Ice Core Evidence for Antarctic Sea Ice Decline Since the 1950s

Science ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 302 (5648) ◽  
pp. 1203-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. J. Curran
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Ice Decline ◽  
The 1950S

scholarly journals Covariation of Sea ice and methanesulphonic acid in Wilhelm II Land, East Antarctica

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 429-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette F.M. Foster ◽  
Mark A.J. Curran ◽  
Barbara T. Smith ◽  
Tas D. Van Ommen ◽  
Vin I. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Ice Decline ◽  
Local Law

AbstractSea ice plays an important role in ocean–atmosphere heat exchange, global albedo and the marine ecosystem. Knowledge of variation in Sea-ice extent is essential in order to understand past climates, and to model possible future climate Scenarios. This paper presents results from a Short firn core Spanning 15 years collected from near Mount Brown, Wilhelm II Land, East Antarctica. Variations of methanesulphonic acid (MSA) at Mount Brown were positively correlated with Sea-ice extent from the coastal region Surrounding Mount Brown (60–120˚ E) and from around the entire Antarctic coast (0–360˚ E). Previous results from Law Dome identified this MSA–sea-ice relationship and proposed it as an Antarctic Sea-ice proxy (Curran and others, 2003), with the Strongest results found for the local Law Dome region. Our data provide Supporting evidence for the Law Dome proxy (at another Site in East Antarctica), but a deeper Mount Brown ice core is required to confirm the Sea-ice decline Suggested by Curran and others (2003). Results also indicate that this deeper record may also provide a more circum-Antarctic Sea-ice proxy.

scholarly journals An emerging technique: multi-ice-core multi-parameter correlations with Antarctic sea-ice extent

2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (57) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon B. Sneed ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
Daniel A. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Parameter Study ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Siple Dome

AbstractUsing results stemming from the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE) ice-core array plus data from ice cores from the South Pole and Siple Dome we investigate the use of sodium (Na+), non-sea-salt sulfate (nssSO42–) and methylsulfonate (MS–) as proxies for Antarctic sea-ice extent (SIE). Maximum and mean annual chemistry concentrations for these three species correlate significantly with maximum, mean and minimum annual SIE, offering more information and clarification than single ice-core and single species approaches. Significant correlations greater than 90% exist between Na+ and maximum SIE; nssSO42– with minimum and mean SIE; and MS– with mean SIE. Correlations with SIE within large geographic regions are in the same direction for all ice-core sites for Na+ and nssSO42– but not MS–. All ice cores display an SIE correlation with nssSO42– and MS–, but not all correlate with Na+. This multi-core multi-parameter study provides the initial step in determining which chemical species can be used reliably and in which regions as a building block for embedding other ice-core records. Once established, the resulting temporal and spatial matrix can be used to relate ice extents, atmospheric patterns, biological productivity and site conditions.

scholarly journals Antarctic sea ice decline delayed well into the 21st century in a high-resolution climate projection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Rackow ◽  
Sergey Danilov ◽  
Helge F. Goessling ◽  
Hartmut H. Hellmer ◽  
Dmitry V. Sein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Ice Decline

<p>Despite ongoing global warming and strong sea ice decline in the Arctic, the sea ice extent around the Antarctic continent has not declined during the satellite era since 1979. This is in stark contrast to existing climate models that tend to show a strong negative sea ice trend for the same period; hence the confidence in projected Antarctic sea-ice changes is considered to be low. In the years since 2016, there has been significantly lower Antarctic sea ice extent, which some consider a sign of imminent change; however, others have argued that sea ice extent is expected to regress to the weak decadal trend in the near future.</p><p>In this presentation, we show results from climate change projections with a new climate model that allows the simulation of mesoscale eddies in dynamically active ocean regions in a computationally efficient way. We find that the high-resolution configuration (HR) favours periods of stable Antarctic sea ice extent in September as observed over the satellite era. Sea ice is not projected to decline well into the 21<sup>st</sup> century in the HR simulations, which is similar to the delaying effect of, e.g., added glacial melt water in recent studies. The HR ocean configurations simulate an ocean heat transport that responds differently to global warming and is more efficient at moderating the anthropogenic warming of the Southern Ocean. As a consequence, decrease of Antarctic sea ice extent is significantly delayed, in contrast to what existing coarser-resolution climate models predict.</p><p>Other explanations why current models simulate a non-observed decline of Antarctic sea-ice have been put forward, including the choice of included sea ice physics and underestimated simulated trends in westerly winds. Our results provide an alternative mechanism that might be strong enough to explain the gap between modeled and observed trends alone.</p>

scholarly journals Chlorophyllain Antarctic sea ice from historical ice core data

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (21) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Meiners ◽  
M. Vancoppenolle ◽  
S. Thanassekos ◽  
G. S. Dieckmann ◽  
D. N. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Core Data ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice

scholarly journals Surface properties and processes of perennial Antarctic sea ice in summer

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (159) ◽  
pp. 613-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Haas ◽  
David N. Thomas ◽  
Jörg Bareiss
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Temperature Gradients ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Heuristic Model ◽  
Initial Formation ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Upward Growth ◽  
Standing Stocks

AbstractIce-core and snow data from the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell Seas, Antarctica, show that the formation of superimposed ice and the development of seawater-filled gap layers with high algal standing stocks is typical of the perennial sea ice in summer. The coarse-grained and dense snow had salinities mostly below 0.1‰. A layer of fresh superimposed ice had a mean thickness of 0.04–0.12 m. Gap layers 0.04–0.08 m thick extended downwards from 0.02 to 0.14 m below the water level. These gaps were populated by diatom standing stocks up to 439 μg L−1 chlorophyll a. We propose a comprehensive heuristic model of summer processes, where warming and the reversal of temperature gradients cause major transformations in snow and ice properties. The warming also causes the reopening of incompletely frozen slush layers caused by flood-freeze cycles during winter. Alternatively, superimposed ice forms at the cold interface between snow and slush in the case of flooding with negative freeboard. Combined, these explain the initial formation of gap layers by abiotic means alone. The upward growth of superimposed ice above the water level competes with a steady submergence of floes due to bottom and internal melting and accumulation of snow.

scholarly journals South Pole Ice Core Reveals History of Antarctic Sea Ice

Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
South Pole ◽  
Permanent Record ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Trace Back ◽  
History Of

Every summer, most of the sea ice near Antarctica melts away, but its saltiness leaves a permanent record that scientists can trace back for millennia.

scholarly journals An ice-core record of Antarctic sea-ice extent in the southern Indian Ocean for the past 300 years

2015 ◽  
Vol 56 (69) ◽  
pp. 451-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Xiao ◽  
T. Dou ◽  
S.B. Sneed ◽  
R. Li ◽  
I. Allison
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Southern Indian Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core Record ◽  
Decadal Variations

AbstractThe differing response of ice extent in the Arctic and Antarctic to global average temperature change, over approximately the last three decades, highlights the importance of reconstructing long-term sea-ice history. Here, using high-resolution ice-core records of methane-sulfonate (MS–) from the East Antarctic ice sheet in Princess Elizabeth Land, we reconstruct southern Indian Ocean sea-ice extent (SIE) for the sector 62–92° E for the period AD 1708–2000. Annual MS– concentration positively correlates in this sector with satellite-derived SIE for the period 1979–2000 (r2 = 0.25, P < 0.02). The 293 year MS– record of proxy SIE shows multi-decadal variations, with large decreases occurring in two warm intervals during the Little Ice Age, and during the 1940s. It is very likely that the global temperature is the controlling factor of Antarctic sea-ice variation at the centennial scale, although there has been a change in phase between them in recent decades.

scholarly journals Antarctic Sea Ice Proxies from Marine and Ice Core Archives Suitable for Reconstructing Sea Ice over the Past 2000 Years

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth R. Thomas ◽  
Claire S. Allen ◽  
Johan Etourneau ◽  
Amy C. F. King ◽  
Mirko Severi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Past ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Past 2000 Years

Dramatic changes in sea ice have been observed in both poles in recent decades. However, the observational period for sea ice is short, and the climate models tasked with predicting future change in sea ice struggle to capture the current Antarctic trends. Paleoclimate archives, from marine sedimentary records and coastal Antarctic ice cores, provide a means of understanding sea ice variability and its drivers over decadal to centennial timescales. In this study, we collate published records of Antarctic sea ice over the past 2000 years (2 ka). We evaluate the current proxies and explore the potential of combining marine and ice core records to produce multi-archive reconstructions. Despite identifying 92 sea ice reconstructions, the spatial and temporal resolution is only sufficient to reconstruct circum-Antarctic sea ice during the 20th century, not the full 2 ka. Our synthesis reveals a 90 year trend of increasing sea ice in the Ross Sea and declining sea ice in the Bellingshausen, comparable with observed trends since 1979. Reconstructions in the Weddell Sea, the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean reveal small negative trends in sea ice during the 20th century (1900–1990), in contrast to the observed sea ice expansion in these regions since 1979.

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