Topic: Much less stable ice for polar bears, expert says

[Derek]

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/msnbc-11-27-2009.html

Arctic sea ice conditions are even worse than feared after a survey found that ice detected as older and thicker by satellites is actually thin and fragile, a prominent Canadian researcher reported Friday.

University of Manitoba researcher David Barber said experts around the world believed the ice was recovering because satellite images showed it expanding, but the thick, multiyear frozen sheets have been replaced by thin ice that cannot support the weight of a polar bear.

"Polar bears are being restricted to a small fringe of where this multiyear sea ice is. As we went further and further north, we saw less and less polar bears because this ice wasn't even strong enough for the polar bears to stand on," said Barber, who returned from an expedition to the Beaufort Sea in September.

Barber said permanent ice, which is normally up to 30 feet thick, was easily pierced by the research icebreaker he and his team were on.

Also see this video of a mother polar bear trying to cross the ice with her cub & having major problems http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/polar_bear/daniel_zatz-alaska_aerials.html ( it takes a few miniuites to load & start playing but is worth watching)