Earth Day and the Shrinking Ice Cap

As celebrations go on today for the 2005 Earth Day, debate continues over how much of climate change is due to human activity and what can be done about it.

But there is little doubt that global warming is occurring.  Over the last century the global average temperature has climbed about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 of a degree Celsius).

The poles seem to be taking the brunt of this warming - with sea ice shrinking at a rate of 9% per decade.  The above images show the change in the Arctic's minimum sea ice concentration between 1979 (top) and 2003 (bottom).

The data comes from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI).

You can learn more about Earth Day events at this website.

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-- LiveScience Staff

Credit: NASA