An abnormally cool Arctic is seeing dramatic changes to ice
levels. In sharp contrast to the rapid melting seen last year,
the amount of global sea ice has rebounded sharply and is now
growing rapidly. The total amount of ice, which set a record low
value last year, grew in October at the fastest pace since
record-keeping began in 1979. The actual amount of ice area
varies seasonally from about 16 to 23 million square kilometers.
However, the mean anomaly-- defined as the difference between
the current area and the seasonally-adjusted average-- changes
much slower, and generally varies by only 2-3 million square
kilometers. That anomaly had been negative, indicating ice loss,
for most of the current decade and reached a historic low in
2007. The current value is again zero, indicating an amount of
ice exactly equal to the global average from 1979-2000. Bill
Chapman, a researcher with the Arctic Climate Center at the
University of Illinois, says the rapid increase is "no big
deal". He says that, while the Arct