AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Editors' Highlight

Recent severe Arctic sea ice reduction is linked to inflows from the Pacific Ocean

Variability in Arctic sea ice extent, thickness, and movement is linked to ocean circulation, which affects the frequency of storms entering the Arctic Ocean and the pathways and amount of sea ice that outflows the system. Arctic sea ice reduction from this process is thought to be an indication of Arctic climate change; from 1996 to 1998, sea ice concentration in the Canada Basin decreased by more than half, without any observable recovery. Shimada et al. (2006) studied the spatial pattern of ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean and found that it is similar to the distribution of warm Pacific Summer Water (PSW) that interflows the southern Canada Basin. However, they found that increases in PSW temperature in the basin do not correlate with the temperature of PSW source water in the northeastern Bering Sea. Instead, the authors propose a feedback mechanism where the continual early winter delay in sea ice formation, which began in 1997–1998, reduced internal ice stresses and rigidity, allowing storm winds to more efficiently mix the upper ocean. This increased the flux of warm PSW into the basin.

View abstract

View full article (Subscription required)