Rapid loss of Arctic Ocean sea ice is increasing the absorption of solar radiation, causing the Arctic to warm 2-3 times the global average. By 2035, the Arctic ocean is estimated to be entirely void of sea ice during the summer. New sea ice formed during the winter will be too thin for maximum protection against solar radiation.
Photo courtesy of: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center
Deep river canyons of meltwater carved into the surface of Greenland with Arctic and global warming. In 2019 Greenland lost a record 586 billion tons of ice from its melting ice sheet: enough to cover California in more than 1.25 meters (4 ft) of water.
Image courtesy of Ian Joughin, University of Washington
Methane Bubbling in waters off the East Siberia Arctic Shelf. 400 billion tons of methane lies under the Arctic Ocean sea-bed: the global warming equivalent of 344,00 billion tons of CO2 or 10 times the amount of CO2 currently in the atmosphere.
Photo courtesy of: Tomsk Polytechnic University
Methane held under ice waiting to be released when the ice melts. About 20% of Arctic land permafrost is vulnerable to abrupt permafrost thaw producing thermokarst lakes as ground subsides and fills with water rapidly decomposing organic matter and releasing greenhouse gasses to the surface and the atmosphere.
Photo curtesy of NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio Data Visualization of Permafrost Status, NASA Observatory