Exponential Rise In July Sea Surface Temps Near Svalbard 2014-18; High To Date 61.9F (2018)
The image on the right shows sea surface temperatures on July 6 for the years 2014 to 2018 at a location near Svalbard (at 77.958°N, 5.545°E), with an exponential trend added based on the data.
The combination image below shows sea surface temperatures on July 6 for each of these years, with the location highlighted by a green circle:
2014: -0.8°C or 30.6°F
2015: 6.2°C or 43.2°F
2016: 8.3°C or 47.0°F
2017: 14.4°C or 57.9°F
2018: 16.6°C or 61.9°F
The situation reflects the rapid decline of Arctic sea ice over the years.
EDIT
The image on the right shows the sea surface temperature on July 13, 2018, at that location. It was as warm as 16.9°C or 62.5°F near Svalbard. This compares to a sea surface temperature of 4.9°C or 40.9°F in 1981-2011 at that location (at the green circle).
The images illustrate why sea ice has fallen dramatically in volume, especially so where sea currents push warm water from the Atlantic Ocean underneath the sea ice.
EDIT
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/disappearance-of-arctic-sea-ice.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Drysuit not required...
in the arctic circle north of Norway....
Huzzah!
My first check dive was in a lake in Arkansas in colder water (back in 1983)
