The ice coverage around Baffin Island is shrinking faster than in the High Arctic, a new report shows.
The research compared satellite images of ice concentration between 1979 and 2004, says Kent Moore, chair of the chemical and physical sciences department at the University of Toronto.
It showed the ice around Baffin Island shrank 10 to 20 per cent each decade, said Moore, who headed the study.
By comparison, he discovered ice coverage in the High Arctic shrank by only four per cent every 10 years.
Although the results are interesting, Moore said it's too short a time-frame to reach a conclusion regarding the cause of the difference.
"If it is essentially driven by … global warming then I think … it'll be a continual reduction in sea ice concentration around southern Baffin Island," he said.
"On the other hand, if it's caused by some larger-scale climate fluctuation, which has a very long-time scale, then it could in fact reverse."
Moore will continue to map changes in the ice coverage to see if the trend continues.
MORE NORTH HEADLINES »
- Few changes as Yukon premier appoints cabinet
- Nearly three weeks after winning a second majority government, Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie named his new cabinet at a ceremony in Whitehorse on Saturday.
- Professor questions N.W.T. Hansard suspension
- The Northwest Territories' decision to suspend publication of Hansard this week after it was ordered to publish in French may end up in a court battle, political scientist Gurston Dacks says.
- Baffin Island area losing ice fast: study
- The ice coverage around Baffin Island is shrinking faster than in the High Arctic, a new report shows.
- Coming soon to a screen near you: aurora borealis
- The beauty of the northern lights may soon splash across computer and television screens thanks to a scientific research program led by the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.
- Chevron forges ahead with drill program
- There will be two new wells drilled in the Mackenzie Delta region this winter by Chevron Canada and its partner BP Canada, a spokesman says.
