Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents
Southern Ocean sea-ice coverage undergoes a large seasonal cycle, with a nearly fivefold increase in areal ice extents from the minimum in February to the maximum in September, and significant interannual variations. Results presented here show in a variety of forms some of the variability that occu...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 2024-06-02T08:08:10+00:00 Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents 1992 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences volume 338, issue 1285, page 243-250 ISSN 0962-8436 1471-2970 journal-article 1992 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 2024-05-07T14:16:52Z Southern Ocean sea-ice coverage undergoes a large seasonal cycle, with a nearly fivefold increase in areal ice extents from the minimum in February to the maximum in September, and significant interannual variations. Results presented here show in a variety of forms some of the variability that occurred in Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents over the 1970s and 1980s. Interannual variability is examined by identifying changes in three measures: sea-ice extents, sea-ice distributions, and the length of the sea-ice season. Regarding these three: (i) Maximum ice extents varied by approximately 12%, decreasing during the mid-1970s, followed by increases over the next few years and a levelling off for much of the 1980s. (ii) The area of interannual variability in monthly average sea-ice distributions in summer far exceeds the summertime area of consistent ice coverage, in sharp contrast to the wintertime situation, when the area of consistent ice coverage is considerably larger. In winter, the ice-distribution variability is largely confined to two regions: a relatively narrow outer band (generally 2-5° of latitude) surrounding the region of consistent ice coverage, and, for the mid-1970s, the region of an occasional large open water area within the ice pack of the Weddell Sea, termed the Weddell polynya. The Weddell and other polynyas within the ice cover allow intensified heat, mass, and momentum exchanges between ocean and atmosphere, thereby affecting regional oceanic and atmospheric circulations, (iii) The length of the sea-ice season, calculated for the years 1979-1986, with satellite passive-microwave data coverage through all months of the year, showed increases over that period in the Ross Sea but decreases in the Weddell and Bellingshausen seas. In both cases it appears, through comparisons with data from 1973-1976, that the 1979-1986 changes more likely reflect a fluctuating behaviour of the ice cover than a long-term trend. The changes in the ice cover have influences not only on the ocean and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper ice pack Ross Sea Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea The Royal Society Ross Sea Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 338 1285 243 250 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
op_collection_id |
crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Southern Ocean sea-ice coverage undergoes a large seasonal cycle, with a nearly fivefold increase in areal ice extents from the minimum in February to the maximum in September, and significant interannual variations. Results presented here show in a variety of forms some of the variability that occurred in Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents over the 1970s and 1980s. Interannual variability is examined by identifying changes in three measures: sea-ice extents, sea-ice distributions, and the length of the sea-ice season. Regarding these three: (i) Maximum ice extents varied by approximately 12%, decreasing during the mid-1970s, followed by increases over the next few years and a levelling off for much of the 1980s. (ii) The area of interannual variability in monthly average sea-ice distributions in summer far exceeds the summertime area of consistent ice coverage, in sharp contrast to the wintertime situation, when the area of consistent ice coverage is considerably larger. In winter, the ice-distribution variability is largely confined to two regions: a relatively narrow outer band (generally 2-5° of latitude) surrounding the region of consistent ice coverage, and, for the mid-1970s, the region of an occasional large open water area within the ice pack of the Weddell Sea, termed the Weddell polynya. The Weddell and other polynyas within the ice cover allow intensified heat, mass, and momentum exchanges between ocean and atmosphere, thereby affecting regional oceanic and atmospheric circulations, (iii) The length of the sea-ice season, calculated for the years 1979-1986, with satellite passive-microwave data coverage through all months of the year, showed increases over that period in the Ross Sea but decreases in the Weddell and Bellingshausen seas. In both cases it appears, through comparisons with data from 1973-1976, that the 1979-1986 changes more likely reflect a fluctuating behaviour of the ice cover than a long-term trend. The changes in the ice cover have influences not only on the ocean and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
title |
Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
spellingShingle |
Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
title_short |
Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
title_full |
Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
title_fullStr |
Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
title_full_unstemmed |
Southern Ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
title_sort |
southern ocean sea-ice distributions and extents |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 |
geographic |
Ross Sea Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Ross Sea Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
ice pack Ross Sea Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
ice pack Ross Sea Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences volume 338, issue 1285, page 243-250 ISSN 0962-8436 1471-2970 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1992.0144 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
338 |
container_issue |
1285 |
container_start_page |
243 |
op_container_end_page |
250 |
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1800753349792890880 |