Pack ice off the Arctic coast is melting twice as fast as previously thought, according to a study released Friday by University College London (UCL) on concerns of global warming. The study was published in the journal Cryosphere, Concluding that ice in major Arctic coasts is falling 70 to 100% faster than consensus.

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The reason for this dramatic redefinition: Researchers of the latest maps of the depths of ice above the ice, this time taking into account the impact of decades of climate change. The thickness of the pack ice is actually calculated by measuring the height of the ice above the water, which distorts the amount of ice hanging above the pack ice.

Previous estimates of pack ice thickness are based on a snow map that was last updated 20 years ago.Said Robbie Mallet, a doctoral student who led the study. “When the pack starts to form ice at the end of the year and later, the snow covering it is less likely to accumulate.”, He continues. “Our calculations take into account this shortfall for the first time and indicate that sea ice is melting faster than we thought.”

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The researchers used a European Space Agency satellite to estimate the height of the ice above the water and to obtain its true thickness, and developed a new model for this model to calculate the thickness of the ice developed by Colorado State University (United States). Combined, these results allowed them to measure the overall snow rate and its variance from year to year.

It contains “A major breakthrough” To return “A more accurate interpretation of the data we receive from satellites”Professor Julian Strove, co – author of the report, said the Arctic was experiencing three times faster than the world average. The thickness of sea ice a “Sensitive Indicator of Arctic Health”, Robbie Mallet added. “This is important because it acts as a thick ice insulating blanket, preventing the ocean from warming the atmosphere in the winter and protecting the ocean from the sun in the summer.”, He added “Thin ice was less likely to survive the summer when it melted.”.