Decadal-scale trends and variability in Bering Sea ice extent, wind and wave conditions ...
<!--!introduction!--> The Bering Sea in winter (October-April) is defined by a seasonal ice cover and stormy seas; average significant wave height (SWH) is 2.7 m, double the May-September average. Every winter, 20 days on average exhibit SWHs larger than 9 m. Our analysis of surface wind and w...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Conference Object |
| Language: | unknown |
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GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.57757/iugg23-2661 https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5019233 |
| Summary: | <!--!introduction!--> The Bering Sea in winter (October-April) is defined by a seasonal ice cover and stormy seas; average significant wave height (SWH) is 2.7 m, double the May-September average. Every winter, 20 days on average exhibit SWHs larger than 9 m. Our analysis of surface wind and wave conditions suggests enhanced storminess. The past 5 years are among the 6 stormiest in the last 20 years, indicated by an increase of 0.5 m/s/decade in the highest 1% of surface wind speeds and an increase of 0.5 m/decade in the highest 1% of SWHs. Observations also show a trend in Bering Sea ice extent of -30.5 %/decade in March between 2012-2022. This is in stark contrast to the previous three decades when ice extent was relatively stable (+1.7 %/decade). If we were to assume a continuing linear decline in ice extent, current conditions suggest the Central Shelf area (St. Matthew Island) would be ice free in winter by the early 2030s. Since the sea ice and storm seasons overlap, we hypothesize that a decline ... : The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023) ... |
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