Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change
In this study, we propose a new Arctic climate change indicator based on the strength of the Arctic halocline, a porous barrier between the cold and fresh upper ocean and ice and the warm intermediate Atlantic Water of the Arctic Ocean. This indicator provides a measure of the vulnerability of sea i...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e https://doaj.org/article/a61c245019934e2ab30dd82424f83436 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a61c245019934e2ab30dd82424f83436 2023-09-05T13:16:07+02:00 Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change Igor V Polyakov Andrey V Pnyushkov Eddy C Carmack 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e https://doaj.org/article/a61c245019934e2ab30dd82424f83436 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/a61c245019934e2ab30dd82424f83436 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 13, Iss 12, p 125008 (2018) Arctic Ocean halocline stability climate change indicators Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e 2023-08-13T00:37:31Z In this study, we propose a new Arctic climate change indicator based on the strength of the Arctic halocline, a porous barrier between the cold and fresh upper ocean and ice and the warm intermediate Atlantic Water of the Arctic Ocean. This indicator provides a measure of the vulnerability of sea ice to upward heat fluxes from the ocean interior, as well as the efficiency of mixing affecting carbon and nutrient exchanges. It utilizes the well-accepted calculation of available potential energy (APE), which integrates anomalies of potential density from the surface downwards through the surface mixed layer to the base of the halocline. Regional APE contrasts are striking and show a strengthening of stratification in the Amerasian Basin (AB) and an overall weakening in the Eurasian Basin (EB). In contrast, Arctic-wide time series of APE is not reflective of these inter-basin contrasts. The use of two time series of APE—AB and EB—as an indicator of Arctic Ocean climate change provides a powerful tool for detecting and monitoring transition of the Arctic Ocean towards a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean. This new, straightforward climate indicator can be used to inform both the scientific community and the broader public about changes occurring in the Arctic Ocean interior and their potential impacts on the state of the ice cover, the productivity of marine ecosystems and mid-latitude weather. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Environmental Research Letters 13 12 125008 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Ocean halocline stability climate change indicators Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Ocean halocline stability climate change indicators Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Igor V Polyakov Andrey V Pnyushkov Eddy C Carmack Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
topic_facet |
Arctic Ocean halocline stability climate change indicators Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
In this study, we propose a new Arctic climate change indicator based on the strength of the Arctic halocline, a porous barrier between the cold and fresh upper ocean and ice and the warm intermediate Atlantic Water of the Arctic Ocean. This indicator provides a measure of the vulnerability of sea ice to upward heat fluxes from the ocean interior, as well as the efficiency of mixing affecting carbon and nutrient exchanges. It utilizes the well-accepted calculation of available potential energy (APE), which integrates anomalies of potential density from the surface downwards through the surface mixed layer to the base of the halocline. Regional APE contrasts are striking and show a strengthening of stratification in the Amerasian Basin (AB) and an overall weakening in the Eurasian Basin (EB). In contrast, Arctic-wide time series of APE is not reflective of these inter-basin contrasts. The use of two time series of APE—AB and EB—as an indicator of Arctic Ocean climate change provides a powerful tool for detecting and monitoring transition of the Arctic Ocean towards a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean. This new, straightforward climate indicator can be used to inform both the scientific community and the broader public about changes occurring in the Arctic Ocean interior and their potential impacts on the state of the ice cover, the productivity of marine ecosystems and mid-latitude weather. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Igor V Polyakov Andrey V Pnyushkov Eddy C Carmack |
author_facet |
Igor V Polyakov Andrey V Pnyushkov Eddy C Carmack |
author_sort |
Igor V Polyakov |
title |
Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
title_short |
Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
title_full |
Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
title_fullStr |
Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
title_sort |
stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e https://doaj.org/article/a61c245019934e2ab30dd82424f83436 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Sea ice |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 13, Iss 12, p 125008 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/a61c245019934e2ab30dd82424f83436 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaec1e |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
125008 |
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1776197831064813568 |