I was using Google Earth the other day and I came across a startling discovery. I was looking at the enormity of Antarctica but then I went to look at the north pole and it simply isn't there. On Google Earth I could not find any ice north of Greenland. Is that even possible or is there something wrong with Google Earth. I know the poles are melting but have we actually lost the entirety of the north pole?

 

No wonder Santa didn't show up last year!! lol

I'm guessing it's just a fill color, and they didn't take pictures. (Why would they bother?)

 

It looks more like this

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/aug/27/arctic-sea-ice-shrinks-lowest-extent

 

While the extent of sea ice has not gone to zero, it may happen very soon

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/dec/09/us-navy-arctic-sea-ice-2016-melt

Do you realize that below North Pole there is no land?
It's melting and freezing every year.
The question is only - how much of its area is melting and how much of area is freezing back.

You can see North Pole web cams here
http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/gallery_np.html
These cameras are drifting. Path they traveled is on first picture on the right.

 

Animation made of photos took in couple months:

Since the north polar ice sheet is technically 'floating', its complete melting will not appreaciably raise sea levels ( some of the ice is on land such as northern greenland, etc. ).

We will however have plenty of other issues to deal with when that happens !

the magnetic north pole moves.http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/GeomagneticPoles.shtml The arctic circle refers to the ice north of greenland http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Circle

Edited August 23, 201411 yr by fiveworlds