Re-calibration of Arctic sea ice extent datasets using Arctic surface air temperature records

• Main Authors: Connolly, Ronan, Connolly, Michael, Soon, Willie
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2017
• Subjects: Cell Biology; Genetics; FOS Biological sciences; Neuroscience; Biotechnology; 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Earth and related environmental sciences; 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Chemical sciences; Ecology; 20199 Astronomical and Space Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Physical sciences; Marine Biology; Inorganic Chemistry; Arctic; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4955363.v1; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Re-calibration_of_Arctic_sea_ice_extent_datasets_using_Arctic_surface_air_temperature_records/4955363/1

A new seasonal and annual dataset describing Arctic sea ice extents for 1901–2015 was constructed by individually re-calibrating sea ice data sources from the three Arctic regions (North American, Nordic and Siberian) using the corresponding surface air temperature trends for the pre-satellite era (1901–1978), so that the strong relationship between seasonal sea ice extent and surface air temperature observed for the satellite era (1979-present) also applies to the pre-satellite era. According to this new dataset, the recent period of Arctic sea ice retreat since the 1970s followed a period of sea ice growth after the mid-1940s, which in turn followed a period of sea ice retreat after the 1910s. Arctic sea ice is a key component of the Arctic hydrological cycle, through both its freshwater storage role and its influence on oceanic and atmospheric circulation. Therefore, these new insights have significance for our understanding of Arctic hydrology. EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR not assigned EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR not assigned