The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange

• Published in: Nature Climate Change
• Main Authors: Parmentier, Frans-Jan, Christensen, Torben, Sorensen, Lise Lotte, Rysgaard, Soren, McGuire, A. David, Miller, Paul, Walker, Donald A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2013
• Subjects: Physical Geography; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Climate change; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3932293; https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1784

In September 2012, Arctic sea-ice extent plummeted to a new record low: two times lower than the 1979-2000 average. Often, record lows in sea-ice cover are hailed as an example of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Less apparent, however, are the implications of reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean for marine-atmosphere CO2 exchange. Sea-ice decline has been connected to increasing air temperatures at high latitudes. Temperature is a key controlling factor in the terrestrial exchange of CO2 and methane, and therefore the greenhouse-gas balance of the Arctic. Despite the large potential for feedbacks, many studies do not connect the diminishing sea-ice extent with changes in the interaction of the marine and terrestrial Arctic with the atmosphere. In this Review, we assess how current understanding of the Arctic Ocean and high-latitude ecosystems can be used to predict the impact of a lower sea-ice cover on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange.