Arctic Ocean surface warming trends over the past 100 years

Steele, Michael; Ermold, Wendy; Zhang, Jinlun

doi:10.1029/2007gl031651

Cited by 357 publications

(292 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In recent years, a drastic decrease in sea ice has been reported for the western Arctic Ocean during the summer months, and even greater related changes in sea surface temperatures have been reported (Stroeve et al, 2007;Steele et al, 2008). The changes in sea surface temperatures, increases in the frequency and intensity of cyclones, and northward shifts from their tracks during the summer months as well as during other seasons have also been reported (Serreze et al, 2000;McCabe et al, 2001;Sepp and Jaagus, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Short-term changes in a microplankton community in the Chukchi Sea during autumn: consequences of a strong wind event

et al. 2016

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Abstract.Recent studies indicate an increase in atmospheric turbulence in the Chukchi Sea due to the recent drastic sea-ice reduction during summer months. The importance of the effects of this atmospheric turbulence on the marine ecosystem in this region, however, is not fully understood. To evaluate the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the marine ecosystem, high-frequency sampling (daily) from five layers of the microplankton community between 0 and 30 m at a fixed station in the Chukchi Sea from 10 through 25 September 2013 was conducted. During the study period, a strong wind event (SWE) was observed on 18 and 19 September. The abundance of microplankton was 2.6 to 17.6 cells mL −1 , with a maximum abundance being reported at 20 m on 22 September, while diatoms were the most dominant taxa throughout the study period. The abundance of diatoms, dinoflagellates and ciliates ranged between 1.6 and 14.1, 0.5 and 2.4 and 0.1 and 2.8 cells mL −1 , respectively. Diatoms belonging to 7 genera consisting of 35 species (Cylindrotheca closterium and Leptocylindrus danicus were dominant), dinoflagellates belonging to 7 genera consisting of 25 species (Prorocentrum balticum and Gymnodinium spp. were dominant) and ciliates belonging to 7 genera consisting of 8 species (Strobilidium spp. and Strombidium spp. were dominant) were identified. Within the microplankton species, there were 11 species with abundances that increased after the SWE, while there was no species with an abundance that decreased following the SWE. It is conjectured that atmospheric turbulences, such as that of an SWE, may supply sufficient nutrients to the surface layer that subsequently enhance the small bloom under the weak stratification of the Chukchi Sea Shelf during the autumn months. After the bloom, the dominant diatom community then shifts from centric-dominated to one where centric/pennate are more equal in abundance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Short-term changes in a microplankton community in the Chukchi Sea during autumn: consequences of a strong wind event

et al. 2016

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although NSTM heat is gained in the summer, the release of this heat often occurs in later seasons. Observations in the Canada Basin show that the NSTM often survives into fall, and that heat from this layer can be mixed into the surface mixed layer to delay or slow freeze up (Steele et al, 2008;Jackson et al, 2010;Steele et al, 2011;Timmermans, 2015).Early studies of the NSTM during AIDJEX (Maykut and McPhee, 1995) and SHEBA (McPhee et al, 1998) found that the layer was present directly below the summer surface mixed layer, at depths between 25 and 35 m. However, the Canada Basin upper ocean is freshening (McPhee et al, 2009) Summer sea ice extent in the Western Arctic has decreased significantly in recent years resulting in increased solar input into the upper ocean. Here, a comprehensive set of in situ shipboard, on-ice, and autonomous ice-ocean measurements were made of the early stages of formation of the near-surface temperature maximum (NSTM) in the Canada Basin.…”

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confidence: 99%

Field observations and results of a 1-D boundary layer model for developing near-surface temperature maxima in the Western Arctic

Gallaher

Stanton

Shaw

et al. 2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Gallaher, SG et al 2017 Field observations and results of a 1-D boundary layer model for developing near-surface temperature maxima in the Western Arctic. Elem Sci Anth, 5: 11, pp. 1-21, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.195 IntroductionRecent changes in the Arctic ice-ocean system have led to an increase in upper ocean heating. The primary source of this heating is the two-fold rise in ocean-absorbed solar radiation (Perovich et al., 2007) that results from rapidly declining summer sea ice extent (Comiso et al., 2008;Steele et al., 2010). Recent studies in the Canada Basin show that this absorbed solar heating is partitioned 0.23/0.77 between ocean heat storage and latent heat loss (basal ice melt), respectively (Toole et al., 2010;Gallaher et al., 2016). Most of the oceanic heat is accumulated in near-surface temperature maximum (NSTM) features. The NSTM is defined as an upper ocean (< 50 m) temperature maximum that: 1) is at least 0.2°C above freezing (δT); 2) has a salinity < 31; and 3) resides above a cooler water layer by at least 0.1°C (Jackson et al., 2010). Jackson et al. (2010) attribute NSTM development to the absorption of solar radiation in shallow, stratified layers beneath melting sea ice and open water during summer. Steele et al. (2011) present an additional formation process caused by cooling of the near-surface ocean under open water areas in late summer, which leaves behind a warmer subsurface layer. Although NSTM heat is gained in the summer, the release of this heat often occurs in later seasons. Observations in the Canada Basin show that the NSTM often survives into fall, and that heat from this layer can be mixed into the surface mixed layer to delay or slow freeze up (Steele et al., 2008;Jackson et al., 2010;Steele et al., 2011;Timmermans, 2015).Early studies of the NSTM during AIDJEX (Maykut and McPhee, 1995) and SHEBA (McPhee et al., 1998) found that the layer was present directly below the summer surface mixed layer, at depths between 25 and 35 m. However, the Canada Basin upper ocean is freshening (McPhee et al., 2009) Summer sea ice extent in the Western Arctic has decreased significantly in recent years resulting in increased solar input into the upper ocean. Here, a comprehensive set of in situ shipboard, on-ice, and autonomous ice-ocean measurements were made of the early stages of formation of the near-surface temperature maximum (NSTM) in the Canada Basin. These observations along with the results from a 1-D turbulent boundary layer model indicate that heat storage associated with NSTM formation is largely due to the absorption of penetrating solar radiation just below a protective summer halocline. The depth of the summer halocline was found to be the most important factor for determining the amount of solar radiation absorbed in the NSTM layer, while halocline strength controlled the amount of heat removed from the NSTM by turbulent transport. Observations using the Naval Postgraduate School Turbulence Frame show that the NSTM was able to persist despite periods of i...

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“…6). Many Arctic regions cooled by 0.5°C per decade over 1930-1965 during a mostly negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation, while warming occurred over 1965-1995 when the Arctic Oscillation was mostly in a high phase (Steele et al, 2007).…”

Section: Physical Conditions and Circulation In The Arcticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Hunt

Drinkwater

Arrigo

et al. 2016

Progress in Oceanography

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a b s t r a c tWe compare and contrast the ecological impacts of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns on polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems. Circulation patterns differ strikingly between the north and south. Meridional circulation in the north provides connections between the sub-Arctic and Arctic despite the presence of encircling continental landmasses, whereas annular circulation patterns in the south tend to isolate Antarctic surface waters from those in the north. These differences influence fundamental aspects of the polar ecosystems from the amount, thickness and duration of sea ice, to the types of organisms, and the ecology of zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Meridional flows in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans transport heat, nutrients, and plankton northward into the Chukchi Sea, the Barents Sea, and the seas off the west coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic, the advected heat warms the waters of the southern Barents Sea and, with advected nutrients and plankton, supports immense biomasses of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. On the Pacific side of the Arctic, cold waters flowing northward across the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during winter and spring limit the ability of boreal fish species to take advantage of high seasonal production there. Southward flow of cold Arctic waters into sub-Arctic regions of the North Atlantic occurs mainly through Fram Strait with less through the Barents Sea and the Canadian Archipelago. In the Pacific, the transport of Arctic waters and plankton southward through Bering Strait is minimal.In the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its associated fronts are barriers to the southward dispersal of plankton and pelagic fishes from sub-Antarctic waters, with the consequent evolution of Antarctic zooplankton and fish species largely occurring in isolation from those to the north. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current also disperses biota throughout the Southern Ocean, and as a result, the biota tends to be similar within a given broad latitudinal band. South of the Southern Boundary of the ACC, there is a large-scale divergence that brings nutrient-rich water to the surface. This divergence, along with more localized upwelling regions and deep vertical convection in winter, generates elevated nutrient levels throughout the Antarctic at the end of austral winter. However, such elevated nutrient levels do not support elevated phytoplankton productivity through the entire Southern Ocean, as iron concentrations are rapidly removed to limiting levels by spring blooms in deep waters. However, coastal http://dx

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Arctic Ocean surface warming trends over the past 100 years

Cited by 357 publications

References 36 publications

Short-term changes in a microplankton community in the Chukchi Sea during autumn: consequences of a strong wind event

Short-term changes in a microplankton community in the Chukchi Sea during autumn: consequences of a strong wind event

Field observations and results of a 1-D boundary layer model for developing near-surface temperature maxima in the Western Arctic

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

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