OSLO (Reuters) - Winter sea ice around a Norwegian Arctic island has thinned to less than one metre (3 feet) since the 1960s, according to a study on Tuesday of a region that may be more attractive to oil firms because of climate change.
The Norwegian Polar Institute said ice around Hopen islandsoutheast of the Svalbard archipelago had become more than 40cms (16 inches) thinner in the past 40 years, in what it calledthe first long-term study of ice thickness in the Barents Sea.
"Since the year 2000 there have been no observations of icethicker than one metre at Hopen, and the local air and watertemperature has also risen," the Institute said in a statement.
Hopen is a narrow island about 30 km (19 miles) long offnorth Norway which is home to polar bears.
Ice around the entire Arctic reached a record low inSeptember 2005, the end of the northern summer.
The U.N. Climate Panel says temperatures are rising morerapidly in the Arctic than on most of the planet because ofglobal warming, stoked by human use of fossil fuels. Darkerwater and land soak up more heat than reflective ice and snow.
"The reduced see ice thickness at Hopen is in line with thegenerally reduced volume of ice in the Barents Sea and thewhole Arctic," said Sebastain Gerland of the Polar Institute.
The study was being published in the journal GeophysicalResearch Letters, the Institute said.
Oil and gas companies are pushing north into the BarentsSea, seeking new reserves. Scientists say climate change maymake the region less inhospitable and prices around $100 abarrel can justify exploration despite high costs.
Norway's biggest oil firm, StatoilHydro, operates theSnoehvit gas field in the south of the Barents Sea which openedin September last year.
Russian gas giant Gazprom holds a 51 percent share in thecompany that plans to develop the vast Shtokman gas field tothe east. France's Total owns 25 percent and StatoilHydro 24percent.
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(Editing by Tim Pearce)
