scholarly journals Sea Ice Assimilation into a Coupled Ocean-Sea Ice Adjoint Model of the Arctic Ocean

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolay V. Koldunov ◽  
Armin Köhl ◽  
Nuno Serra ◽  
Detlef Stammer
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Added Value ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. High-resolution satellite sea ice concentrations (SIC), together with several ocean parameters, are assimilated into a regional Arctic coupled ocean-sea ice model covering the period 2000–2008 using the adjoint method. There is substantial improvement in the representation of the SIC spatial distribution, in particular with respect to the position of the ice edge and to the concentrations in the central parts of the Arctic Ocean during summer months. Seasonal cycles of total Arctic sea ice area show an overall improvement. During summer months values of sea ice extent become underestimated, however, it is shown that this metric is not suitable to characterize the quality of the sea ice simulation, as the root-mean-square difference to the data is reduced in nearly all months and years. Along with the SIC the sea ice thickness fields also become closer to observations, providing added-value by the assimilation. Very sparse data in the Arctic ocean, corresponding to a very small contribution to the cost function, prevent sizable improvements of assimilated ocean variables, with the exception of the sea surface temperature. The bias between simulated and observed SIC decreases mainly due to corrections to the surface atmospheric temperature, while contributions of other control variables remain small.

scholarly journals Sea ice assimilation into a coupled ocean–sea ice model using its adjoint

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2265-2281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolay V. Koldunov ◽  
Armin Köhl ◽  
Nuno Serra ◽  
Detlef Stammer
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Added Value ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Sea Ice Thickness ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Ice Model

Abstract. Satellite sea ice concentrations (SICs), together with several ocean parameters, are assimilated into a regional Arctic coupled ocean–sea ice model covering the period of 2000–2008 using the adjoint method. There is substantial improvement in the representation of the SIC spatial distribution, in particular with respect to the position of the ice edge and to the concentrations in the central parts of the Arctic Ocean during summer months. Seasonal cycles of total Arctic sea ice area show an overall improvement. During summer months, values of sea ice extent (SIE) integrated over the model domain become underestimated compared to observations, but absolute differences of mean SIE to the data are reduced in nearly all months and years. Along with the SICs, the sea ice thickness fields also become closer to observations, providing added value by the assimilation. Very sparse ocean data in the Arctic, corresponding to a very small contribution to the cost function, prevent sizable improvements of assimilated ocean variables, with the exception of the sea surface temperature.

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.

scholarly journals The effect of Arctic sea-ice extent on the absorbed (net) solar flux at the surface, based on ISCCP-D2 cloud data for 1983–2007

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 777-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Matsoukas ◽  
N. Hatzianastassiou ◽  
A. Fotiadi ◽  
K. G. Pavlakis ◽  
I. Vardavas
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Solar Flux ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. We estimate the effect of the Arctic sea ice on the absorbed (net) solar flux using a radiative transfer model. Ice and cloud input data to the model come from satellite observations, processed by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and span the period July 1983–June 2007. The sea-ice effect on the solar radiation fluctuates seasonally with the solar flux and decreases interannually in synchronisation with the decreasing sea-ice extent. A disappearance of the Arctic ice cap during the sunlit period of the year would radically reduce the local albedo and cause an annually averaged 19.7 W m−2 increase in absorbed solar flux at the Arctic Ocean surface, or equivalently an annually averaged 0.55 W m−2 increase on the planetary scale. In the clear-sky scenario these numbers increase to 34.9 and 0.97 W m−2, respectively. A meltdown only in September, with all other months unaffected, increases the Arctic annually averaged solar absorption by 0.32 W m−2. We examined the net solar flux trends for the Arctic Ocean and found that the areas absorbing the solar flux more rapidly are the North Chukchi and Kara Seas, Baffin and Hudson Bays, and Davis Strait. The sensitivity of the Arctic absorbed solar flux on sea-ice extent and cloud amount was assessed. Although sea ice and cloud affect jointly the solar flux, we found little evidence of strong non-linearities.

scholarly journals The Arctic sea ice cover of 2016: a year of record-low highs and higher-than-expected lows

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alek A. Petty ◽  
Julienne C. Stroeve ◽  
Paul R. Holland ◽  
Linette N. Boisvert ◽  
Angela C. Bliss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. The Arctic sea ice cover of 2016 was highly noteworthy, as it featured record low monthly sea ice extents at the start of the year but a summer (September) extent that was higher than expected by most seasonal forecasts. Here we explore the 2016 Arctic sea ice state in terms of its monthly sea ice cover, placing this in the context of the sea ice conditions observed since 2000. We demonstrate the sensitivity of monthly Arctic sea ice extent and area estimates, in terms of their magnitude and annual rankings, to the ice concentration input data (using two widely used datasets) and to the averaging methodology used to convert concentration to extent (daily or monthly extent calculations). We use estimates of sea ice area over sea ice extent to analyse the relative “compactness” of the Arctic sea ice cover, highlighting anomalously low compactness in the summer of 2016 which contributed to the higher-than-expected September ice extent. Two cyclones that entered the Arctic Ocean during August appear to have driven this low-concentration/compactness ice cover but were not sufficient to cause more widespread melt-out and a new record-low September ice extent. We use concentration budgets to explore the regions and processes (thermodynamics/dynamics) contributing to the monthly 2016 extent/area estimates highlighting, amongst other things, rapid ice intensification across the central eastern Arctic through September. Two different products show significant early melt onset across the Arctic Ocean in 2016, including record-early melt onset in the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic. Our results also show record-late 2016 freeze-up in the central Arctic, North Atlantic and the Alaskan Arctic sector in particular, associated with strong sea surface temperature anomalies that appeared shortly after the 2016 minimum (October onwards). We explore the implications of this low summer ice compactness for seasonal forecasting, suggesting that sea ice area could be a more reliable metric to forecast in this more seasonal, “New Arctic”, sea ice regime.

scholarly journals Summer-to-Winter Sea-Ice Linkage between the Arctic Ocean and the Okhotsk Sea through Atmospheric Circulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 4971-4979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayo Ogi ◽  
Bunmei Taguchi ◽  
Meiji Honda ◽  
David G. Barber ◽  
Søren Rysgaard
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Okhotsk Sea ◽  
Regional Variability ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
East Siberian Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract Contemporary climate science seeks to understand the rate and magnitude of a warming global climate and how it impacts regional variability and teleconnections. One of the key drivers of regional climate is the observed reduction in end of summer sea-ice extent over the Arctic. Here the authors show that interannual variations between the September Arctic sea-ice concentration, especially in the East Siberian Sea, and the maximum Okhotsk sea-ice extent in the following winter are positively correlated, which is not explained by the recent warming trend only. An increase of sea ice both in the East Siberian Sea and the Okhotsk Sea and corresponding atmospheric patterns, showing a seesaw between positive anomalies of sea level pressures over the Arctic Ocean and negative anomalies over the midlatitudes, are related to cold anomalies over the high-latitude Eurasian continent. The patterns of atmospheric circulation and air temperatures are similar to those of the annually integrated Arctic Oscillation (AO). The negative annual AO forms colder anomalies in autumn sea surface temperatures both over the East Siberian Sea and the Okhotsk Sea, which causes heavy sea-ice conditions in both seas through season-to-season persistence.

scholarly journals Arctic sea-ice extent and its effect on the absorbed (net) solar flux at the surface, based on ISCCP-D2 cloud data for 1983–2007

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 21041-21072
Author(s):  
C. Matsoukas ◽  
N. Hatzianastassiou ◽  
A. Fotiadi ◽  
K. G. Pavlakis ◽  
I. Vardavas
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Solar Flux ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. We estimate the effect of the Arctic sea ice on the absorbed (net) solar flux using a radiation transfer model. Ice and cloud input data to the model come from satellite observations, processed by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and span the period July 1983–June 2007. The sea-ice effect on the solar radiation fluctuates seasonally with the solar flux and decreases interannually in synchronisation with the decreasing sea-ice extent. A disappearance of the Arctic ice cap during the sunlit period of the year would radically reduce the local albedo and cause a 19.7 W m−2 increase in absorbed solar flux at the Arctic Ocean surface, or equivalently a 0.55 W m−2 increase on the planetary scale. In the clear-sky scenario these numbers increase to 34.9 and 0.97 W m−2, respectively. A meltdown only in September, with all other months unaffected, increases the Arctic annually averaged solar absorption by 0.32 W m−2. We examined the net solar flux trends for the Arctic Ocean and found that the areas absorbing the solar flux more rapidly are the North Chukchi and Kara Seas, Buffin and Hudson Bays, and Davis Strait. The sensitivity of the Arctic absorbed solar flux on sea-ice extent and cloud amount was assessed. Although sea ice and cloud affect jointly the solar flux, we found little evidence of strong non-linearities.

scholarly journals The Arctic sea ice cover of 2016: A year of record low highs and higher than expected lows

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alek A. Petty ◽  
Julienne C. Stroeve ◽  
Paul R. Holland ◽  
Linette N. Boisvert ◽  
Angela C. Bliss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice Extent

Abstract. 2016 was an interesting year in the Arctic, with record low sea ice at the start of the year, but a summer (September) Arctic sea ice extent that was higher than expected by most seasonal forecasts. Here we explore the 2016 Arctic sea ice state in terms of its monthly sea ice cover, placing this in context of the sea ice conditions observed since 2000. We demonstrate the sensitivity of monthly Arctic sea ice extent and area estimates, in terms of their magnitude and annual rankings, to the ice concentration input data (using two widely used datasets) and to the methodology used to convert concentration to extent (daily or monthly extent calculations). We use estimates of sea ice area to analyse the relative 'compactness' of the Arctic sea ice cover, highlighting anomalously low compactness in the summer of 2016 which contributed to the higher than expected September ice extent. Two cyclones that entered the Arctic Ocean during August appear to have driven this low concentration/compactness ice cover, but were not sufficient to cause more widespread melt out and a new record low September ice extent. We use concentration budgets to explore the regions and processes (thermodynamics/dynamics) contributing to the monthly 2016 extent/area estimates highlighting, amongst other things, rapid ice intensification across the central eastern Arctic through September. Two different products show significant early melt onset across the Arctic Ocean in 2016, including record early melt onset in the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic. Our results also show record late 2016 freeze up in the Central Arctic, North Atlantic. and the Alaskan Arctic sector in particular, associated with strong sea surface temperature anomalies that appeared shortly after the 2016 minimum (October onwards). We explore the implications of this low summer ice compactness for seasonal forecasting, suggesting that sea ice area could be a more reliable metric to forecast in this more seasonal, 'New Arctic', sea ice regime.

scholarly journals Attribution of the Recent Winter Sea Ice Decline over the Atlantic Sector of the Arctic Ocean*

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 4027-4033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doo-Sun R. Park ◽  
Sukyoung Lee ◽  
Steven B. Feldstein
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Ir Radiation ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
Sea Ice Decline ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract Wintertime Arctic sea ice extent has been declining since the late twentieth century, particularly over the Atlantic sector that encompasses the Barents–Kara Seas and Baffin Bay. This sea ice decline is attributable to various Arctic environmental changes, such as enhanced downward infrared (IR) radiation, preseason sea ice reduction, enhanced inflow of warm Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean, and sea ice export. However, their relative contributions are uncertain. Utilizing ERA-Interim and satellite-based data, it is shown here that a positive trend of downward IR radiation accounts for nearly half of the sea ice concentration (SIC) decline during the 1979–2011 winter over the Atlantic sector. Furthermore, the study shows that the Arctic downward IR radiation increase is driven by horizontal atmospheric water flux and warm air advection into the Arctic, not by evaporation from the Arctic Ocean. These findings suggest that most of the winter SIC trends can be attributed to changes in the large-scale atmospheric circulations.

scholarly journals Cryospheric Impacts of Soviet River Diversion Schemes

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Holt ◽  
P. M. Kelly ◽  
B. S. G. Cherry
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Ice Concentration ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Impact

Soviet plans to divert water from rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean have led to research into the impact of a reduction in discharge on Arctic sea ice. We consider the mechanisms by which discharge reductions might affect sea-ice cover and then test various hypotheses related to these mechanisms. We find several large areas over which sea-ice concentration correlates significantly with variations in river discharge, supporting two particular hypotheses. The first hypothesis concerns the area where the initial impacts are likely to which is the Kara Sea. Reduced riverflow is associated occur, with decreased sea-ice concentration in October, at the time of ice formation. This is believed to be the result of decreased freshening of the surface layer. The second hypothesis concerns possible effects on the large-scale current system of the Arctic Ocean and, in particular, on the inflow of Atlantic and Pacific water. These effects occur as a result of changes in the strength of northward-flowing gradient currents associated with variations in river discharge. Although it is still not certain that substantial transfers of riverflow will take place, it is concluded that the possibility of significant cryospheric effects and, hence, large-scale climate impact should not be neglected.

scholarly journals Moisture transport from the Arctic: a characterization from a Lagrangian perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 659 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vázquez ◽  
R. Nieto ◽  
A. Drumond ◽  
L. Gimeno
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Moisture Transport ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Moisture Loss ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Moisture Supply

The Arctic Ocean has suffered extreme reductions in sea ice in recent decades, and these observed changes suggest implications in terms of moisture transport. The Arctic region is a net sink of moisture in terms of the total hydrological cycle, however, its role as a moisture source for specific regions has not been extensively studied. Our results show that 80% of the moisture supply from the Arctic contributes to precipitation over itself, representing about 8% of the global moisture supply to the Arctic, the remaining 20% is distributed in the surrounding. A reduction in the sea ice extent could make the Arctic Ocean a slightly higher source of moisture to itself or to the surrounding areas. The analysis of the areas affected by Arctic moisture transport is important for establishing those areas vulnerable to change in a framework of a growing sea ice decline. To this end, the Lagrangian model FLEXPART was used in this work to establish the main sinks for the Arctic Ocean, focusing on the moisture transport from this region. The results suggest that most of the moisture loss occurs locally over the Arctic Ocean itself, especially in summer. Some moisture contribution from the Arctic Ocean to continental areas in North America and Eurasia is also noted in autumn and winter especially from Central Arctic, the East Siberian Sea, the Laptev, Kara, Barents, East Greenland and Bering Seas, and the Sea of Okhotsk.

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