State of the Arctic October 2006

• Main Authors: Richter-Menge, J., Overland, J., Proshutinsky, A., Romanovsky, V., Bengtsson, L., Brigham, L., Dyurgerov, M., Gascard, J.C., Gerland, S., Graversen, R., HaHaas, C., Karcher, M., Kuhry, P., Maslanik, J., Melling, H., Maslowski, W., Morison, J., Perovich, D., Przybylak, R., Rachold, V., Rigor, I., Shiklomanov, A., Stroeve, J., Walker, D., Walsh, J.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2006
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Svalbard; Bering Strait; Canada; Greenland; North Pole; East Siberian Sea; ACIA; Active layer thickness; Arctic Climate Impact Assessment; Beaufort Sea; glacier*; Ice; Ice Sheet; permafrost; Sea ice; Tundra
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/5; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usdeptcommercepub/article/1008/viewcontent/State_of_Arctic_2006.pdf

This State of the Arctic Report presents a review of recent data by an international group of scientists who developed a consensus on the information content and reliability. The report highlights data primarily from 2000 to 2005 with a first look at winter 2006, providing an update to some of the records of physical processes discussed in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA, 2004, 2005). Of particular note: • Atmospheric climate patterns are shifting (Fig. 1). The late winter/spring pattern for 2000–2005 had new hot spots in northeast Canada and the East Siberian Sea relative to 1980–1999. Late winter 2006, however, shows a return to earlier climate patterns, with warm temperatures in the extended region near Svalbard. • Ocean salinity and temperature profiles at the North Pole and in the Beaufort Sea, which changed abruptly in the 1990s, show that conditions since 2000 have relaxed toward the pre-1990 climatology, although 2001–2004 has seen an increase in northward ocean heat transport through Bering Strait (Fig. 2), which is thought to impact sea ice loss. • Sea ice extent continues to decrease. The sea ice extent in September 2005 was the minimum observed in summer during the satellite era (beginning in 1979), marking an unprecedented series of extreme ice extent minima beginning in 2002 (Fig. 3). The sea ice extent in March 2006 was also the minimum observed in winter during the satellite era. • Tundra vegetation greenness increased, primarily due to an increase in the abundance of shrubs. Boreal forest vegetation greenness decreased, possibly due to drought conditions (Fig. 4). • There is increasing interest in the stability of the Greenland ice sheet. The velocity of outlet glaciers increased in 2005 relative to 2000 and 1995, but uncertainty remains with regard to the total mass balance. • Permafrost temperatures continue to increase. However, data on changes in the active layer thickness (the relatively thin layer of ground between the surface and permafrost that undergoes seasonal freezing and ...