Posted byEarthSky VoicesinEARTH|October 25, 2020

The last time CO2 concentrations reached today’s level was 3 million years ago, during the Pliocene Epoch. Hear from geoscientists who see evolving conditions in the Arctic as an indicator of how climate change could transform the planet.Sharing is caring!

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• https://earthsky.org/earth/arctic-warmest-3-million-years

Ice floe drifting in Svalbard, Norway. Image via Sven-Erik Arndt/ Arterra/ Universal Images Group/Getty Images.https://dea15168b19b808c6dfb79a3bf4ced77.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

ByJulie Brigham-Grette,University of Massachusetts AmherstandSteve Petsch,University of Massachusetts Amherst

Every year, sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean shrinks to a low point in mid-September. This year it measures just 1.44 million square miles (3.74 million square km), thesecond-lowest valuein the 42 years since satellites began taking measurements. The ice today covers only50% of the area it covered 40 years agoin late summer.

This year’s minimum ice extent is the…