{"id":334659,"date":"2024-06-26T09:24:26","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T07:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334659"},"modified":"2024-06-26T09:24:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T07:24:29","slug":"arctic-sea-ice-at-the-summer-solstice-more-polar-bear-habitat-than-2022-after-hottest-year-on-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334659","title":{"rendered":"Arctic sea ice at the summer solstice: more polar bear habitat than 2022 after hottest year on record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From polarbearscience<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are just into the 2024 sea ice melt season in the Arctic with no signs of any big, dramatic changes despite claims that 2023 was the warmest year on record<\/a> (since 1850). There is still abundant sea ice habitat for polar bears ahead of the summer months (July-September) when Arctic ice melts back considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Polar bears in Western Hudson Bay are still on the ice despite vast open water levels normally signaling \u201cbreakup\u201d has happened: the wind-driven ice is packed tight against the western shore and the bears are still on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arctic sea ice overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, sea ice extent at 21 June was estimated at 10.5 mkm2:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Compare the above to 2022 (below), when it wasn\u2019t the \u201chottest year on record,\u201d and ice extent was 10.4 mkm2:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite an early-summer \u201cheat wave\u201d<\/a> in Eastern North America there is still abundant sea ice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I discussed earlier this month, the enormous area of open water in eastern Hudson Bay was\u00a0caused by winds, not ice melt.\u00a0<\/a>This has caused the region to have the lowest ice coverage since 1979 for this time of year (see graph below):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ice is not showing up on the satellite images as thick as it has been in past years, as the chart below shows: usually ice thickness is showing as dark green at this time of year (first year ice >1.2m thick). However, this\u00a0may<\/em>\u00a0be an artifact: wind-driven ice is almost always buckled and compressed into a thick mass, so the ice that\u2019s left in Western Hudson Bay may be much thicker than it looks (and therefore, slower to melt over the summer):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But according to University of Alberta researchers, polar bears tagged earlier are all still on the ice and there have been no reports from Churchill of polar bears onshore. As far as I am aware, there have been no reports of problem bears ashore in NW Hudson Bay, like Arviat, where bears often come ashore earlier than further south.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Many bears seen earlier in the season were said to have been in good condition (see below, courtesy Andrew Derocher, 24 April 2024), suggesting a successful spring feeding bonanza, it\u2019s likely they are waiting around until the ice literally rotting under their feet forces them ashore.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Barents Sea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ice is receding from the Svalbard area but there is still plenty of polar bear habitat to the north and around Franz Josef Land to the east<\/a>, where most \u201cBarents Sea\u201d polar bears make maternity dens and spend the summer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are just into the 2024 sea ice melt season in the Arctic with no signs of any big, dramatic changes despite claims that 2023 was the warmest year on record (since 1850). There is still abundant sea ice habitat for polar bears ahead of the summer months (July-September) when Arctic ice melts back considerably.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":334674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818990,691819302,691818251,691829398,691820789],"class_list":{"0":"post-334659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-arctic-sea-ice","9":"tag-barents-sea","10":"tag-polar-bears","11":"tag-summer-solstice","12":"tag-western-hudson-bay","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0wild-polar-bear-mother-and-cub-on-the-pack-ice-picture-id1181703271.jpg?fit=1800%2C1075&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1p3J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":209932,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=209932","url_meta":{"origin":334659,"position":0},"title":"Thick sea ice in the Western Arctic is not good habitat for polar bears, seals, or walrus","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks into the Arctic summer (July-September), sea ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas is dominated by thick, multi-year ice. At this time of year, multi-year ice is an important refuge habitat for many polar bears when seasonal ice melts out. However, it provides few opportunities for hunting\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-289.png?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-289.png?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-289.png?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-289.png?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-289.png?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":293140,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=293140","url_meta":{"origin":334659,"position":1},"title":"Polar bears and sea ice fail to implode in 2023 as predicted, with special thanks for your support","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As this year draws to a close, it is worth noting that over the last 12 months \u2014 and contrary to predictions and\u00a0headlines, including claims about \u201cthe warmest year ever\u201d \u2014 polar bears have not been reported\u00a0dying, starving, or eating each other\u00a0in large numbers, or\u00a0relentlessly attacking people.","rel":"","context":"In \"Barents Sea\"","block_context":{"text":"Barents Sea","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=barents-sea"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0984835.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0984835.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0984835.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0984835.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0984835.jpg?fit=1200%2C748&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":252219,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=252219","url_meta":{"origin":334659,"position":2},"title":"Winter sea ice habitat for polar bears still abundant enough to sustain a thriving species","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center\u00a0report\u00a0(5 April 2023), the average ice extent for March was 14.44 mkm2, considered the \u201cwinter\u201dvalue (as compared to \u201csummer\u201d which is the average for September).","rel":"","context":"In \"Greenland\"","block_context":{"text":"Greenland","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=greenland"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0polar-bears-147.jpeg?fit=1200%2C762&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0polar-bears-147.jpeg?fit=1200%2C762&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0polar-bears-147.jpeg?fit=1200%2C762&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0polar-bears-147.jpeg?fit=1200%2C762&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0polar-bears-147.jpeg?fit=1200%2C762&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":261014,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=261014","url_meta":{"origin":334659,"position":3},"title":"Polar bear sea ice habitat near the end of Arctic spring 2023","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Arctic sea ice is beginning to melt and the end of spring is drawing near.\u00a0Mating season\u00a0is over for polar bears as is the gorging on young seals in most regions as weaned pups head into open water to feed for themselves. Only\u00a0predator-savvy adult and subadult seals\u00a0remain on the ice while\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Arctic sea ice\"","block_context":{"text":"Arctic sea ice","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arctic-sea-ice"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00-polar-bear-174.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00-polar-bear-174.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00-polar-bear-174.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00-polar-bear-174.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00-polar-bear-174.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":280246,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=280246","url_meta":{"origin":334659,"position":4},"title":"Polar Bear and Seal Biology Exposes the Utter Stupidity of Climate Alarmist Environmentalists!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As shown here, any critical thinking person knows the alarmist polar bear narratives are just totally false, ignorant and manipulative fear mongering. It is not ice that bears depend on, but ringed seals. An understanding of seal biology reveals that less ice is good and more ice is bad for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Arctic Ocean\"","block_context":{"text":"Arctic Ocean","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arctic-ocean"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":205707,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=205707","url_meta":{"origin":334659,"position":5},"title":"Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear habitat at the summer solstice is above average","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/06\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sea ice is well above recent levels for this time of year in the Southern Beaufort and only time will tell if that\u2019s bad news for polar bears. Seals need the open water that early summer polynyas provide in order to feed and some polar bears make use of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0western-arctic-regional-ice-coverage-history-since-1981-for-week-of-18-june-2022-graph-cis.gif?fit=1100%2C850&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0western-arctic-regional-ice-coverage-history-since-1981-for-week-of-18-june-2022-graph-cis.gif?fit=1100%2C850&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0western-arctic-regional-ice-coverage-history-since-1981-for-week-of-18-june-2022-graph-cis.gif?fit=1100%2C850&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0western-arctic-regional-ice-coverage-history-since-1981-for-week-of-18-june-2022-graph-cis.gif?fit=1100%2C850&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0western-arctic-regional-ice-coverage-history-since-1981-for-week-of-18-june-2022-graph-cis.gif?fit=1100%2C850&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=334659"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":334675,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334659\/revisions\/334675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/334674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=334659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=334659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=334659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}