BARROW, AK - UNSPECIFIED DATE: In this handout satellite composite image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), satellite images of polar ice sheets taken in July 2006 and July 2007 show the retreating ice in the Chukchi Sea during the summer in Barrow, Alaska. Photos from US satellites, declassified by the Obama White House administration, provide the first graphic images of how the polar ice sheets are retreating in the summer. This location provides a study area where sea ice forms along the coast in the winter, and generally melts or breaks away by mid July. According to the USGS changes in the timing of coastal sea ice breakup, and in the location of offshore sea ice, have significant local impacts; ecological, biological, and human. Information recorded over long periods is required to understand and model the dynamics of sea ice and how changes or trends may develop and influence other systems. Getty Images logo Getty Images 31 months ago

BARROW, AK - UNSPECIFIED DATE: In this handout satellite composite image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), satellite images of polar ice sheets taken in July 2006 and July 2007 show the retreating ice in the Chukchi Sea during the summer in Barrow, Alaska. Photos from US satellites, declassified by the Obama White House administration, provide the first graphic images of how the polar ice sheets are retreating in the summer. This location provides a study area where sea ice forms along the coast in the winter, and generally melts or breaks away by mid July. According to the USGS changes in the timing of coastal sea ice breakup, and in the location of offshore sea ice, have significant local impacts; ecological, biological, and human. Information recorded over long periods is required to understand and model the dynamics of sea ice and how changes or trends may develop and influence other systems.

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