American Geophysical Union Become an AGU Member
Subscribe to AGU Journals		 AGU Home AGU Publications

Read Full Article (file size: 403201 bytes)    Cited by

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L06501, doi:10.1029/2007GL032716, 2008

Decrease of sea ice thickness at Hopen, Barents Sea, during 1966–2007

S. Gerland

Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, Tromsø, Norway


A. H. H. Renner

Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, Tromsø, Norway


F. Godtliebsen

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway


D. Divine

Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, Tromsø, Norway


T. B. Løyning

Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, Tromsø, Norway


Abstract

Seasonal fast ice thickness at the island of Hopen (Barents Sea) was monitored over 40 years. Sea ice thickness variability as a climate indicator provides more quantitative information on the state of the ice cover than solely sea ice extent. Usually, starting to form just before December Hopen fast ice reaches maximum thickness in May (on average 0.99 m), before the ice starts to decay. Swell, currents, and winds interrupt the fast ice development at Hopen during several of the winters observed, leading to ice removal and new ice formation. Since 2000, no ice thicker than 1.0 m was observed. We find a trend in the ice thickness anomalies of −0.11 m per decade, coinciding with decreasing seasonal maximum ice thickness, and an increase in local surface air and water temperatures. This is consistent with the decreasing sea ice extent in the Barents Sea and the entire Arctic.

Received 19 November 2007; accepted 12 February 2007; published 20 March 2008.

Keywords: sea ice thickness; Arctic; cryospheric change.

Index Terms: 0750 Cryosphere: Sea ice (4540); 0762 Cryosphere: Mass balance (1218, 1223); 1621 Global Change: Cryospheric change (0776); 9315 Geographic Location: Arctic region (0718, 4207).

Read Full Article (file size: 403201 bytes)    Cited by

Citation: Gerland, S., A. H. H. Renner, F. Godtliebsen, D. Divine, and T. B. Løyning (2008), Decrease of sea ice thickness at Hopen, Barents Sea, during 1966–2007, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L06501, doi:10.1029/2007GL032716.