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We think of the North Pole as a vast frozen wasteland. Most of the time it is just that. But this summer...and in recent years enough summertime "meltwater" has piled up to make what looks like a big lake within an icy shoreline.

Minnesota's lake country with polar bears?

That may be a little extreme. But changes in the Arctic are increasingly gaining the focus of scientists and news watchers around the globe.

The most recent example has been misreported in some circles. The weather station that recorded the "lake at the North Pole" is not actually

 anymore. The "North Pole" weather station has drifted several hundred miles south of the Pole...to about 85 degrees north latitude.

It is also not the first time Arctic meltwater ponds have been observed at or near the North Pole.

Still the Arctic meltwater ponds are of great scientific interest. What is the process and effect on the Arctic ice sheet overall? How much more frequent are these events as the Arctic warms?

Here's a great time lapse of this summer's melt event from the University of Washington and North Pole Environmental Observatory.

 from Andrew Freedman at Climate Central.

Bottom line? This is interesting and visual stuff, but Arctic meltwater ponds are common over the past few decades. We simply don't know enough yet to say what it means for climate change implications down the road.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Liquid water at the Top of the World? We think of the North Pole as a vast frozen wasteland. Most of the time it is just that. But this summer…and in recent years enough summertime “meltwater” has piled up to make what looks like a big lake within an icy shoreline. Minnesota’s lake country with…

Summer in the Arctic: “Lake” forms near North Pole weather station

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