AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Editors' Highlight

Perennial sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has reduced rapidly

Recent observations have indicated more rapid decreases in sea ice cover compared with the summer ice reduction rate of 7.8% per decade since the 1970s. A diminished ice cover may profoundly affect the Arctic environment, commerce, resource development, and marine operations. Nghiem et al. (2006) monitored sea ice over the Arctic Ocean using scatterometer data acquired from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite. Between 2004 and 2005, they found that the extent of perennial sea ice (ice that persists from year to year) in the eastern Arctic Ocean (0°–180°E) decreased by nearly one half, while the western Arctic Ocean (1°–180°W) had a slight gain in ice extent. These changes in perennial ice extent resulted in a net decrease of 720,000 km², about the size of Texas. Data collected in April 2006 showed that perennial ice extent in the eastern Arctic Ocean had depleted by 70% compared with satellite observations in October 2005. The authors noted that as sea ice cover continued to reduce, the surrounding ocean would absorb more solar radiation, further accelerating ice melt.

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