An abrupt transition in Antarctic sea ice–ocean system ...

• Main Authors: Haumann, F. Alexander, Massonnet, François, Holland, Paul R., Bushuk, Mitchell, Maksym, Ted, Hobbs, Will, Meredith, Michael P., Cerovečki, Ivana, Lavergne, Thomas, Meier, Walter N., Raphael, Marilyn, Stammerjohn, Sharon
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.57757/iugg23-2940; https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5018918

<!--!introduction!--> Over the past decade, Antarctic sea ice extent exhibited a sequence of record maxima, followed by a rapid decline in 2015/16, and record minima since. In this presentation, we show that this sudden and remarkable ice loss marks an abrupt transition from a high to a low ice state that cannot be explained by year-to-year variability. Instead, it is most likely associated with a longer term variability arising from ice–ocean feedbacks. The abrupt transition was preceded by an increase in persistence and variance of the sea ice anomalies, an increasing upper Southern Ocean density stratification, and an accumulation of heat at the subsurface; suggesting a decoupling of the surface from the subsurface ocean. During this period, the sea ice anomalies shifted from being structured predominantly regionally and seasonally to a largely circumpolar and interannual regime. In 2015/16, the upper ocean density stratification in the ice-covered region suddenly weakened, leading to a release of ... : The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023) ...