Arctic sea ice refers to the area of the arctic ocean covered by ice. Pdf the influence of declining sea ice on shipping. Section 6 is a critical evaluation of the reliability of the methods applied, followed by discussion and conclusions in sections 7 and 8. Primary production within the seaice zone west of the. Sep 22, 2017 arctic sea ice has been in a steep decline since scientists started using satellites to measure it 40 years ago. Some techniques use ensemble simulations from coupled ice. Each year dmi have collected information on sea ice extend so that normally each of the months april, may, june, july and august ice extend was published. Effects of arctic sea ice decline on weather and climate. A further decline in the area of arctic seaice will extend the navigation period and allow better accessibility by ship around the arctic basin and probably open new shipping routes. Implications of arctic sea ice decline for the earth system. A framework for assessing the economic impacts of arctic change.
Simpson2,7 1department of atmospheric sciences, 2college of natural science and mathematics and. Projected changes in timing and extent of sea ice in the bering and chukchi seas. The changes in the arctic are manifested by the decline in the sea ice, permafrost, glaciers and the greenland ice sheet stroeve et al. Arctic sea ice extent at its lowest for at least 1500 years. The state of the water, calm or rough, gives two different types of ice. Sea ice declining sea ice extent has decreased sharply in all seasons, with summer sea ice declining most dramatically beyond the projections of ipcc 2007. The impact of melting arctic ice, a result of climate change, has farreaching consequences for this fragile ecosystem and its inhabitants. It is less dense in the solid phase than it is in the liquid phase. Sea ice forms a boundary between the relatively warm ocean and the cooler atmosphere. Paleoceanographic reconstructions from a more northward location of the polar front on the north iceland margin show centennialscale. Apr 10, 2017 at the north pole, arctic sea ice reached a record low wintertime maximum extent on march 7, 2017. An intersessional working group on the sea ice and abundance estimate was reestablished in 61st iwcsc.
Waves have variable impact on sea ice in the southern ocean. Arctic sea ice now starts melting 11 days earlier and it starts refreezing 26 days later than it used to, on average see figure 3. Implications of arctic sea ice decline for the earth system uma s. Pdf sea ice in the arctic is one of the most rapidly changing. Wed like to understand how you use our websites in order to improve them. The influence of declining sea ice on shipping activity in the canadian arctic. Apr 24, 2015 in 2011 the canadian ice service cis observed the second lowest canadian arctic summer sea ice level on record since satellite mapping began in late 1978. Mar 14, 2017 by studying air current patterns, researchers determined that between 30 and 50 percent of the decline in summer sea ice in the arctic since 1979 may be due to natural processes, for the first.
Graphing sea ice extent in the arctic and antarctic. This paper provides an overview of the arctic sea ice history spanning multiple climate regimes, from the early cenozoic to present. Comiso 2012 examined the seasonal pattern in arctic sea ice extent for three decadal periods plus the years 2007, 2009. Waves have variable impact on sea ice in the southern. Sep 14, 2007 the bering sea region is smaller to allow it to shift into the bering strait with little land influence. Sea ice cover in the arctic has shrunk to one of its smallest extents on record, bringing the days of an entirely ice free arctic during the summer a step closer the annual sea ice minimum of 5. The decline in sea ice extent during september has averaged about 8 percent over the past decade, said serreze, who is part of a cuboulder team monitoring arctic seaice conditions. The 37v channel is one of the inputs to the sea ice retrieval algorithms, so this is resulting in erroneous estimates of sea ice concentration and extent. Ice extent, thickness, drift, and duration arctic seaice cover attains its maximum seasonal extent in. At the end of the melt season, sea ice had contracted to 1. Another potential impact of arctic amplification is the potential to melt more of. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply. Over the last two decades, sea ice steadily increased in the southern ocean, but starting in 2016, researchers were astonished by a rapid decline. Readers sometimes ask us, what are the reasons behind arctic sea.
Although antarctic sea ice is undergoing a slight increase in overall extent, major regional. Mar, 2017 the dramatic decline of arctic sea ice in recent decades is caused by a mixture of global warming and a natural, decadeslong atmospheric hot spot over greenland and the canadian arctic. The arctic is seen by many climatologists as the fastest changing place on the planet. A university of alaska fairbanks study has determined that warmer water migrating from the atlantic ocean is a surprisingly powerful contributor to arctic sea ice decline. We charted arctic sea ice for nearly every day since 1979. Sea ice extent has continued to decline during september, reaching below four million square kilometers early in the month. Arctic sea ice extent at its lowest for at least 1500. Aerial surveys were conducted weekly during september and october along the southern beaufort sea coastline and barrier islands between barrow and the. This figure shows arctic sea ice extent for the months of september and march of each year from 1979. Evidence shows that the extent of arctic sea ice has declined in all months of the year. Simpson2,7 1department of atmospheric sciences, 2college of natural science and. Implications of arctic sea ice decline for the earth system alaska. Errors in the supplementary data file remain, although these were identified months ago.
Problems with satellite sea ice monitoring confirmed by. In recent decades, sea ice in the arctic ocean has been melting faster than it refreezes in winter. Progress of preparation of sea ice data to investigate the. Nansen and amundsen basins observational system research cruise participants watch arctic sea ice in summer 2015 from a deck on the research vessel akademik tryoshnikov. The incredible decline of arctic sea ice visualized the. The arctic is facing a decline in sea ice that might equal the negative record of 2012 by alfred wegener institute mosaic of images of the arctic by modis. Investigation on the relationship between sea ice characteristics and antarctic minke whale abundance estimates has been treated as one of the important works to identify reasons of difference of the estimates between cpii and cpiii. At the south pole, sea ice around antarctica hit its lowest extent ever recorded by satellites at the end of summer in the southern hemisphere on march 3. With continued increasing temperatures, summer icefree conditions are likely.
The arctic is facing a decline in sea ice that might equal. Arctic sea ice shrinks to sixthlowest extent on record. Over the past 20 years, the study of the frozen arctic and southern oceans and the subarctic seas has progressed at a remarkable pace. Effects of sea ice extent and food availability on spatial. I came across a number of maps showing arctic ice extend from 1893 to 1961 collected by dmi in nautisk meteorologisk aarbog. The arctic is facing a decline in sea ice that might equal the negative record of 2012 data collected by the cryosat2 satellite reveal large amounts of thin ice that are unlikely to survive the. This third edition of sea ice gives an insight into the very latest understanding of how sea ice is formed, how we measure and model its extent, the biology that lives within and is associated with sea ice, and the effect of climate change on its distribution. Ding and coauthors published another nature paper ding et al. May 30, 2018 over the last two decades, sea ice steadily increased in the southern ocean, but starting in 2016, researchers were astonished by a rapid decline. However, with the inclusion of one short sentence, the paper manages to perpetuate misinformation on grizzlypolar bear hybridization that first appeared in a commentary essay three years ago in nature kelly et al.
What are the consequences of arctic sea ice decline. Arctic sea ice declines again in 2004, according to u. The extent of the winter ice cover, however, had not changed appreciably until recently. Ice extent, thickness, drift, and duration arctic sea ice cover attains its maximum seasonal extent in. Its called, ecological consequences of seaice decline and surprisingly, polar bears are discussed only briefly. The graph above shows arctic sea ice extent as of june 1, 2015, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years. Published on may 16, 2020 may 16, 2020 by sunshinehours1 1 comment. The arctic ocean is the mass of water positioned approximately above latitude 65 n. Pdf, changing state of arctic sea ice across all seasons iopscience.
A 2007 study found the decline to be faster than forecasted by model simulations. By studying air current patterns, researchers determined that between 30 and 50 percent of the decline in summer sea ice in the arctic since 1979 may be due to natural processes, for the first. The online version available today 26 march did not contain the changes described by the editor in his 23 march 2018 email nor were the spelling errors fixed pdf here. Impacts of changing seaice conditions on arctic marine mammals. This figure shows arctic sea ice extent for the months of. The global impacts of rapidly disappearing arctic sea ice. In september 2011, sea ice in the canadian arctic reached its lowest point of the year at 4. The dramatic decline of arctic sea ice in recent decades is caused by a mixture of global warming and a natural, decadeslong atmospheric hot spot over greenland and the canadian arctic. This copy is for your personal, non commercial use only. The loss of arctic sea ice has myriad consequences, but one of the most troubling effects involves the overall impact of this change on the climate system as a whole. Arctic sea ice appeared to have reached its yearly lowest extent on sept. Pdf ecological consequences of seaice decline researchgate. May 02, 2012 i came across a number of maps showing arctic ice extend from 1893 to 1961 collected by dmi in nautisk meteorologisk aarbog.
The intergovernmental panel on climate change ipcc fourth assessment report states that greenhouse gas forcing is predominantly responsible for the decline in arctic sea ice extent. Apr 03, 2015 the loss of arctic sea ice has myriad consequences, but one of the most troubling effects involves the overall impact of this change on the climate system as a whole. The observed ice extent was much lower than predicted in 2012, but in 20, it was much higher figure 2b. And the 10 lowest ice extents have all been recorded since 2007. The sst anomalies in the barents bering sea are calculated within a fixed 400. After that, we can expect the ice free period in the arctic basin to expand to three to four months a year, and eventually to five months or more. After successive years of melting, the consequences are likely to be felt further afield with scientists suggesting weather patterns in the northern hemisphere may be altered. Endofsummer arctic sea ice extent is eighth lowest on. Ivory gulls nest on rocky cliffs and fly out to the sea ice to fish through cracks in the ice and scavenge on top of the ice. The problem was initially seen in data for april 5 and all data since then are unreliable, so we have. Apr 21, 2016 the arctic is facing a decline in sea ice that might equal the negative record of 2012 by alfred wegener institute mosaic of images of the arctic by modis. A retreat of sea ice away from the coastal nesting sites would have serious consequences. Apr 21, 2016 the arctic is facing a decline in sea ice that might equal the negative record of 2012 data collected by the cryosat2 satellite reveal large amounts of thin ice that are unlikely to survive the.
A further decline in the area of arctic sea ice will extend the navigation period and allow better accessibility by ship around the arctic basin and probably open new shipping routes. Pdf the influence of declining sea ice on shipping activity. This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. The decline in thefloating sea ice cover in the arctic is one of the. The rapid decline in arctic sea ice asi extent, area and volume during recent decades is occurring before we can understand many of the. The arctic sea ice minimum is the day in a given year when arctic sea ice reaches its smallest extent, occurring at the end of the summer melting season, normally during september. We investigated the relationship between sea ice conditions, food availability, and the fall distribution of polar bears ursus maritimus in terrestrial habitats of the southern beaufort sea via weekly aerial surveys in 20002005. Arctic sea ice data collected by dmi 18931961 hide the decline. Sep 19, 2017 arctic sea ice appeared to have reached its yearly lowest extent on sept.
The entire fiasco, start to finish, is an embarrassment to science but. Critical vulnerabilities of marine and sea icebased ecosystems in. Polar bears are losing lifesustaining sea ice crucial for hunting, resting and breeding in all 19 regions of the arctic they inhabit, a study warned on wednesday as climate change pushes up. The incredible decline of arctic sea ice visualized. Sea ice news volume 3 number 3 beaucoup bering sea ice. At the north pole, arctic sea ice reached a record low wintertime maximum extent on march 7, 2017. Global sea ice extent sea ice extent global antarctic and arctic day 6 2020. Rapid decline of arctic sea ice a combination of climate.
Arctic sea ice melt, driven by global warming, accelerated. Sea ice floats for the same reason the ice in your drinking glass floats. March and september monthly average arctic sea ice extent, 1979 2016. Under these low temperature conditions, salt water freezes and the cold pool formed on the lee side of st lawrence island polynya, becomes an effective large ice making factory, for the bering sea. Scientists have long thought that climate change is to blame, but a new study provides more evidence for that idea. Numerical modeling of sea ice in the climate system. The air plays its role like an energy absorbant because of the difference between its temperature and the temperature of the water.
The arctic ocean has lost more than 30 percent of its summer ice cover in the last thirty years. The areal extent, concentration and thickness of sea ice in the arctic ocean and adjacent seas have strongly decreased during the recent decades, but cold, snowrich winters have been common over midlatitude land areas since 2005. Posts about sea ice decline written by susanjcrockford. Introduction 2 the decline in arctic sea ice during recent decades is dramatic, particularly during summer when observed extent decreased by. Arctic sea ice melt, driven by global warming, accelerated by. Apr 07, 2017 nansen and amundsen basins observational system research cruise participants watch arctic sea ice in summer 2015 from a deck on the research vessel akademik tryoshnikov. This paper provides an overview of the arctic seaice history spanning multiple climate regimes, from the early cenozoic to present. Arctic sea ice has been in a steep decline since scientists started using satellites to measure it 40 years ago. Antarctic sea ice change and variability physical and ecological. Based on a linear extrapolation of these trends, wefind the arctic ocean will become seaice free.
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