Scientists study Arctic climate

Scientists will study the impact on ocean currents

Scientists from the University of Wales, Bangor, are joining a polar expedition to study the impact of climate change.

The oceanographers will study whether warming in the Arctic Ocean could have a knock-on effect on the UK climate.

Experts estimate the ocean's ice cover is declining by 38,000 sq miles (98,420 sq km) per year, equivalent to an area five times the size of Wales.

The expedition will cross the North Pole in an ice-breaker.

The ship will sail from Murmansk, in north west Russia next week, crossing the Laptev and East Siberian seas, before heading north through the Arctic Ocean and across the pole, where at this time of year the ice is under nine metres thick.

Dr Tom Rippeth, from the university's School of Ocean Sciences, said: "The Arctic is being hit hard by global warming.

The ship sails from Murmansk in Russia on 5 September

"Whilst average temperatures globally have risen by less than 1C, in the Arctic average temperatures have risen by 3C, in the past few decades."

Two of the university's oceanographers Dr Phil Wiles and Ben Powell, originally from Cefn Mawr near Wrexham, will join a multinational team from the UK, USA, Canada and Russia.

Dr Rippeth added "Whilst the Arctic Ocean is in nobody's backyard, it plays a major role in determining our climate through its influence on major ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream."

"Climate changes occurring there will have a huge, but as yet unknown, impact on the amount of freshwater entering the Arctic Ocean.

Satellite data

Melting ice dilutes sea water, changing its density, which can impact on ocean currents

"We know that the extent of the polar ice cover has shrunk dramatically in the past 30 years," said Dr Rippeth.

"The question is how will this affect the Atlantic circulation, which is a key determinate of our climate here in the UK."

The UK team, which also includes scientists from London, Cambridge and Southampton, will take measurements on board the ship, as well as using satellite data and computer models.

The work is funded by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council and is part of the International Polar Year, a two-year scientific programme which started in March.