Loss of sea ice in the Arctic
In: Carlson, C.A.; Giovannoni, S.J. (Ed.) (2009). Ann. Rev. Mar. Sci. 1. Annual Review of Marine Science, 1. Annual Reviews: Palo Alto. ISBN 978-0-8243-4501-3. 466 pp., more In: Annual Review of Marine Science. Annual Reviews: Palo Alto, Calif. ISSN 1941-1405; e-ISSN 1941-0611, more |  |
| Keywords | | | Author keywords | Arctic sea ice; climate change; ice-albedo feedback |
| Authors | | Top | - Perovich, D.K.
- Richter-Menge, J.A.
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| Abstract | The Arctic sea ice cover is in decline. The areal extent of the ice cover has been decreasing for the past few decades at an accelerating rate. Evidence also points to a decrease in sea ice thickness and a reduction in the amount of thicker perennial sea ice. A general global warming trend has made the ice cover more vulnerable to natural fluctuations in atmospheric and oceanic forcing. The observed reduction in Arctic sea ice is a consequence of both thermodynamic and dynamic processes, including such factors as preconditioning of the ice cover, overall warming trends, changes in cloud coverage, shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns, increased export of older ice out of the Arctic, advection of ocean heat from the Pacific and North Atlantic, enhanced solar heating of the ocean, and the ice-albedo feedback. The diminishing Arctic sea ice is creating social, political, economic, and ecological challenges. |
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