Recent changes in the Arctic melt Season

Stroeve, Julienne; Markus, T.; Meier, Walter N.; Miller, Jeff

doi:10.3189/172756406781811583

Cited by 53 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(32 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Derived from the passive microwave satellite data record spanning 1979 to 2005, Stroeve et al (2006) showed that in response to a warming climate, ice melt onset in the Western Arctic has been occurring earlier at a significant rate of 4 to 5 d decade −1 . The relationship between the start of the under-ice phytoplankton bloom and snowmelt onset links timing of local phytoplankton production to regional warming.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of environmental factors on phytoplankton bloom initiation under landfast sea ice in Resolute Passage, Canada

Mundy

Gosselin²,

Gratton³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

102

115

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been common practice in scientific studies to assume negligible phytoplankton production when the ocean is ice-covered, due to the strong light attenuation properties of snow, sea ice, and ice algae. Recent observations of massive under-ice blooms in the Arctic challenge this concept and call for a re-evaluation of light conditions prevailing under ice during the melt period. Using hydrographic data collected under landfast ice cover in Resolute Passage, Nunavut, Canada between 9 May and 21 June 2010, we documented the exponential growth phase of a substantial under-ice phytoplankton bloom. Numerous factors appeared to influence bloom initiation: (1) transmitted light increased with the onset of snowmelt and termination of the ice algal bloom; (2) initial phytoplankton growth resulted in the accumulation of biomass below the developing surface melt layer where nutrient concentrations were high and turbulent mixing was relatively low; and (3) melt pond formation rapidly increased light transmission, while spring-tidal energy helped form a surface mixed layer influenced by ice melt -both were believed to influence the final rapid increase in phytoplankton growth. By the end of the study, nitrate+nitrite was depleted in the upper 10 m of the water column and the under-ice bloom had accumulated 508 mg chl a m −2 with a new production estimate of 17.5 g C m −2 over the upper 50 m of the water column. The timing of bloom initiation with melt onset suggests a strong link to climate change where sea ice is both thinning and melting earlier, the implication being an earlier and more ubiquitous phytoplankton bloom in Arctic ice-covered regions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of environmental factors on phytoplankton bloom initiation under landfast sea ice in Resolute Passage, Canada

Mundy

Gosselin²,

Gratton³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

102

115

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We believe that this shift is more likely due to an increase in the passive microwave bias in underestimating the presence of sea ice in regions with low ice concentrations or heavily decayed ice and less likely due to an increase in observable low ice concentration areas from RADARSAT‐1. Of the four regions, the Beaufort Sea has experienced the greatest increase in the length of the summer melt season [ Stroeve et al , 2006] while maintaining considerably high ice concentrations in summer due to the large fraction of MYI. As the length of the melt season increases, ice concentrations decrease and the fraction of ponded ice increases.…”

Section: Canadian Ice Service Digital Archivementioning

confidence: 99%

Trends and variability in summer sea ice cover in the Canadian Arctic based on the Canadian Ice Service Digital Archive, 1960–2008 and 1968–2008

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

[1] The Canadian Ice Service Digital Archive (CISDA) is a compilation of weekly ice charts covering Canadian waters from the early 1960s to present. The main sources of uncertainty in the database are reviewed and the data are validated for use in climate studies before trends and variability in summer averaged sea ice cover are investigated. These data revealed that between 1968 and 2008, summer sea ice cover has decreased by 11.3% ± 2.6% decade −1 in Hudson Bay, 2.9% ± 1.2% decade −1 in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), 8.9% ± 3.1% decade −1 in Baffin Bay, and 5.2% ± 2.4% decade −1 in the Beaufort Sea with no significant reductions in multiyear ice. Reductions in sea ice cover are linked to increases in early summer surface air temperature (SAT); significant increases in SAT were observed in every season and they are consistently greater than the pan-Arctic change by up to ∼0.2°C decade −1 . Within the CAA and Baffin Bay, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation index correlates well with multiyear ice coverage (positive) and first-year ice coverage (negative) suggesting that El Niño episodes precede summers with more multiyear ice and less first-year ice. Extending the trend calculations back to 1960 along the major shipping routes revealed significant decreases in summer sea ice coverage ranging between 11% and 15% decade −1 along the route through Hudson Bay and 6% and 10% decade −1 along the southern route of the Northwest Passage, the latter is linked to increases in SAT. Between 1960 and2008, no significant trends were found along the northern western Parry Channel route of the Northwest Passage.

show abstract

“…Gridded 2‐m surface air temperature (SAT) observations from the International Arctic Buoy Programme/Polar Exchange at the Sea Surface (IABP/POLES; hereafter POLES) were used to develop and validate several of these PMW‐based MO algorithms. Further, the POLES SAT data have been used to estimate the timing of sea ice MO using various threshold techniques over the Arctic Ocean (e.g., Rigor et al, ; Stroeve et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic Sea Ice Melt Onset Timing From Passive Microwave‐Based and Surface Air Temperature‐Based Methods

Bliss

Anderson

2018

JGR Atmospheres

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Melt onset (MO) on Arctic sea ice has been monitored using satellite‐based passive microwave (PMW) observations since 1979. In this work, surface air temperatures from the International Arctic Buoy Programme/Polar Exchange at the Sea Surface and NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder are used to derive MO date estimates using three threshold methods which are then compared with a record of PMW‐based MO dates. Results from the PMW data indicate a shift toward increasingly early MO timing, with significant trends as large as −9.45 days/decade in the E. Siberian Sea and −5.69 days/decade for the entire Arctic, consistent with other studies highlighting the overall decline of Arctic sea ice. Results indicate that the surface air temperature‐based MO date estimates produced using a −1 °C threshold are ~11 days later than the PMW‐based MO date estimates Arctic wide. A statistical comparison of the Polar Exchange at the Sea Surface and PMW‐based MO dates indicate that despite the ~11‐day bias, correlations between the MO date time series are generally good (≥0.6) for most of the Arctic Ocean while the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and PMW‐based MO dates are generally better at capturing the statistically similar long‐term trends in MO dates for the Arctic and several Arctic subregions. Application of these results can contribute to the development of new methods to monitor the sea ice melting state.

show abstract

Recent changes in the Arctic melt Season

Cited by 53 publications

References 15 publications

Role of environmental factors on phytoplankton bloom initiation under landfast sea ice in Resolute Passage, Canada

Role of environmental factors on phytoplankton bloom initiation under landfast sea ice in Resolute Passage, Canada

Trends and variability in summer sea ice cover in the Canadian Arctic based on the Canadian Ice Service Digital Archive, 1960–2008 and 1968–2008

Arctic Sea Ice Melt Onset Timing From Passive Microwave‐Based and Surface Air Temperature‐Based Methods

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About