Features of changes in the sea ice and snow cover extents associated with temperature changes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in recent decades.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Parfenova ◽  
Igor I. Mokhov
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Northern And Southern Hemispheres

<p>Quantitative estimates of the relationship between the interannual variability of Antarctic and Arctic sea ice and changes in the surface temperature in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres using satellitedata, observational data and reanalysis data for the last four decades (1980-2019) are obtained. The previously noted general increase in the Antarctic sea ice extent (up to 2016) (according to satellite data available only since the late 1970s), happening simultaneously with global warming and rapid decrease in the Arctic sea ice extent, is associated with the regional manifestation of natural climate fluctuations with periods of up to several decades. The results of correlation and crosswavelet analysis indicate significant coherence and negative correlation of hemispheric surface temperature with not only Arctic,but also Antarctic sea ice extent in recent decades.</p><p>Seasonal and regional peculiarities of snow cover sensitivity to temperature regime changes in the Northern Hemisphere are noted with an assessment of changes in recent decades. Peculiarities of snow cover variability in Eurasia and North America are presented. In particular, the peculiarities of changes in snow cover during the autumn seasons are noted.</p>

scholarly journals Relationship of the Extent of Antarctic and Arctic Ice with Temperature Changes, 1979–2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 496 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
I. I. Mokhov ◽  
M. R. Parfenova
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Cross Wavelet Analysis

Abstract Quantitative estimates of the relationship between interannual variations in the extent of Antarctic and Arctic sea ice and changes in the surface air temperature in the Northern and Southern hemispheres are obtained using satellite, ground-based, and reanalysis data for the past four decades (1980–2019). It is shown that the previously noted general increase in the extent of Antarctic sea ice observed until recent years from satellite data (available only since the late 1970s) over the background global warming and a rapid decrease in the extent of Arctic sea ice is associated with a regional decrease in the surface temperature at Antarctic latitudes from the end of the 1970s. This is a result of regional manifestation of natural climate variations with periods of up to several decades against the background of global secular warming with a relatively weak temperature trend over the ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 2016, a sharp decrease in the extent of Antarctic sea ice in the Southern Ocean has been observed. The results of the correlation and cross-wavelet analysis indicate significant coherence and negative correlation with the surface temperature of the extent of sea ice in recent decades, not only in the Arctic, but also in the Antarctic.

The relative roles of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice loss in the response to greenhouse warming

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Hay ◽  
Paul Kusnher
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Climate Model Simulations ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice Loss

<p>Antarctic sea ice has gradually increased in extent over the forty-year-long satellite record, in contrast with the clear decrease in sea-ice extent seen in the Arctic over the same time period. However, state-of-the-art climate models ubiquitously project Antarctic sea-ice to decrease over the coming century, much as they do for Arctic sea-ice. Several recent years have also seen record low Antarctic sea-ice. It is therefore of interest to understand what the climate response to Antarctic sea-ice loss will be. </p><p>We have carried out new fully coupled climate model simulations to assess the response to sea-ice loss in either hemisphere separately or coincidentally under different albedo parameter settings to determine the relative importance of each. By perturbing the albedo of the snow overlying the sea ice and the albedo of the bare sea ice, we obtain a suite of simulations to assess the linearity and additivity of sea-ice loss. We find the response to sea-ice loss in each hemisphere exhibits a high degree of additivity, and can simply be decomposed into responses due to loss in each hemisphere separately. We find that the response to Antarctic sea-ice loss exceeds that of Arctic sea-ice loss in the tropics, and that Antarctic sea-ice loss leads to statistically significant Arctic warming, while the opposite is not true.</p><p>With these new simulations and one in which CO<sub>2</sub> is instantaneously doubled , we can further characterize the response to sea-ice loss from each hemisphere using an extension to classical pattern scaling that includes three controlling parameters. This allows us to simultaneously compute the sensitivity patterns to Arctic sea-ice loss, Antarctic sea-ice loss, and to tropical warming. The statistically significant response to Antarctic sea-ice loss in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics is found to be mediated by tropical warming and small amounts of Arctic sea-ice loss.</p>

scholarly journals Brief communication: Increasing shortwave absorption over the Arctic Ocean is not balanced by trends in the Antarctic

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2111-2116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Katlein ◽  
Stefan Hendricks ◽  
Jeffrey Key
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. On the basis of a new, consistent, long-term observational satellite dataset we show that, despite the observed increase of sea ice extent in the Antarctic, absorption of solar shortwave radiation in the Southern Ocean poleward of 60° latitude is not decreasing. The observations hence show that the small increase in Antarctic sea ice extent does not compensate for the combined effect of retreating Arctic sea ice and changes in cloud cover, which both result in a total increase in solar shortwave energy deposited into the polar oceans.

scholarly journals Uncertainties in Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Associated with Different Atmospheric Reanalysis Datasets Using the CICE5 Model

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 361
Author(s):  
Su-Bong Lee ◽  
Baek-Min Kim ◽  
Jinro Ukita ◽  
Joong-Bae Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Arctic Sea

Reanalysis data are known to have relatively large uncertainties in the polar region than at lower latitudes. In this study, we used a single sea-ice model (Los Alamos’ CICE5) and three sets of reanalysis data to quantify the sensitivities of simulated Arctic sea ice area and volume to perturbed atmospheric forcings. The simulated sea ice area and thickness thus volume were clearly sensitive to the selection of atmospheric reanalysis data. Among the forcing variables, changes in radiative and sensible/latent heat fluxes caused significant amounts of sensitivities. Differences in sea-ice concentration and thickness were primarily caused by differences in downward shortwave and longwave radiations. 2-m air temperature also has a significant influence on year-to-year variability of the sea ice volume. Differences in precipitation affected the sea ice volume by causing changes in the insulation effect of snow-cover on sea ice. The diversity of sea ice extent and thickness responses due to uncertainties in atmospheric variables highlights the need to carefully evaluate reanalysis data over the Arctic region.

scholarly journals The early twentieth century warming and winter Arctic sea ice

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 2037-2057 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Semenov ◽  
M. Latif
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Surface Warming ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Arctic Sea

Abstract. The Arctic featured the strongest surface warming over the globe during the recent decades, and the temperature increase was accompanied by a rapid decline in sea ice extent. However, little is known about Arctic sea ice change during the Early Twentieth Century Warming (ETCW) during 1920–1940, also a period of a strong surface warming, both globally and in the Arctic. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of Arctic winter surface air temperature (SAT) to sea ice during 1875–2008 by means of simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) forced by estimates of the observed sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice concentration. The Arctic warming trend since the 1960s is very well reproduced by the model. In contrast, ETCW in the Arctic is hardly captured. This is consistent with the fact that the sea ice extent in the forcing data does not strongly vary during ETCW. AGCM simulations with observed SST but fixed sea ice reveal a strong dependence of winter SAT on sea ice extent. In particular, the warming during the recent decades is strongly underestimated by the model, if the sea ice extent does not decline and varies only seasonally. This suggests that a significant reduction of Arctic sea ice extent may have also accompanied the Early Twentieth Century Warming, pointing toward an important link between anomalous sea ice extent and Arctic surface temperature variability.

scholarly journals How does sea ice influence <i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O of Arctic precipitation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 5865-5876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Katrine Faber ◽  
Bo Møllesøe Vinther ◽  
Jesper Sjolte ◽  
Rasmus Anker Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Water Vapour ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Arctic Sea

Abstract. This study investigates how variations in Arctic sea ice and sea surface conditions influence δ18O of present-day Arctic precipitation. This is done using the model isoCAM3, an isotope-equipped version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model version 3. Four sensitivity experiments and one control simulation are performed with prescribed sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice. Each of the four experiments simulates the atmospheric and isotopic response to Arctic oceanic conditions for selected years after the beginning of the satellite era in 1979. Changes in sea ice extent and SSTs have different impacts in Greenland and the rest of the Arctic. The simulated changes in central Arctic sea ice do not influence δ18O of Greenland precipitation, only anomalies of Baffin Bay sea ice. However, this does not exclude the fact that simulations based on other sea ice and sea surface temperature distributions might yield changes in the δ18O of precipitation in Greenland. For the Arctic, δ18O of precipitation and water vapour is sensitive to local changes in sea ice and sea surface temperature and the changes in water vapour are surface based. Reduced sea ice extent yields more enriched isotope values, whereas increased sea ice extent yields more depleted isotope values. The distribution of the sea ice and sea surface conditions is found to be essential for the spatial distribution of the simulated changes in δ18O.

scholarly journals Comparing and contrasting the behaviour of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice over the 35 year period 1979-2013

2015 ◽  
Vol 56 (69) ◽  
pp. 18-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractWe examine the evolution of sea-ice extent (SIE) over both polar regions for 35 years from November 1978 to December 2013, as well as for the global total ice (Arctic plus Antarctic). Our examination confirms the ongoing loss of Arctic sea ice, and we find significant (p˂ 0.001) negative trends in all months, seasons and in the annual mean. The greatest rate of decrease occurs in September, and corresponds to a loss of 3 x 106 km2 over 35 years. The Antarctic shows positive trends in all seasons and for the annual mean (p˂0.01), with summer attaining a reduced significance (p˂0.10). Based on our longer record (which includes the remarkable year 2013) the positive Antarctic ice trends can no longer be considered ‘small’, and the positive trend in the annual mean of (15.29 ± 3.85) x 103 km2 a–1 is almost one-third of the magnitude of the Arctic annual mean decrease. The global annual mean SIE series exhibits a trend of (–35.29 ± 5.75) x 103 km2 a-1 (p<0.01). Finally we offer some thoughts as to why the SIE trends in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations differ from the observed Antarctic increases.

scholarly journals The early twentieth century warming and winter Arctic sea ice

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 1231-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Semenov ◽  
M. Latif
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Surface Warming ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Arctic Sea

Abstract. The Arctic has featured the strongest surface warming over the globe during the recent decades, and the temperature increase has been accompanied by a rapid decline in sea ice extent. However, little is known about Arctic sea ice change during the early twentieth century warming (ETCW) during 1920–1940, also a period of a strong surface warming, both globally and in the Arctic. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of Arctic winter surface air temperature (SAT) to sea ice during 1875–2008 by means of simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) forced by estimates of the observed sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice concentration. The Arctic warming trend since the 1960s is very well reproduced by the model. In contrast, ETCW in the Arctic is hardly captured. This is consistent with the fact that the sea ice extent in the forcing data does not strongly vary during ETCW. AGCM simulations with observed SST but fixed sea ice reveal a strong dependence of winter SAT on sea ice extent. In particular, the warming during the recent decades is strongly underestimated by the model, if the sea ice extent does not decline and varies only seasonally. This suggests that a significant reduction of winter Arctic sea ice extent may have also accompanied the early twentieth century warming, pointing toward an important link between anomalous sea ice extent and Arctic surface temperature variability.

scholarly journals Arctic Sea Ice Retreat in 2007 Follows Thinning Trend

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Lindsay ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
A. Schweiger ◽  
M. Steele ◽  
H. Stern
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Pacific Side ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract The minimum of Arctic sea ice extent in the summer of 2007 was unprecedented in the historical record. A coupled ice–ocean model is used to determine the state of the ice and ocean over the past 29 yr to investigate the causes of this ice extent minimum within a historical perspective. It is found that even though the 2007 ice extent was strongly anomalous, the loss in total ice mass was not. Rather, the 2007 ice mass loss is largely consistent with a steady decrease in ice thickness that began in 1987. Since then, the simulated mean September ice thickness within the Arctic Ocean has declined from 3.7 to 2.6 m at a rate of −0.57 m decade−1. Both the area coverage of thin ice at the beginning of the melt season and the total volume of ice lost in the summer have been steadily increasing. The combined impact of these two trends caused a large reduction in the September mean ice concentration in the Arctic Ocean. This created conditions during the summer of 2007 that allowed persistent winds to push the remaining ice from the Pacific side to the Atlantic side of the basin and more than usual into the Greenland Sea. This exposed large areas of open water, resulting in the record ice extent anomaly.

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