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UrduUniversity of Washington researchers show that the all-time record low in winter sea ice extent in 2023 can be explained by warm Southern Ocean conditions and patterns in the winds that circled Antarctica months earlier, allowing forecasts for sea ice coverage around the South Pole to be generated six or more months in advance. This could support regional and global weather and climate models.
Tag: Sea Ice
Delay and Pay: Tipping Point Costs Quadruple After Waiting
Tip the first tile in a line of dominoes and you’ll set off a chain reaction, one tile falling after another. Cross a tipping point in the climate system and, similarly, you might spark a cascading set of consequences like hastened warming, rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather.
Scientists Predict Localized Extinction of Hudson Bay’s Polar Bears if Paris Climate Agreements Are Breached
For the first time, a multi-disciplinary team of scientists analyzes sea ice thickness against polar bear and seal survival across all of Hudson Bay; due to faster-than-expected sea ice loss, scientists predict localized polar bear extinction if Paris Agreements are not met
Beyond Ice Cubes: Researchers Bring Complex Shapes to Sea-Ice Dynamics Models
Researchers model sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics to understand its role in global climate.
Arctic sea ice 6th lowest on record; Antarctic sees record low growth
Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent on Sept. 19, 2023, making it the sixth-lowest year in the satellite record, according to researchers at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
Telecommunications cable used to track sea ice extent in the Arctic
A telecommunications fiber optic cable deployed offshore of Oliktok Point, Alaska recorded ambient seismic noise that can be used to finely track the formation and retreat of sea ice in the area, researchers report in The Seismic Record.
New method of monitoring shore ice could improve public safety
Specialized portable radar could serve as an early warning system to reduce risk for humans working on shorefast sea ice, according to a recently published study.
Strongest Arctic cyclone on record led to surprising loss of sea ice
The strongest Arctic cyclone ever observed struck in January 2022. A new analysis shows that while forecasts accurately predicted the massive storm, models seriously underestimated its impact on sea ice. Results suggest places to improve forecast models in a changing Arctic Ocean.
New Study Finds Emperor Penguins Increasingly Threatened by Climate Change
Woods Hole, MA (August 3, 2021) – A new study published today in Global Change Biology provides valuable new data that highlights how species extinction risk is accelerating due to rapid climate change and an increase in extreme climate events, such as glacial calving and sea ice loss. The study, led by Stephanie Jenouvrier, associate scientist, and seabird ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and co-authored by an international team of scientists, policy experts, ecologists, and climate scientists, provided pivotal research and projections tailored for use by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). Their work proposed that emperor penguins be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and this week, USFWS submitted that listing proposal.
Emperor penguins, increasingly under siege by climate change, Proposed as threatened species under Endangered Species Act
Today, the U. S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a proposal to list the emperor penguin as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) based on evidence that the animal’s sea ice habitat is shrinking and is likely to continue to do so over the next several decades. Proposing a listing of threatened means the animal is at risk of becoming an endangered species–in danger of extinction–in the foreseeable future if its habitat continues to be destroyed or adversely changed.
Last ice-covered parts of summertime Arctic Ocean vulnerable to climate change
The region north of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic has been termed the “Last Ice Area,” where sea ice will remain the longest in summertime, providing a refuge for ice-dependent Arctic species. But conditions last summer show that parts of this region are already experiencing less summer ice due to climate change.
Atmospheric Rivers Help Create Massive Holes in Antarctic Sea Ice
Warm, moist rivers of air in Antarctica play a key role in creating massive holes in sea ice in the Weddell Sea and may influence ocean conditions around the vast continent as well as climate change, according to Rutgers co-authored research. Scientists studied the role of long, intense plumes of warm, moist air – known as atmospheric rivers – in creating enormous openings in sea ice. They focused on the Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, where these sea ice holes (called polynyas) infrequently develop during the winter.
Epic Arctic Mission Ends
The German icebreaker Polarstern returned home after being frozen near the top of the world as part of the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, or MOSAiC program, to study all aspects of the Arctic system.
Antarctic sea-ice models improve for the next IPCC report
A study of 40 sea ice models finds they all project that the area of sea ice around Antarctica will decrease by 2100, but the amount of loss varies between the emissions scenarios.
Increasingly mobile sea ice risks polluting Arctic neighbors
The movement of sea ice between Arctic countries is expected to significantly increase this century, raising the risk of more widely transporting pollutants like microplastics and oil, according to new research from CU Boulder.
Cracks in Arctic sea ice turn low clouds on and off
The prevailing view has been that more leads are associated with more low-level clouds during winter. But University of Utah atmospheric scientists noticed something strange in their study of these leads: when lead occurrence was greater, there were fewer, not more clouds.
Could we cool the Earth with an ice-free Arctic?
The Arctic region is heating up faster than any other place on Earth, and as more and more sea ice is lost every year, we are already feeling the impacts. IIASA researchers explored strategies for cooling down the oceans in a world without this important cooling mechanism.
Unless Warming is Slowed, Emperor Penguins will be Marching Towards Extinction
Emperor penguins are some of the most striking and charismatic animals on Earth, but a new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has found that a warming climate may render them extinct by the end of this century. The study, which was part of an international collaboration between scientists, published Nov. 7, 2019, in the journal Global Change Biology.
Fall storms, coastal erosion focus of northern Alaska research cruise
A University of Washington team is leaving to study how fall storms, dwindling sea ice and vulnerable coastlines might combine in a changing Arctic.
Reframing Antarctica’s Meltwater Pond Dangers to Ice Shelves and Sea Level
Meltwater ponds riddle a kilometer-thick ice shelf, which then shatters in just weeks, shocking scientists and speeding the flow of the glacier behind it into the ocean to drive up sea level. A new study puts damage by meltwater ponds to ice shelves and sea level into cool, mathematical perspective.
Scientists Prepare Ship for Mission Locked in Arctic Ice
The German icebreaker RV Polarstern is scheduled to set sail today from Tromsø, Norway, for a 13-month journey to wherever the sea ice takes it. In a week or so, the ship will get locked into the Arctic ice and drift with the ice floes for a year so that scientists can gather unprecedented data about the Arctic climate.