scholarly journals Impact of rapid sea-ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean on the rate of ocean acidification

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2365-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yamamoto ◽  
M. Kawamiya ◽  
A. Ishida ◽  
Y. Yamanaka ◽  
S. Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Reduction Rate ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Aragonite Saturation ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Arctic Surface ◽  
Sea Ice Reduction

Abstract. The largest pH decline and widespread undersaturation with respect to aragonite in this century due to uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the Arctic Ocean have been projected. The reductions in pH and aragonite saturation state in the Arctic Ocean have been caused by the melting of sea ice as well as by an increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Therefore, future projections of pH and aragonite saturation in the Arctic Ocean will be affected by how rapidly the reduction in sea ice occurs. The observed recent Arctic sea-ice loss has been more rapid than projected by many of the climate models that contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. In this study, the impact of sea-ice reduction rate on projected pH and aragonite saturation state in the Arctic surface waters was investigated. Reductions in pH and aragonite saturation were calculated from the outputs of two versions of an Earth system model with different sea-ice reduction rates under similar CO2 emission scenarios. The newer model version projects that Arctic summer ice-free condition will be achieved by the year 2040, and the older version predicts ice-free condition by 2090. The Arctic surface water was projected to be undersaturated with respect to aragonite in the annual mean when atmospheric CO2 concentration reaches 513 (606) ppm in year 2046 (2056) in new (old) version. At an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 520 ppm, the maximum differences in pH and aragonite saturation state between the two versions were 0.1 and 0.21 respectively. The analysis showed that the decreases in pH and aragonite saturation state due to rapid sea-ice reduction were caused by increases in both CO2 uptake and freshwater input. Thus, the reductions in pH and aragonite saturation state in the Arctic surface waters are significantly affected by the difference in future projections for sea-ice reduction rate. Our results suggest that the future reductions in pH and aragonite saturation state could be significantly faster than previously projected if the sea-ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean keeps its present pace.

scholarly journals Impact of rapid sea-ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean on the rate of ocean acidification

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 10617-10644
Author(s):  
A. Yamamoto ◽  
M. Kawamiya ◽  
A. Ishida ◽  
Y. Yamanaka ◽  
S. Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Aragonite Saturation ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Arctic Surface ◽  
Sea Ice Reduction

Abstract. The largest pH decline and widespread undersaturation with respect to aragonite in this century due to uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the Arctic Ocean have been projected. The reductions in pH and aragonite saturation state have been caused primarily by an increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, in a previous study, simulations with and without warming showed that these reductions in the Arctic Ocean also advances due to the melting of sea ice caused by global warming. Therefore, future projections of pH and aragonite saturation in the Arctic Ocean will be affected by how rapidly the reduction in sea ice occurs. In this study, the impact of sea-ice reduction rate on projected pH and aragonite saturation state in the Arctic surface waters was investigated. Reductions in pH and aragonite saturation were calculated from the outputs of two versions of an earth system model (ESM) with different sea-ice reduction rates under similar CO2 emission scenarios. The newer model version projects that Arctic summer ice-free condition will be achieved by the year 2040, and the older version predicts ice-free condition by 2090. The Arctic surface water was projected to be undersaturated with respect to aragonite in the annual mean when atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 480 (550) ppm in year 2040 (2048) in new (old) version. At an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 520 ppm, the maximum differences in pH and aragonite saturation state between the two versions were 0.08 and 0.15, respectively. The analysis showed that the decreases in pH and aragonite saturation state due to rapid sea-ice reduction were caused by increases in both CO2 uptake and freshwater input. Thus, the reductions in pH and aragonite saturation state in the Arctic surface waters are significantly affected by the difference in future projections for sea-ice reduction rate. The critical CO2 concentration, at which the Arctic surface waters become undersaturated with respect to aragonite on annual mean bias, would be lower by 70 ppm in the version with the rapid sea-ice reduction.

scholarly journals History of sea ice in the Arctic basin: Lessons from the past for future

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-234
Author(s):  
I. I. Borzenkova
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Interglacial Period ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Perennial Ice

The process of the sea ice formation in the Arctic Ocean is analyzed for the period of the last 65 million years, i.e. from the Paleocene to the present time. Appearance of sea ice in the high latitudes is demonstrated to be caused by the negative trend in global temperatures due to decreasing of the CO2 concentration in the ancient atmosphere. Formation of seasonal and perennial ice cover in the limited area near the Pole could take place during the mid-Neogene period, about 12–13 Ma ago. However, areas of the sea icing could be obviously changed for this time during periods of the climate warming and cooling. Permanent sea ice had been formed in the early Pleistocene, i.e. about 2.0–1.8 Ma ago only. Paleoclimatic reconstructions, based on the indirect data and modeling simulation for the Holocene optimum (10–6 ka ago) and for the Last Interglacial period (the isotopic substage in the marine cross-section 5e, about 125–127 ka ago) had shown that rising of global temperatures by 1.0–1.5 °C resulted in strong decreasing of the sea ice area, and the perennial ice cover became the seasonal one. Relatively small changes in the incoming solar radiation originating during the spring-summer time due to the orbital factors played the role of a trigger for onset of the melting process. Further on, the process could be enhanced owing to difference in the albedo between the ice cover and open water. Recently, the rapid shortening of the sea ice area is noted, and in some parts of the Arctic Ocean the area is twice cut down as compared with the normal. In 2015, the record low area of the winter sea ice was observed, and therewith the maximum of the ice area shifted to the earlier period (by 15 days) as compared with the period of 1981–2010. The winter fluctuations of the sea ice areas are as much important as the summer ones, since they are the best indicators of the present-day global warming. Thus, it can be supposed that some mechanism of replacing the perennial sea ice by the seasonal ones has been started up, that is the natural process of transition from seasonal ices to the next stage that is the ice-free Arctic. On the assumption that increasing of the CO2 concentration will continue despite the efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the radiation forcing will approach to doubling of the CO2 content, one of the scenarios of the past can be realized now.

Enhancement/reduction of biological pump depends on ocean circulation in the sea-ice reduction regions of the Arctic Ocean

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeto Nishino ◽  
Takashi Kikuchi ◽  
Michiyo Yamamoto-Kawai ◽  
Yusuke Kawaguchi ◽  
Toru Hirawake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Biological Pump ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice Reduction

scholarly journals Factors Regulating Nitrification in the Arctic Ocean: Potential Impact of Sea Ice Reduction and Ocean Acidification

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1085-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuhei Shiozaki ◽  
Minoru Ijichi ◽  
Amane Fujiwara ◽  
Akiko Makabe ◽  
Shigeto Nishino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Sea Ice Reduction

scholarly journals Anomalous sea-ice reduction in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean during summer 2010

Polar Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Kawaguchi ◽  
Jennifer K. Hutchings ◽  
Takashi Kikuchi ◽  
James H. Morison ◽  
Richard A. Krishfield
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Eurasian Basin ◽  
Sea Ice Reduction
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