Recent wind driven high sea ice area export in the Fram Strait contributes to Arctic sea ice decline

Smedsrud, Lars H.; Sirevaag, Anders; Kloster, K.; Sorteberg, Asgeir; Sandven, Stein

doi:10.5194/tc-5-821-2011

Cited by 87 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…Time series of area export through Fram Strait present similar variability in both LIM simulations. During the last simulated decade, the annual-mean area fluxes through Fram Strait correspond to more than 10 % of the winter ice covered area, being 0.86 (0.89) million km 2 in LIM3 (LIM2), both being comparable to estimates based on SAR data (Smedsrud et al, 2011).…”

Section: Sea-ice Driftsupporting

confidence: 55%

Comparing sea ice, hydrography and circulation between NEMO3.6 LIM3 and LIM2

et al. 2017

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Abstract. A set of hindcast simulations with the new version 3.6 of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) ocean-ice model in the ORCA1 configuration and forced by the DRAKKAR Forcing Set version 5.2 (DFS5.2) atmospheric data was performed from 1958 to 2012. Simulations differed in their sea-ice component: the old standard version Louvain-la-Neuve Sea Ice Model (LIM2) and its successor LIM3. Main differences between these sea-ice models are the parameterisations of sub-grid-scale sea-ice thickness distribution, ice deformation, thermodynamic processes, and sea-ice salinity. Our main objective was to analyse the response of the ocean-ice system sensitivity to the change in sea-ice physics. Additional sensitivity simulations were carried out for the attribution of observed differences between the two main simulations.In the Arctic, NEMO-LIM3 compares better with observations by realistically reproducing the sea-ice extent decline during the last few decades due to its multi-category sea-ice thickness. In the Antarctic, NEMO-LIM3 more realistically simulates the seasonal evolution of sea-ice extent than NEMO-LIM2. In terms of oceanic properties, improvements are not as evident, although NEMO-LIM3 reproduces a more realistic hydrography in the Labrador Sea and in the Arctic Ocean, including a reduced cold temperature bias of the Arctic Intermediate Water at 250 m. In the extra-polar regions, the oceanographic conditions of the two NEMO-LIM versions remain relatively similar, although they slowly drift apart over decades. This drift is probably due to a stronger deep water formation around Antarctica in LIM3.

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Section: Sea-ice Driftsupporting

confidence: 55%

Comparing sea ice, hydrography and circulation between NEMO3.6 LIM3 and LIM2

et al. 2017

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“…In order to assess the relative consistency and to quantify the importance of Laptev Sea ice export for the total Arctic sea ice budget, the results are compared with flux estimates from NSIDC drift data (Fowler, 2003) and export rates through Fram Strait (Smedsrud et al, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our Laptev Sea ice export estimates amount to nearly 48 % of the winter ( and 41 % of the annual export rates through Fram Strait. Fram Strait area flux estimates were taken from Smedsrud et al (2011). Different to our approach, the authors derived ice area transport rates from radar satellites and SLP differences.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability and trends in Laptev Sea ice outflow between 1992–2011

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Variability and trends in seasonal and interannual ice area export out of the Laptev Sea between 1992 and 2011 are investigated using satellite-based sea ice drift and concentration data. We found an average total winter (October to May) ice area transport across the northern and eastern Laptev Sea boundaries (NB and EB) of 3.48 × 10 5 km 2 . The average transport across the NB (2.87 × 10 5 km 2 ) is thereby higher than across the EB (0.61 × 10 5 km 2 ), with a less pronounced seasonal cycle. The total Laptev Sea ice area flux significantly increased over the last decades (0.85 × 10 5 km 2 decade −1 , p > 0.95), dominated by increasing export through the EB (0.55 × 10 5 km 2 decade −1 , p > 0.90), while the increase in export across the NB is smaller (0.3 × 10 5 km 2 decade −1 ) and statistically not significant. The strong coupling between across-boundary SLP gradient and ice drift velocity indicates that monthly variations in ice area flux are primarily controlled by changes in geostrophic wind velocities, although the Laptev Sea ice circulation shows no clear relationship with large-scale atmospheric indices. Also there is no evidence of increasing wind velocities that could explain the overall positive trends in ice export. The increased transport rates are rather the consequence of a changing ice cover such as thinning and/or a decrease in concentration. The use of a back-propagation method revealed that most of the ice that is incorporated into the Transpolar Drift is formed during freeze-up and originates from the central and western part of the Laptev Sea, while the exchange with the East Siberian Sea is dominated by ice coming from the central and southeastern Laptev Sea. Furthermore, our results imply that years of high ice export in late winter (February to May) have a thinning effect on the ice cover, which in turn preconditions the occurence of negative sea ice extent anomalies in summer.

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“…Thus, although the SSHF presently controls only 10 % of the BL height variability, the relationship can become stronger under more frequent occurrences of the uplift regime and/or high surface wind speeds associated with the stratus regime. As a result, the changing patterns of future Arctic climate, such as more frequent storms and greater wind stress (Hakkinen et al, 2008;Higgins and Cassano, 2009;Smedsrud et al, 2011), may act to enhance the oceanatmosphere coupling. In the following section, we will further evaluate the relative roles of SSHF and clouds in atmospheric mixing based on BL thermodynamics.…”

Section: Interannual Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The open-ocean sensible heat flux and its significance for Arctic boundary layer mixing during early fall

Ganeshan¹,

2016

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. The increasing ice-free area during late summer has transformed the Arctic to a climate system with more dynamic boundary layer (BL) clouds and seasonal sea ice growth. The open-ocean sensible heat flux, a crucial mechanism of excessive ocean heat loss to the atmosphere during the fall freeze season, is speculated to play an important role in the recently observed cloud cover increase and BL instability. However, lack of observations and understanding of the resilience of the proposed mechanisms, especially in relation to meteorological and interannual variability, has left a poorly constrained BL parameterization scheme in Arctic climate models. In this study, we use multiyear Japanese cruise-ship observations from R/V Mirai over the open Arctic Ocean to characterize the surface sensible heat flux (SSHF) during early fall and investigate its contribution to BL turbulence. It is found that mixing by SSHF is favored during episodes of high surface wind speed and is also influenced by the prevailing cloud regime. The deepest BLs and maximum ocean-atmosphere temperature difference are observed during cold air advection (associated with the stratocumulus regime), yet, contrary to previous speculation, the efficiency of sensible heat exchange is low. On the other hand, the SSHF contributes significantly to BL mixing during the uplift (low pressure) followed by the highly stable (stratus) regime. Overall, it can explain ∼ 10 % of the openocean BL height variability, whereas cloud-driven (moisture and radiative) mechanisms appear to be the other dominant source of convective turbulence. Nevertheless, there is strong interannual variability in the relationship between the SSHF and the BL height which can be intensified by the changing occurrence of Arctic climate patterns, such as positive surface wind speed anomalies and more frequent conditions of uplift. This study highlights the need for comprehensive BL observations like the R/V Mirai for better understanding and predicting the dynamic nature of the Arctic climate.

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Recent wind driven high sea ice area export in the Fram Strait contributes to Arctic sea ice decline

Cited by 87 publications

References 37 publications

Comparing sea ice, hydrography and circulation between NEMO3.6 LIM3 and LIM2

Comparing sea ice, hydrography and circulation between NEMO3.6 LIM3 and LIM2

Variability and trends in Laptev Sea ice outflow between 1992–2011

The open-ocean sensible heat flux and its significance for Arctic boundary layer mixing during early fall

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