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The sea-ice is getting thinner - A closer look at the climate and ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean
September 14, 2007Large areas of the Arctic sea-ice are only one metre thick this year, equating to an approximate 50 percent thinning as compared to the year 2001. These are the initial results from the latest Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association lead expedition to the North Polar Sea. 50 scientists have been on board the Research ship- Polarstern for two and a half months, their main aim; to carry out research on the sea-ice areas in the central Arctic. Amongst other things, they have found out that not only the ocean currents are changing, but community structures in the Arctic are also altering. Autonomous measuring-buoys have been placed out, and they will contribute valuable data, also after the expedition is finished, to the study of the environmental changes occurring in this region.
"The ice cover in the North Polar Sea is dwindling, the ocean and the atmosphere are becoming steadily warmer, the ocean currents are changing" said chief scientist Dr Ursula Schauer, from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research part of the Helmholtz community, when commenting on the latest results from the current expedition. She is currently in the Arctic, underway with 50 Scientists from Germany, Russia, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, the USA, Switzerland, Japan, France and China, where they are investigating ocean and sea-ice conditions.
"We are in the midst of phase of dramatic change in the Arctic, and the International Polar Year 2007/08 offers us a unique opportunity to study this dwindling ocean in collaboration with international researchers" said Schauer. Oceanographers on board the research ship Polarstern are investigating the composition and circulation of the water masses, physical characteristics of sea-ice and transport of biological and geochemical components in ice and seawater. Sea-ice ecosystems in the seawater and on the ocean floor will also be a focus of investigations. Scientists will take sediments from the ocean floor in order to reconstruct the climatic history of the surrounding continents.
Oceanographic measuring buoys were set out in all regions of the Arctic ocean for the first time during this International Polar Year. They are able to drift freely in the Arctic Ocean whilst collecting data on currents, temperature, and salt content of the seawater. The buoys will continuously collect data over and send them back to the scientists via satellite. In addition, the deployment of a new titanium measuring system which allows contamination free sample collection of trace elements for the first time due to its high effectiveness. These studies will take place within the context of different research projects, all taking place during the International Polar Year: SPACE (Synoptic Pan-Arctic Climate and Environment Study), iAOOS (Integrated Arctic Ocean Observing System) and GEOTRACES (Trace Elements in the Arctic). At the same time, a large component of the work is supported by the European Union Program DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environment Studies). Further information on this project can be found on the German contribution to the International Polar Year website (www.polarjahr.de).
Changes in Sea-Ice
The thickness of the arctic sea-ice has decreased since 1979, and at the moment measures about a metre in diameter in the central Arctic Basin. In addition, oceanographers have found a particularly high concentration of melt-water in the ocean and a large number of melt-ponds. These data, collected from on board the Polarstern, and also from helicopter flights allow the scientists to better interpret their satellite images.
Sea-Ice biologists from the Institute of Polar Ecology at the University of Kiel are studying the animals and plants living in and beneath the ice. They are using the opportunity to investigate the threatened ecosystem. According to the newest models, the Arctic could be ice free in less than 50 years in case of further warming. This may cause the extinction of many organisms that are adapted to this habitat.
Ocean Currents
The Arctic Ocean currents are an important part of global ocean circulation. Warm water masses flowing in from the Atlantic are changed in the Arctic through water cooling and ice formation, and sink to great depths. Constant monitoring by the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research over the last ten years have recorded significant changes, and have demonstrated a warming of the incoming current from the Atlantic Ocean. During this expedition, the propagation of these warming events along each of the currents in the North Polar Sea will be investigated.
The large rivers of Siberia and North America transport huge amounts of freshwater to the Arctic. The freshwater appears to function as an insulating layer, controling the warmth transfer between the ocean, the ice and the atmosphere.
The study area stretches from the shelf areas of the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea, across Nansen and Amundsen bays right up to Makarow Bay.
Between Norway and Siberia and up to the Canadian Bay the scientists have taken temperature, salinity, and current measurements at more than 100 places. First results have shown that the temperatures of the influx of water from the Atlantic are lower as compared to previous years. The temperatures and salinity levels in the Arctic deep sea are also slowly changing. The changes are small here, but the areas go down to great depths, and enormous water volumes are therefore involved. In order to follow the circulation patterns in winter, oceanographic measuring buoys will be attached to ice floes, and continuous measurements will be taken whilst they float along with the ice. The measurements will be relayed back via satellite.
In addition to the ocean currents and sea-ice, zooplankton, sediment samples from the sea floor as well as trace elements will be taken. Zooplankton are at the base of the food chain for many marine creatures, and are therefore an important indicator for the health of the ecosystem. The deposits found on the ocean floor of the North Polar Sea read like a diary of the history of climate change for the surrounding continents. Through sediment cores, the scientists may be able to unlock the key to the glaciation of northern Siberia.
In addition, the members of the expedition will be able to measure trace elements from Siberian rivers and shelf areas, that through polar drift are being pushed towards the Atlantic.
More information and reports from the current Polarstern expedition can be found on our internet site:
www.awi.de/de/infrastruktur/schiffe/polarstern/wochenberichte/alle_expeditionen/ark_xxii/ark_xxii2/
Alfred Wegener Institute
Changes in Sea-Ice
The thickness of the arctic sea-ice has decreased since 1979, and at the moment measures about a metre in diameter in the central Arctic Basin. In addition, oceanographers have found a particularly high concentration of melt-water in the ocean and a large number of melt-ponds. These data, collected from on board the Polarstern, and also from helicopter flights allow the scientists to better interpret their satellite images.
Sea-Ice biologists from the Institute of Polar Ecology at the University of Kiel are studying the animals and plants living in and beneath the ice. They are using the opportunity to investigate the threatened ecosystem. According to the newest models, the Arctic could be ice free in less than 50 years in case of further warming. This may cause the extinction of many organisms that are adapted to this habitat.
Ocean Currents
The Arctic Ocean currents are an important part of global ocean circulation. Warm water masses flowing in from the Atlantic are changed in the Arctic through water cooling and ice formation, and sink to great depths. Constant monitoring by the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research over the last ten years have recorded significant changes, and have demonstrated a warming of the incoming current from the Atlantic Ocean. During this expedition, the propagation of these warming events along each of the currents in the North Polar Sea will be investigated.
The large rivers of Siberia and North America transport huge amounts of freshwater to the Arctic. The freshwater appears to function as an insulating layer, controling the warmth transfer between the ocean, the ice and the atmosphere.
The study area stretches from the shelf areas of the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea, across Nansen and Amundsen bays right up to Makarow Bay.
Between Norway and Siberia and up to the Canadian Bay the scientists have taken temperature, salinity, and current measurements at more than 100 places. First results have shown that the temperatures of the influx of water from the Atlantic are lower as compared to previous years. The temperatures and salinity levels in the Arctic deep sea are also slowly changing. The changes are small here, but the areas go down to great depths, and enormous water volumes are therefore involved. In order to follow the circulation patterns in winter, oceanographic measuring buoys will be attached to ice floes, and continuous measurements will be taken whilst they float along with the ice. The measurements will be relayed back via satellite.
In addition to the ocean currents and sea-ice, zooplankton, sediment samples from the sea floor as well as trace elements will be taken. Zooplankton are at the base of the food chain for many marine creatures, and are therefore an important indicator for the health of the ecosystem. The deposits found on the ocean floor of the North Polar Sea read like a diary of the history of climate change for the surrounding continents. Through sediment cores, the scientists may be able to unlock the key to the glaciation of northern Siberia.
In addition, the members of the expedition will be able to measure trace elements from Siberian rivers and shelf areas, that through polar drift are being pushed towards the Atlantic.
More information and reports from the current Polarstern expedition can be found on our internet site:
www.awi.de/de/infrastruktur/schiffe/polarstern/wochenberichte/alle_expeditionen/ark_xxii/ark_xxii2/
Alfred Wegener Institute
Sea-ice News and Current Sea-ice Events RSSArctic ice on the verge of another all-time low
Following last summer's record minimum ice cover in the Arctic, current observations from ESA's Envisat satellite suggest that the extent of polar sea-ice may again shrink to a level very close to that of last year.
Tracking down abrupt climate changes
In an article in the scientific magazine Nature - Geosciences, the geoscientists Achim Brauer, Peter Dulski and Jörg Negendank, (emeritus Professor) from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Gerald Haug from the DFG-Leibniz Center for Surface Processes and Climate Studies at the University of Potsdam and the ETH in Zurich, and Daniel Sigman from the Princeton University prove, for the first time, an extremely fast climate change in Western Europe.
Fire under the ice
An international team of researchers was able to provide evidence of explosive volcanism in the deeps of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean for the first time.
Greenland ice core analysis shows drastic climate change near end of last ice age
Information gleaned from a Greenland ice core by an international science team shows that two huge Northern Hemisphere temperature spikes prior to the close of the last ice age some 11,500 years ago were tied to fundamental shifts in atmospheric circulation.
Permafrost Threatened by Rapid Retreat of Arctic Sea Ice, NCAR Study Finds
The rate of climate warming over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during periods of rapid sea ice loss, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Scientists endure Arctic for last campaign prior to CryoSat-2 launch
An international group of scientists has swapped their comfortable offices for one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet to carry out a challenging field campaign that is seen as the key to ensuring the data delivered by ESA's ice mission CryoSat will be as accurate as possible.
NOAA Aircraft to Probe Arctic Pollution
NOAA scientists are now flying through springtime Arctic pollution to find out why the region is warming - and summertime sea ice is melting - faster than predicted. Some 35 NOAA researchers are gathering with government and university colleagues in Fairbanks, Alaska, to conduct the study through April 23.
Indigenous peoples hardest hit by climate change describe impacts
Indigenous peoples have contributed the least to world greenhouse gas emissions and have the smallest ecological footprints on Earth.
Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system
Anthropogenic forcing could push the Earth's climate system past critical thresholds, so that important components may "tip" into qualitatively different modes of operation.
Older Arctic sea ice replaced by young, thin ice, says CU-Boulder study
A new study by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers indicates older, multi-year sea ice in the Arctic is giving way to younger, thinner ice, making it more susceptible to record summer sea-ice lows like the one that occurred in 2007.
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