London: The melted sea ice in the Arctic cannot “quickly bounce back” even if climate change is slowed or reversed, according to a study.
Scientists led by the University of Exeter in the UK used the shells of quahog clams, which can live for hundreds of years, and produce growth rings that can be examined to measure past environmental changes.
They also analysed climate models to discover how Arctic sea ice has changed over the last 1,000 years. The team found that sea ice coverage shifts over timescales of decades to centuries — so shrinking ice cannot be expected to return rapidly if climate change is slowed or reversed.