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Arctic sea ice diminished rapidly in 2004 and 2005
September 14, 2006WASHINGTON - The Arctic Ocean's perennial sea ice, which survives the summer melt season and remains year-round, shrank abruptly by 14 percent between 2004 and 2005, according to a newly published study. Researchers found that the loss of perennial ice in the East Arctic Ocean, above Europe and Asia, neared 50 percent during that time as some of the ice moved to the West Arctic Ocean, above North America.
The overall decrease in winter Arctic perennial sea ice totaled 730,000 square kilometers [280,000 square miles]-an area the size of Texas. Perennial ice can be three meters [10 feet] thick, or more. It was replaced in the winter by new, seasonal ice, which was only about 0.3 to two meters [one to seven feet] thick and more vulnerable to summer melt. The research was published 7 September in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The decrease in perennial ice raises the possibility that Arctic sea ice will retreat to another record low extent this year. This follows four summers of very low ice-cover, as observed by active and passive microwave instruments.
A team of seven scientists, led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used satellite data to measure the extent and distribution of perennial and seasonal sea ice in the Arctic. While the total area of all Arctic sea ice was stable in winter, the distribution of seasonal and perennial sea ice changed significantly.
"Recent changes in Arctic sea ice are rapid and dramatic," said Nghiem. "If the seasonal ice in the East Arctic Ocean were to be removed by summer melt, a vast ice-free area would open up. Such an ice-free area would have profound impacts on the environment, as well as on marine transportation and commerce."
The researchers are examining what caused the rapid decrease in the perennial sea ice. Data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Boulder, Colorado, suggest that winds pushed perennial ice from the East to the West Arctic Ocean and moved ice through the Fram Strait, a deep passage between Greenland and Spitsbergen, Norway. This movement of ice out of the Arctic is a different mechanism for ice shrinkage than the melting of Arctic sea ice, but it produces the same result-a reduction in the amount of perennial Arctic sea ice.
The researchers say that if the sea ice cover continues to decline, the surrounding ocean will warm, further accelerating summer ice melts and impeding fall freeze-ups. This longer melt season will, in turn, further diminish the Arctic ice cover.
Nghiem cautioned that the recent Arctic changes are not well understood and that many questions remain. "It's vital that we continue to closely monitor this region, using both satellite and surface-based data," he said.
American Geophysical Union
A team of seven scientists, led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used satellite data to measure the extent and distribution of perennial and seasonal sea ice in the Arctic. While the total area of all Arctic sea ice was stable in winter, the distribution of seasonal and perennial sea ice changed significantly.
"Recent changes in Arctic sea ice are rapid and dramatic," said Nghiem. "If the seasonal ice in the East Arctic Ocean were to be removed by summer melt, a vast ice-free area would open up. Such an ice-free area would have profound impacts on the environment, as well as on marine transportation and commerce."
The researchers are examining what caused the rapid decrease in the perennial sea ice. Data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Boulder, Colorado, suggest that winds pushed perennial ice from the East to the West Arctic Ocean and moved ice through the Fram Strait, a deep passage between Greenland and Spitsbergen, Norway. This movement of ice out of the Arctic is a different mechanism for ice shrinkage than the melting of Arctic sea ice, but it produces the same result-a reduction in the amount of perennial Arctic sea ice.
The researchers say that if the sea ice cover continues to decline, the surrounding ocean will warm, further accelerating summer ice melts and impeding fall freeze-ups. This longer melt season will, in turn, further diminish the Arctic ice cover.
Nghiem cautioned that the recent Arctic changes are not well understood and that many questions remain. "It's vital that we continue to closely monitor this region, using both satellite and surface-based data," he said.
American Geophysical Union
Sea Ice Current Events and Sea Ice News RSSLast time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago, scientists report
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NASA flies to Antarctica for largest airborne polar ice survey
NASA begins a series of flights Oct. 15 to study changes to Antarctica's sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. The flights are part of Operation Ice Bridge, a six-year campaign that is the largest airborne survey ever made of ice at Earth's polar regions.
Peering under the ice of a collapsing polar coast
Starting this month, a giant NASA DC-8 aircraft loaded with geophysical instruments and scientists will buzz at low level over the coasts of West Antarctica, where ice sheets are collapsing at a pace far beyond what scientists expected a few years ago.
Arctic sea ice recovers slightly in 2009, remains on downward trend, says U. of Colorado report
Despite a slight recovery in summer Arctic sea ice in 2009 from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008, the sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years and remains on a trend leading toward ice-free Arctic summers, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Arctic Sea ice extent is third lowest on record
U.S. satellite measurements show Arctic sea ice extent in 2009 - the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by floating ice - was the third lowest since satellite measurements were first made in 1979.
Algae and pollen grains provide evidence of remarkably warm period in Antarctica's history
For Sophie Warny, LSU assistant professor of geology and geophysics and curator at the LSU Museum of Natural Science, years of patience in analyzing Antarctic samples with low fossil recovery finally led to a scientific breakthrough.
Arctic sea ice reaches minimum extent for 2009, third lowest ever recorded
The Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the third-lowest recorded since satellites began measuring sea ice extent in 1979, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center.
UA scientists seek new emphases in Arctic climate change research
Much of circumpolar Arctic research focuses on the physical, direct changes resulting from climate warming such as sea ice retreat and temperature increases.
Satellites and submarines give the skinny on sea ice thickness
This summer, a group of scientists and students - as well as a Canadian senator, a writer, and a filmmaker - set out from Resolute Bay, Canada, on the icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent.
NASA, CU-Boulder airborne expedition chases Arctic sea ice questions
A small NASA aircraft completed its first successful science flight Thursday in partnership with the University of Colorado at Boulder as part of an expedition to study the receding Arctic sea ice and improve understanding of its life cycle and the long-term stability of the Arctic ice cover.
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