Arctic sea ice extent and thickness
Current knowledge on Arctic sea ice extent and thickness variability is reviewed, and we examine whether measurements to date provide evidence for the impact of climate change. The total Arctic ice extent has shown a small but significant reduction of (2.1 ± 0.9)% during the period 1978-87, after ap...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Physical and Engineering Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 2024-06-02T07:57:49+00:00 Arctic sea ice extent and thickness 1995 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 352, issue 1699, page 301-319 ISSN 0962-8428 2054-0299 journal-article 1995 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 2024-05-07T14:16:57Z Current knowledge on Arctic sea ice extent and thickness variability is reviewed, and we examine whether measurements to date provide evidence for the impact of climate change. The total Arctic ice extent has shown a small but significant reduction of (2.1 ± 0.9)% during the period 1978-87, after apparently increasing from a lower level in the early 1970s. However, open water within the pack ice limit has also diminished, so that the reduction of sea ice area is only (1.8 ± 1.2)%. This stability conceals large interannual variations and trends in individual regions of the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas, which are out of phase with one another and so have little net impact on the overall hemispheric ice extent. The maximum annual global extent (occurring during the Antarctic winter) shows a more significant decrease of 5% during 1972-87. Ice thickness distribution has been measured by submarine sonar profiling, moored upward sonars, airborne laser prohlometry, airborne electromagnetic techniques and drilling. Promising new techniques include: sonar mounted on an AUV or neutrally buoyant float; acoustic tomography or thermometry; and inference from a combination of microwave sensors. In relation to climate change, the most useful measurement has been repeated submarine sonar profiling under identical parts of the Arctic, which offers some evidence of a decline in mean ice thickness in the 1980s compared to the 1970s. The link between mean ice thickness and climatic warming is complex because of the effects of dynamics and deformation. Only fast ice responds primarily to air temperature changes and one can predict thinning of fast ice and extension of the open water season in fast ice areas. Another region of increasingly mild ice conditions is the central Greenland Sea where winter thermohaline convection is triggered by cyclic growth and melt of local young ice. In recent years convection to the bottom has slowed or ceased, possibly related to moderation of ice conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Greenland Greenland Sea Sea ice The Royal Society Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland The Antarctic Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Physical and Engineering Sciences 352 1699 301 319 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
op_collection_id |
crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Current knowledge on Arctic sea ice extent and thickness variability is reviewed, and we examine whether measurements to date provide evidence for the impact of climate change. The total Arctic ice extent has shown a small but significant reduction of (2.1 ± 0.9)% during the period 1978-87, after apparently increasing from a lower level in the early 1970s. However, open water within the pack ice limit has also diminished, so that the reduction of sea ice area is only (1.8 ± 1.2)%. This stability conceals large interannual variations and trends in individual regions of the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas, which are out of phase with one another and so have little net impact on the overall hemispheric ice extent. The maximum annual global extent (occurring during the Antarctic winter) shows a more significant decrease of 5% during 1972-87. Ice thickness distribution has been measured by submarine sonar profiling, moored upward sonars, airborne laser prohlometry, airborne electromagnetic techniques and drilling. Promising new techniques include: sonar mounted on an AUV or neutrally buoyant float; acoustic tomography or thermometry; and inference from a combination of microwave sensors. In relation to climate change, the most useful measurement has been repeated submarine sonar profiling under identical parts of the Arctic, which offers some evidence of a decline in mean ice thickness in the 1980s compared to the 1970s. The link between mean ice thickness and climatic warming is complex because of the effects of dynamics and deformation. Only fast ice responds primarily to air temperature changes and one can predict thinning of fast ice and extension of the open water season in fast ice areas. Another region of increasingly mild ice conditions is the central Greenland Sea where winter thermohaline convection is triggered by cyclic growth and melt of local young ice. In recent years convection to the bottom has slowed or ceased, possibly related to moderation of ice conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
title |
Arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
spellingShingle |
Arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
title_short |
Arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
title_full |
Arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
title_fullStr |
Arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
title_sort |
arctic sea ice extent and thickness |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
1995 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Greenland The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Greenland Greenland Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Greenland Greenland Sea Sea ice |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 352, issue 1699, page 301-319 ISSN 0962-8428 2054-0299 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1995.0072 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Physical and Engineering Sciences |
container_volume |
352 |
container_issue |
1699 |
container_start_page |
301 |
op_container_end_page |
319 |
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1800741026140258304 |