Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009
Observations of Antarctic sea ice thickness are sporadic in space and time, hindering knowledge of its variability. A proxy based on stage of development data from the National Ice Center (NIC) weekly operational charts is used to create a high-resolution time series of sea ice concentration, thickn...
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fttexasamuniv:oai:oaktrust.library.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-10111 2023-07-16T03:54:32+02:00 Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 Morgan, Benjamin Patrick Orsi, Alejandro H. Stoessel, Achim Klein, Andrew G. August 2011 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-10111 en_US eng https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-10111 Antarctic sea ice volume thickness area extent Southern Ocean atmospheric variability SAM ENSO Thesis text 2011 fttexasamuniv 2023-06-27T22:22:23Z Observations of Antarctic sea ice thickness are sporadic in space and time, hindering knowledge of its variability. A proxy based on stage of development data from the National Ice Center (NIC) weekly operational charts is used to create a high-resolution time series of sea ice concentration, thickness and volume for 2000-2009. Record-length mean thickness and volume of Antarctic sea ice are 66.7 cm and 7.7 x10^3 km^3. The mean growth and decay seasons in the Southern Ocean and in the Ross sector are 210 days and 155 days, but at least at least one week shorter (growth) and longer (decay) in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen sector. Over 90% of the Antarctic continental shelf is covered with sea ice for 3-5 months, and for 2 to 4 months longer periods in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen and Ross sectors. Yearly mean sea ice area (extent) in the Southern Ocean increased at a rate of 0.71 x 10^6 km^2/decade (0.70 x 10^6 km^2/decade), equivalent to a 7.7 %/decade (6.3 %/decade) rise. A comparable trend of 9.1 %/decade (8.5 %/decade) is estimated in the Ross sector, at 0.21 x 10^6 km2/decade (0.23 x 10^6 km2/decade). The opposite trend is found in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen sector: a -0.15 x 10^6 km^2/decade (-0.17 x 10^6 km^2/decade) decline, or -14.6 %/decade (-13.4 %/decade). The estimated annual increase of Antarctic sea ice thickness is 22.6 cm/decade (49.2 %/decade) and of volume is 3.78 x 10^3 km^3/decade (68.3 %/decade). The Ross sector showed similar trends for thickness, at 23.8 cm/decade (47.0 %/decade), and volume, at 1.11 x 10^3 km^3/decade (75.8 %/decade). Thickness has increased in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen sector, 20.7 cm/decade (44.8 %/decade), but with a less pronounced volume rise of 0.17 x10^3 km^3/decade (26.0 %/decade). Monthly sea ice thickness anomalies show a weak response to the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index. A strong positive response is observed in 2008 when a negative a negative ENSO index compounded to a positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index. Therefore the estimated increase of ... Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean Texas A&M University Digital Repository Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Texas A&M University Digital Repository |
op_collection_id |
fttexasamuniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctic sea ice volume thickness area extent Southern Ocean atmospheric variability SAM ENSO |
spellingShingle |
Antarctic sea ice volume thickness area extent Southern Ocean atmospheric variability SAM ENSO Morgan, Benjamin Patrick Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 |
topic_facet |
Antarctic sea ice volume thickness area extent Southern Ocean atmospheric variability SAM ENSO |
description |
Observations of Antarctic sea ice thickness are sporadic in space and time, hindering knowledge of its variability. A proxy based on stage of development data from the National Ice Center (NIC) weekly operational charts is used to create a high-resolution time series of sea ice concentration, thickness and volume for 2000-2009. Record-length mean thickness and volume of Antarctic sea ice are 66.7 cm and 7.7 x10^3 km^3. The mean growth and decay seasons in the Southern Ocean and in the Ross sector are 210 days and 155 days, but at least at least one week shorter (growth) and longer (decay) in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen sector. Over 90% of the Antarctic continental shelf is covered with sea ice for 3-5 months, and for 2 to 4 months longer periods in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen and Ross sectors. Yearly mean sea ice area (extent) in the Southern Ocean increased at a rate of 0.71 x 10^6 km^2/decade (0.70 x 10^6 km^2/decade), equivalent to a 7.7 %/decade (6.3 %/decade) rise. A comparable trend of 9.1 %/decade (8.5 %/decade) is estimated in the Ross sector, at 0.21 x 10^6 km2/decade (0.23 x 10^6 km2/decade). The opposite trend is found in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen sector: a -0.15 x 10^6 km^2/decade (-0.17 x 10^6 km^2/decade) decline, or -14.6 %/decade (-13.4 %/decade). The estimated annual increase of Antarctic sea ice thickness is 22.6 cm/decade (49.2 %/decade) and of volume is 3.78 x 10^3 km^3/decade (68.3 %/decade). The Ross sector showed similar trends for thickness, at 23.8 cm/decade (47.0 %/decade), and volume, at 1.11 x 10^3 km^3/decade (75.8 %/decade). Thickness has increased in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen sector, 20.7 cm/decade (44.8 %/decade), but with a less pronounced volume rise of 0.17 x10^3 km^3/decade (26.0 %/decade). Monthly sea ice thickness anomalies show a weak response to the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index. A strong positive response is observed in 2008 when a negative a negative ENSO index compounded to a positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index. Therefore the estimated increase of ... |
author2 |
Orsi, Alejandro H. Stoessel, Achim Klein, Andrew G. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Morgan, Benjamin Patrick |
author_facet |
Morgan, Benjamin Patrick |
author_sort |
Morgan, Benjamin Patrick |
title |
Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 |
title_short |
Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 |
title_full |
Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 |
title_fullStr |
Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Analysis of Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness: A Newly Created Database for 2000-2009 |
title_sort |
analysis of antarctic sea ice thickness: a newly created database for 2000-2009 |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-10111 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-10111 |
_version_ |
1771540793340723200 |