National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Hot "Prehistoric" Conditions May Return by 2100, Study Says


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According to NASA satellite data, between 2004 and 2005 the Arctic lost an unprecedented 14 percent of its perennial sea ice (shown in white)—some 280,000 square miles (725,000 square kilometers), or an area the size of Texas (more information).

Such melting could be just the tip of the iceberg, according to a new study that says carbon dioxide levels predicted for 2100 are a lot like they were 50 million years ago, when Earth was at its hottest.

Image courtesy AGU