Holy Iceberg! Artic Ice Melts Are Now 4 Times Texas!

Sure, Texas is many things to many people, but according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the state of Texas is a great measuring stick.  And, there are some crazy Texas-sized things going on in the artic. According to Axios Science, things are melting faster than a snow cone sitting on a Lubbock sidewalk...

"Antarctica is missing over 1 million square miles of floating sea ice, even though it's currently the dead of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Scientists don't know what is driving the shortfall, but they are deeply concerned about its consequences, as sea ice influences the planet's climate, global ocean currents and marine ecosystems.

The sea ice is still growing, but it's never been this low in 45 years of record-keeping. The shortfall is equivalent to nearly four times the area of Texas, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center."

Four times Texas?!! That is a major melt! So, wherever you stand on global warming, the question must be asked - Is global warming responsible for what is happening in the Artic?  Axios asked the experts...

"It's too early to determine to what extent climate change is responsible for this year's sea ice gap, but it can not be ruled out, Eric Rignot of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine told Axios.

Rignot said he believes the minor ice growth seen over previous decades was from warming and changes in the ozone hole creating stronger winds that pushed Antarctic sea ice to fan out across a larger area.

He said it's possible that around 2016, the sea ice could no longer overcome warming in the Southern Ocean caused by climate change."

I'll keep you updated on this Texas-sized story...