Arctic sea ice trends confirmed by Whalers’ logs

Log books from British whaling ships more than 200 years ago have given new insights into the history of the Arctic sea ice, reports Tim Radford. A new study reveals that the scale of ice melt in the Arctic over the last few decades is new and unprecedented.

The retreat of the ice in the last 30 years is part of a more recent and new pattern of climate change.

British whaling ships from Tyneside in the north-east of England made 458 trips to the edge of the Arctic ice between 1750 and 1850.