Table of Contents Chapter 1 WHAT IS ARCTIC SEA ICE 4 Chapter 2 WHY IS ARCTIC ICE IMPORTANT 10 Chapter 3 CONSEQUENCES OF ARCTIC ICE LOSS 16 Chapter 4 STRATEGIES FOR ARCTIC ICE GROWTH 24 You Can Help 29 Glossary 30 Index 31
Chapter 1 WHAT IS ARCTIC SEA ICE The Arctic Ocean covers the most northern part of Earth It is the smallest shallowest and coldest of the five oceans Arctic sea ice is frozen ocean water that forms grows and melts in the ocean Every year ice in the Arctic goes through a growth and melting cycle It grows to its largest extent around March and melts to its lowest extent around September
The Arctic is one of the environments most at risk to climate change Earth's climate can change due to natural factors like volcanoes weather patterns and the position of Earth to the sun But scientists agree that human activity is the main factor causing Earth's climate to change As Earth's climate changes so does the Arctic Austfonna located in Norway's Svalbard archipelago is one of the largest ice caps in northern Europe
