribution to the sea ice loss, there are also natural factors contributing to this loss. In a new study the Bjerknes Centre focusses on one of these factors: the ice export through the large gateway between Greenland and Svalbard -- the Fram Strait.
Most of the sea ice that leaves the Arctic, exits through the Fram Strait. In recent years, this ice export has been higher than in any decade between the late 1950s and up to today. The area of the ice floating through the Fram Strait is now about 200 thousand km2 larger than in the late 1950s, which is similar to the total area of the United Kingdom.
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