Becoming warmer, greener region with record losses of summer sea
ice and late spring snow The Arctic region continued to break
records in 2012—among them the loss of summer sea ice, spring
snow cover, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. This was
true even though air temperatures in the Arctic were
unremarkable relative to the last decade, according to a new
report released today. “The Arctic is changing in both
predictable and unpredictable ways, so we must expect
surprises,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of
commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator,
during a press briefing at the American Geophysical Union annual
meeting in San Francisco, Calif. “The Arctic is an extremely
sensitive part of the world and with the warming scientists have
observed, we see the results with less snow and sea ice, greater
ice sheet melt and changing vegetation.” Lubchenco participated
in a panel discussion that presented the annual update of the
Arctic Report Card, which has, since 2006, summariz