Atmospheric forcing on the drift of Arctic sea ice in 1989–2009

Vihma, Timo; Tisler, Priit; Uotila, Petteri

doi:10.1029/2011gl050118

Cited by 66 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Stroeve et al (2012) argue that this is partly due to the thinning of the ice, as thin ice is more sensitive to variations in the atmospheric conditions in summer . Besides thermodynamic conditions, thinner ice is more sensitive to wind forcing, seen as increased ice drift speeds (Spreen et al 2011;Vihma et al 2012). Ice export out of the Arctic was large in late 1980s and early 1990s (Rigor and Wallace 2004), but according to Polyakov et al (2012) it is unclear if it has played a significant role in the (multi-year) ice mass budget over the past decade.…”

Section: Reasons For the Sea Ice Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Arctic Sea Ice Decline on Weather and Climate: A Review

2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The areal extent, concentration and thickness of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas have strongly decreased during the recent decades, but cold, snow-rich winters have been common over mid-latitude land areas since 2005. A review is presented on studies addressing the local and remote effects of the sea ice decline on weather and climate. It is evident that the reduction in sea ice cover has increased the heat flux from the ocean to atmosphere in autumn and early winter. This has locally increased air temperature, moisture, and cloud cover and reduced the static stability in the lower troposphere. Several studies based on observations, atmospheric reanalyses, and model experiments suggest that the sea ice decline, together with increased snow cover in Eurasia, favours circulation patterns resembling the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation. The suggested large-scale pressure patterns include a high over Eurasia, which favours cold winters in Europe and northeastern Eurasia. A high over the western and a low over the eastern North America have also been suggested, favouring advection of Arctic air masses to North America. Mid-latitude winter weather is, however, affected by several other factors, which generate a large inter-annual variability and often mask the effects of sea ice decline. In addition, the small sample of years with a large sea ice loss makes it difficult to distinguish the effects directly attributable to sea ice conditions. Several studies suggest that, with advancing global warming, cold winters in mid-latitude continents will no longer be common during the second half of the twenty-first century. Recent studies have also suggested causal links between the sea ice decline and summer precipitation in Europe, the Mediterranean, and East Asia.

show abstract

Section: Reasons For the Sea Ice Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Arctic Sea Ice Decline on Weather and Climate: A Review

2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A clear increase in Arctic sea ice drift speed has been detected since the 1950s using buoy observations and satellite measurements (Häkkinen et al, 2008;Rampal et al, 2009Rampal et al, , 2011Spreen et al, 2011;Vihma et al, 2012;Kwok et al, 2013;Olason and Notz, 2014). While increased wind speed seems to be the likely cause of the increase in sea ice motion before 1990, the reduced ice strength (most likely caused by reduced thickness and concentration) is the dominant driver since then (Döscher et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between Arctic sea ice drift and strength modelled by NEMO-LIM3.6

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Sea ice cover and thickness have substantially decreased in the Arctic Ocean since the beginning of the satellite era. As a result, sea ice strength has been reduced, allowing more deformation and fracturing and leading to increased sea ice drift speed. We use the version 3.6 of the global ocean-sea ice NEMO-LIM model (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean coupled to the Louvain-laNeuve sea Ice Model), satellite, buoy and submarine observations, as well as reanalysis data over the period from 1979 to 2013 to study these relationships. Overall, the model agrees well with observations in terms of sea ice extent, concentration and thickness. The seasonal cycle of sea ice drift speed is reasonably well reproduced by the model. NEMO-LIM3.6 is able to capture the relationships between the seasonal cycles of sea ice drift speed, concentration and thickness, with higher drift speed for both lower concentration and lower thickness, in agreement with observations. Model experiments are carried out to test the sensitivity of Arctic sea ice drift speed, thickness and concentration to changes in sea ice strength parameter P * . These show that higher values of P * generally lead to lower sea ice deformation and lower sea ice thickness, and that no single value of P * is the best option for reproducing the observed drift speed and thickness. The methodology proposed in this analysis provides a benchmark for a further model intercomparison related to the relationships between sea ice drift speed and strength, which is especially relevant in the context of the upcoming Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6).

show abstract

“…Spreen et al (2011) detected signs of both wind and ice thinning effects in 1992-2009, with the ice thinning likely more important. According to Vihma et al (2012), atmospheric forcing cannot explain the increasing trend in drift speed in the period 1989-2009, but can explain a large part of the interannual variance, not be explained by changes in ice thickness.…”

Section: Sea Ice Motionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in understanding the Arctic climate system state and change from a sea ice perspective: a review

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Sea ice is the central component and most sensitive indicator of the Arctic climate system. Both the depletion and areal decline of the Arctic sea ice cover, observed since the 1970s, have accelerated since the millennium. While the relationship of global warming to sea ice reduction is evident and underpinned statistically, it is the connecting mechanisms that are explored in detail in this review.Sea ice erodes both from the top and the bottom. Atmospheric, oceanic and sea ice processes interact in nonlinear ways on various scales. Feedback mechanisms lead to an Arctic amplification of the global warming system: the amplification is both supported by the ice depletion and, at the same time, accelerates ice reduction. Knowledge of the mechanisms of sea ice decline grew during the 1990s and This article reviews recent progress in understanding the sea ice decline. Processes are revisited from atmospheric, oceanic and sea ice perspectives. There is strong evidence that decisive atmospheric changes are the major driver of sea ice change. Feedbacks due to reduced ice concentration, surface albedo, and ice thickness allow for additional local atmospheric and oceanic influences and self-supporting feedbacks. Large-scale ocean influences on Arctic Ocean hydrology and circulation are highly evident. Northward heat fluxes in the ocean are clearly impacting the ice margins, especially in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic. There is little indication of a direct and decisive influence of the warming ocean on the overall sea ice cover, due to an isolating layer of cold and fresh water underneath the sea ice.

show abstract

Atmospheric forcing on the drift of Arctic sea ice in 1989–2009

Cited by 66 publications

References 24 publications

Effects of Arctic Sea Ice Decline on Weather and Climate: A Review

Effects of Arctic Sea Ice Decline on Weather and Climate: A Review

Relationships between Arctic sea ice drift and strength modelled by NEMO-LIM3.6

Recent advances in understanding the Arctic climate system state and change from a sea ice perspective: a review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About