However, the estimates may not be accurate because they depend on the emissions
of greenhouse gases.
If these forecasts come true, huge areas will be flooded, as well as numerous
islands in the Oceanian, Maldives etc. Many cities on the seashore will be in serious
81
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97
Year
> 2 Years old
First year ice
Artic sea age at the end
a
c
b
of Winter - March 2011
Medium ice age at the end of
Winter - March 1979-2000
(< 1 year old)
Percent of total amount of ice
NSID Ccourtesy J.Maslanik and C. Fowler from the Univ. of Colorado
Second year ice
(< 1-2 years old)
Multiyear ice
(> 2 years old)
< 1 Year old
1-2 Years old
99 01 03 05 07 09 11
Fig. 5.4 Images showing the Arctic glaciers age in the third week of March 2011 compared to
their average age during the reference period of the years 1979–2000 (a, b). Images taken by
NSIDC (by J. Maslanik and C. Fowler University of Colorado). The glaciers age as a percentage of
the total Arctic ice (c) (Web 4)
84
A. Bavaru and R. Bercu