Articles | Volume 11, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-169-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-169-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Jan 2017
Research article |
| 25 Jan 2017
Rapid wastage of the Hazen Plateau ice caps, northeastern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada
Mark C. Serreze
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, and Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Bruce Raup
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Carsten Braun
Geography and Regional Planning/Environmental Science, Westfield
State University, Westfield, Massachusetts, USA
Douglas R. Hardy
Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
Massachusetts, USA
Raymond S. Bradley
Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
Massachusetts, USA
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Raymond S. Bradley and Jostein Bakke
Clim. Past, 15, 1665–1676, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1665-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1665-2019, 2019
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We review paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic records from the northern North Atlantic to assess the nature of climatic conditions at 4.2 ka BP. There was a general decline in temperatures after ~ 5 ka BP, which led to the onset of neoglaciation. Although a few records do show a distinct anomaly around 4.2 ka BP (associated with a glacial advance), this is not widespread and we interpret it as a local manifestation of the overall climatic deterioration that characterized the late Holocene.
Liang Ning, Jian Liu, Raymond S. Bradley, and Mi Yan
Clim. Past, 15, 41–52, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-41-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-41-2019, 2019
Daniel R. Miller, M. Helen Habicht, Benjamin A. Keisling, Isla S. Castañeda, and Raymond S. Bradley
Clim. Past, 14, 1653–1667, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1653-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1653-2018, 2018
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We measured biomarker production over a year in a small inland lake in the northeastern USA. Understanding biomarkers in the modern environment helps us improve reconstructions of past climate from lake sediment records. We use these results to interpret a 900-year decadally resolved temperature record from this lake. Our record highlights multi-decadal oscillations in temperature superimposed on a long-term cooling trend, providing novel insight into climate dynamics of the region.
François Lapointe, Pierre Francus, Scott F. Lamoureux, Mathias Vuille, Jean-Philippe Jenny, Raymond S. Bradley, and Charly Massa
Clim. Past, 13, 411–420, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-411-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-411-2017, 2017
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Using a unique annually-laminated record (varve) from the western Canadian High Arctic, we found a significant relationship between our varve record and instrumental and reconstructed Pacific Decadal Oscillations (PDOs). The negative (positive) PDO (North Pacific Index) phases increase precipitation as low sea-ice extent, warmer temperature and winds reach our region more efficiently. Our results imply that future negative PDO phases will likely impact the already rapidly warming Arctic.
C. D. Chadwell, D. R. Hardy, C. Braun, H. H. Brecher, and L. G. Thompson
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-40, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-40, 2016
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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The Quelccaya Ice Cap in southern Peru is the largest tropical glacier on earth. Aerial photographs and satellite images have documented retreat of its margins since 1963. While thinning of the glacier has been observed at its margins, here we document for the first time that the glacier has thinned all over during the past 30 years, including the elevation lowering 4.4 m within the highest regions of the glacier above ~ 5400 m a.s.l., where snow accumulation feeds the glacier.
N. L. Balascio, W. J. D'Andrea, and R. S. Bradley
Clim. Past, 11, 1587–1598, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1587-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1587-2015, 2015
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Sediment cores were collected from a lake that captures runoff from two glaciers in Greenland. Our analysis of the sediments shows that these glaciers were active over the last 9,000 years and advanced and retreated in response to regional climate changes. The data also provide a long-term perspective on the rate of 20th century glacier retreat and indicate that recent anthropogenic-driven warming has already impacted the regional cryosphere in a manner outside the range of natural variability.
Related subject area
Arctic (e.g. Greenland)
Summer sea ice floe perimeter density in the Arctic: high-resolution optical satellite imagery and model evaluation
Patterns of wintertime Arctic sea-ice leads and their relation to winds and ocean currents
A long-term proxy for sea ice thickness in the Canadian Arctic: 1996–2020
Arctic sea ice radar freeboard retrieval from the European Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS-2) using altimetry: toward sea ice thickness observation from 1995 to 2021
Improving modelled albedo over the Greenland ice sheet through parameter optimisation and MODIS snow albedo retrievals
Hydraulic suppression of basal glacier melt in sill fjords
Direct measurement of warm Atlantic Intermediate Water close to the grounding line of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden (79° N) Glacier, northeast Greenland
Rapid sea ice changes in the future Barents Sea
Assessment of Arctic seasonal snow cover rates of change
Comparing elevation and backscatter retrievals from CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 over Arctic summer sea ice
Causes and evolution of winter polynyas north of Greenland
Winter Arctic sea ice thickness from ICESat-2: upgrades to freeboard and snow loading estimates and an assessment of the first three winters of data collection
Observed and predicted trends in Icelandic snow conditions for the period 1930–2100
Sea ice breakup and freeze-up indicators for users of the Arctic coastal environment
Snow properties at the forest–tundra ecotone: predominance of water vapor fluxes even in deep, moderately cold snowpacks
Spatial patterns of snow distribution in the sub-Arctic
Improving model-satellite comparisons of sea ice melt onset with a satellite simulator
Accelerated mobilization of organic carbon from retrogressive thaw slumps on the northern Taymyr Peninsula
Snowfall and snow accumulation during the MOSAiC winter and spring seasons
Modelling the mass budget and future evolution of Tunabreen, central Spitsbergen
Kara and Barents sea ice thickness estimation based on CryoSat-2 radar altimeter and Sentinel-1 dual-polarized synthetic aperture radar
Brief communication: Preliminary ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2) measurements of outlet glaciers reveal heterogeneous patterns of seasonal dynamic thickness change
Contribution of warm and moist atmospheric flow to a record minimum July sea ice extent of the Arctic in 2020
The importance of freeze–thaw cycles for lateral tracer transport in ice-wedge polygons
Uncertainties in projected surface mass balance over the polar ice sheets from dynamically downscaled EC-Earth models
Perspectives on future sea ice and navigability in the Arctic
Lasting impact of winds on Arctic sea ice through the ocean's memory
Holocene sea-ice dynamics in Petermann Fjord in relation to ice tongue stability and Nares Strait ice arch formation
Presentation and evaluation of the Arctic sea ice forecasting system neXtSIM-F
Comment on “Exceptionally high heat flux needed to sustain the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream” by Smith-Johnsen et al. (2020)
Early spring subglacial discharge plumes fuel under-ice primary production at a Svalbard tidewater glacier
Combined influence of oceanic and atmospheric circulations on Greenland sea ice concentration
Seasonal changes in sea ice kinematics and deformation in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean in 2018/19
Trends and spatial variation in rain-on-snow events over the Arctic Ocean during the early melt season
Thinning leads to calving-style changes at Bowdoin Glacier, Greenland
Inter-comparison of snow depth over Arctic sea ice from reanalysis reconstructions and satellite retrieval
Year-round impact of winter sea ice thickness observations on seasonal forecasts
Ensemble-based estimation of sea-ice volume variations in the Baffin Bay
The cryostratigraphy of the Yedoma cliff of Sobo-Sise Island (Lena delta) reveals permafrost dynamics in the central Laptev Sea coastal region during the last 52 kyr
Possible impacts of a 1000 km long hypothetical subglacial river valley towards Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland
Sea ice drift and arch evolution in the Robeson Channel using the daily coverage of Sentinel-1 SAR data for the 2016–2017 freezing season
Brief communication: Arctic sea ice thickness internal variability and its changes under historical and anthropogenic forcing
Seasonal transition dates can reveal biases in Arctic sea ice simulations
Thermokarst lake inception and development in syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrain during a cooling climatic trend, Bylot Island (Nunavut), eastern Canadian Arctic
The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) high-priority candidate mission
The MOSAiC ice floe: sediment-laden survivor from the Siberian shelf
Spectral attenuation of ocean waves in pack ice and its application in calibrating viscoelastic wave-in-ice models
The current state and 125 kyr history of permafrost on the Kara Sea shelf: modeling constraints
New observations of the distribution, morphology and dissolution dynamics of cryogenic gypsum in the Arctic Ocean
Evaluation of Arctic sea ice drift and its dependency on near-surface wind and sea ice conditions in the coupled regional climate model HIRHAM–NAOSIM
Yanan Wang, Byongjun Hwang, Adam William Bateson, Yevgeny Aksenov, and Christopher Horvat
The Cryosphere, 17, 3575–3591, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3575-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3575-2023, 2023
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Sea ice is composed of small, discrete pieces of ice called floes, whose size distribution plays a critical role in the interactions between the sea ice, ocean and atmosphere. This study provides an assessment of sea ice models using new high-resolution floe size distribution observations, revealing considerable differences between them. These findings point not only to the limitations in models but also to the need for more high-resolution observations to validate and calibrate models.
Sascha Willmes, Günther Heinemann, and Frank Schnaase
The Cryosphere, 17, 3291–3308, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3291-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3291-2023, 2023
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Sea ice is an important constituent of the global climate system. We here use satellite data to identify regions in the Arctic where the sea ice breaks up in so-called leads (i.e., linear cracks) regularly during winter. This information is important because leads determine, e.g., how much heat is exchanged between the ocean and the atmosphere. We here provide first insights into the reasons for the observed patterns in sea-ice leads and their relation to ocean currents and winds.
Isolde A. Glissenaar, Jack C. Landy, David G. Babb, Geoffrey J. Dawson, and Stephen E. L. Howell
The Cryosphere, 17, 3269–3289, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3269-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3269-2023, 2023
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Observations of large-scale ice thickness have unfortunately only been available since 2003, a short record for researching trends and variability. We generated a proxy for sea ice thickness in the Canadian Arctic for 1996–2020. This is the longest available record for large-scale sea ice thickness available to date and the first record reliably covering the channels between the islands in northern Canada. The product shows that sea ice has thinned by 21 cm over the 25-year record in April.
Marion Bocquet, Sara Fleury, Fanny Piras, Eero Rinne, Heidi Sallila, Florent Garnier, and Frédérique Rémy
The Cryosphere, 17, 3013–3039, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3013-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3013-2023, 2023
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Sea ice has a large interannual variability, and studying its evolution requires long time series of observations. In this paper, we propose the first method to extend Arctic sea ice thickness time series to the ERS-2 altimeter. The developed method is based on a neural network to calibrate past missions on the current one by taking advantage of their differences during the mission-overlap periods. Data are available as monthly maps for each year during the winter period between 1995 and 2021.
Nina Raoult, Sylvie Charbit, Christophe Dumas, Fabienne Maignan, Catherine Ottlé, and Vladislav Bastrikov
The Cryosphere, 17, 2705–2724, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2705-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2705-2023, 2023
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Greenland ice sheet melting due to global warming could significantly impact global sea-level rise. The ice sheet's albedo, i.e. how reflective the surface is, affects the melting speed. The ORCHIDEE computer model is used to simulate albedo and snowmelt to make predictions. However, the albedo in ORCHIDEE is lower than that observed using satellites. To correct this, we change model parameters (e.g. the rate of snow decay) to reduce the difference between simulated and observed values.
Johan Nilsson, Eef van Dongen, Martin Jakobsson, Matt O'Regan, and Christian Stranne
The Cryosphere, 17, 2455–2476, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2455-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2455-2023, 2023
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We investigate how topographical sills suppress basal glacier melt in Greenlandic fjords. The basal melt drives an exchange flow over the sill, but there is an upper flow limit set by the Atlantic Water features outside the fjord. If this limit is reached, the flow enters a new regime where the melt is suppressed and its sensitivity to the Atlantic Water temperature is reduced.
Michael J. Bentley, James A. Smith, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Margaret R. Lindeman, Brice R. Rea, Angelika Humbert, Timothy P. Lane, Christopher M. Darvill, Jeremy M. Lloyd, Fiamma Straneo, Veit Helm, and David H. Roberts
The Cryosphere, 17, 1821–1837, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1821-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1821-2023, 2023
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The Northeast Greenland Ice Stream is a major outlet of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Some of its outlet glaciers and ice shelves have been breaking up and retreating, with inflows of warm ocean water identified as the likely reason. Here we report direct measurements of warm ocean water in an unusual lake that is connected to the ocean beneath the ice shelf in front of the 79° N Glacier. This glacier has not yet shown much retreat, but the presence of warm water makes future retreat more likely.
Ole Rieke, Marius Årthun, and Jakob Simon Dörr
The Cryosphere, 17, 1445–1456, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1445-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1445-2023, 2023
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The Barents Sea is the region of most intense winter sea ice loss, and future projections show a continued decline towards ice-free conditions by the end of this century but with large fluctuations. Here we use climate model simulations to look at the occurrence and drivers of rapid ice change events in the Barents Sea that are much stronger than the average ice loss. A better understanding of these events will contribute to improved sea ice predictions in the Barents Sea.
Chris Derksen and Lawrence Mudryk
The Cryosphere, 17, 1431–1443, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1431-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1431-2023, 2023
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We examine Arctic snow cover trends through the lens of climate assessments. We determine the sensitivity of change in snow cover extent to year-over-year increases in time series length, reference period, the use of a statistical methodology to improve inter-dataset agreement, version changes in snow products, and snow product ensemble size. By identifying the sensitivity to the range of choices available to investigators, we increase confidence in reported Arctic snow extent changes.
Geoffrey Dawson and Jack Landy
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-31, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-31, 2023
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In this study, we compared measurements from CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 over Arctic summer sea ice, to understand any possible biases between the two satellites. We found that there is a difference when we measure elevation over summer sea ice using CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 and this is likely due to surface melt ponds. The differences we found were in good agreement with theoretical predictions, and this work will be valuable for summer sea ice thickness measurements from both altimeters.
Younjoo J. Lee, Wieslaw Maslowski, John J. Cassano, Jaclyn Clement Kinney, Anthony P. Craig, Samy Kamal, Robert Osinski, Mark W. Seefeldt, Julienne Stroeve, and Hailong Wang
The Cryosphere, 17, 233–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-233-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-233-2023, 2023
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During 1979–2020, four winter polynyas occurred in December 1986 and February 2011, 2017, and 2018 north of Greenland. Instead of ice melting due to the anomalous warm air intrusion, the extreme wind forcing resulted in greater ice transport offshore. Based on the two ensemble runs, representing a 1980s thicker ice vs. a 2010s thinner ice, a dominant cause of these winter polynyas stems from internal variability of atmospheric forcing rather than from the forced response to a warming climate.
Alek A. Petty, Nicole Keeney, Alex Cabaj, Paul Kushner, and Marco Bagnardi
The Cryosphere, 17, 127–156, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-127-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-127-2023, 2023
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We present upgrades to winter Arctic sea ice thickness estimates from NASA's ICESat-2. Our new thickness results show better agreement with independent data from ESA's CryoSat-2 compared to our first data release, as well as new, very strong comparisons with data collected by moorings in the Beaufort Sea. We analyse three winters of thickness data across the Arctic, including 50 cm thinning of the multiyear ice over this 3-year period.
Darri Eythorsson, Sigurdur M. Gardarsson, Andri Gunnarsson, and Oli Gretar Blondal Sveinsson
The Cryosphere, 17, 51–62, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-51-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-51-2023, 2023
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In this study we researched past and predicted snow conditions in Iceland based on manual snow observations recorded in Iceland and compared these with satellite observations. Future snow conditions were predicted through numerical computer modeling based on climate models. The results showed that average snow depth and snow cover frequency have increased over the historical period but are projected to significantly decrease when projected into the future.
John E. Walsh, Hajo Eicken, Kyle Redilla, and Mark Johnson
The Cryosphere, 16, 4617–4635, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4617-2022, 2022
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Indicators for the start and end of annual breakup and freeze-up of sea ice at various coastal locations around the Arctic are developed. Relative to broader offshore areas, some of the coastal indicators show an earlier freeze-up and later breakup, especially at locations where landfast ice is prominent. However, the trends towards earlier breakup and later freeze-up are unmistakable over the post-1979 period in synthesized metrics of the coastal breakup/freeze-up indicators.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 3357–3373, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, 2022
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We compared the snowpack at two sites separated by less than 1 km, one in shrub tundra and the other one within the boreal forest. Even though the snowpack was twice as thick at the forested site, we found evidence that the vertical transport of water vapor from the bottom of the snowpack to its surface was important at both sites. The snow model Crocus simulates no water vapor fluxes and consequently failed to correctly simulate the observed density profiles.
Katrina E. Bennett, Greta Miller, Robert Busey, Min Chen, Emma R. Lathrop, Julian B. Dann, Mara Nutt, Ryan Crumley, Shannon L. Dillard, Baptiste Dafflon, Jitendra Kumar, W. Robert Bolton, Cathy J. Wilson, Colleen M. Iversen, and Stan D. Wullschleger
The Cryosphere, 16, 3269–3293, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3269-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3269-2022, 2022
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In the Arctic and sub-Arctic, climate shifts are changing ecosystems, resulting in alterations in snow, shrubs, and permafrost. Thicker snow under shrubs can lead to warmer permafrost because deeper snow will insulate the ground from the cold winter. In this paper, we use modeling to characterize snow to better understand the drivers of snow distribution. Eventually, this work will be used to improve models used to study future changes in Arctic and sub-Arctic snow patterns.
Abigail Smith, Alexandra Jahn, Clara Burgard, and Dirk Notz
The Cryosphere, 16, 3235–3248, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3235-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3235-2022, 2022
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The timing of Arctic sea ice melt each year is an important metric for assessing how sea ice in climate models compares to satellite observations. Here, we utilize a new tool for creating more direct comparisons between climate model projections and satellite observations of Arctic sea ice, such that the melt onset dates are defined the same way. This tool allows us to identify climate model biases more clearly and gain more information about what the satellites are observing.
Philipp Bernhard, Simon Zwieback, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 2819–2835, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2819-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2819-2022, 2022
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With climate change, Arctic hillslopes above ice-rich permafrost are vulnerable to enhanced carbon mobilization. In this work elevation change estimates generated from satellite observations reveal a substantial acceleration of carbon mobilization on the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia between 2010 and 2021. The strong increase occurring in 2020 coincided with a severe Siberian heatwave and highlights that carbon mobilization can respond sharply and non-linearly to increasing temperatures.
David N. Wagner, Matthew D. Shupe, Christopher Cox, Ola G. Persson, Taneil Uttal, Markus M. Frey, Amélie Kirchgaessner, Martin Schneebeli, Matthias Jaggi, Amy R. Macfarlane, Polona Itkin, Stefanie Arndt, Stefan Hendricks, Daniela Krampe, Marcel Nicolaus, Robert Ricker, Julia Regnery, Nikolai Kolabutin, Egor Shimanshuck, Marc Oggier, Ian Raphael, Julienne Stroeve, and Michael Lehning
The Cryosphere, 16, 2373–2402, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2373-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2373-2022, 2022
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Based on measurements of the snow cover over sea ice and atmospheric measurements, we estimate snowfall and snow accumulation for the MOSAiC ice floe, between November 2019 and May 2020. For this period, we estimate 98–114 mm of precipitation. We suggest that about 34 mm of snow water equivalent accumulated until the end of April 2020 and that at least about 50 % of the precipitated snow was eroded or sublimated. Further, we suggest explanations for potential snowfall overestimation.
Johannes Oerlemans, Jack Kohler, and Adrian Luckman
The Cryosphere, 16, 2115–2126, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2115-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2115-2022, 2022
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Tunabreen is a 26 km long tidewater glacier. It is the most frequently surging glacier in Svalbard, with four documented surges in the past 100 years. We have modelled this glacier to find out how it reacts to future climate change. Careful calibration was done against the observed length record for the past 100 years. For a 50 m increase in the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) the length of the glacier will be shortened by 10 km after about 100 years.
Juha Karvonen, Eero Rinne, Heidi Sallila, Petteri Uotila, and Marko Mäkynen
The Cryosphere, 16, 1821–1844, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1821-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1821-2022, 2022
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We propose a method to provide sea ice thickness (SIT) estimates over a test area in the Arctic utilizing radar altimeter (RA) measurement lines and C-band SAR imagery. The RA data are from CryoSat-2, and SAR imagery is from Sentinel-1. By combining them we get a SIT grid covering the whole test area instead of only narrow measurement lines from RA. This kind of SIT estimation can be extended to cover the whole Arctic (and Antarctic) for operational SIT monitoring.
Christian J. Taubenberger, Denis Felikson, and Thomas Neumann
The Cryosphere, 16, 1341–1348, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1341-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1341-2022, 2022
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Outlet glaciers are projected to account for half of the total ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet over the 21st century. We classify patterns of seasonal dynamic thickness changes of outlet glaciers using new observations from the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2). Our results reveal seven distinct patterns that differ across glaciers even within the same region. Future work can use our results to improve our understanding of processes that drive seasonal ice sheet changes.
Yu Liang, Haibo Bi, Haijun Huang, Ruibo Lei, Xi Liang, Bin Cheng, and Yunhe Wang
The Cryosphere, 16, 1107–1123, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1107-2022, 2022
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A record minimum July sea ice extent, since 1979, was observed in 2020. Our results reveal that an anomalously high advection of energy and water vapor prevailed during spring (April to June) 2020 over regions with noticeable sea ice retreat. The large-scale atmospheric circulation and cyclones act in concert to trigger the exceptionally warm and moist flow. The convergence of the transport changed the atmospheric characteristics and the surface energy budget, thus causing a severe sea ice melt.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Daniil Svyatsky, Brent Newman, Dylan Harp, David Moulton, and Cathy Wilson
The Cryosphere, 16, 851–862, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-851-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-851-2022, 2022
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Recent research indicates the importance of lateral transport of dissolved carbon in the polygonal tundra, suggesting that the freeze-up period could further promote lateral carbon transport. We conducted subsurface tracer simulations on high-, flat-, and low-centered polygons to test the importance of the freeze–thaw cycle and freeze-up time for tracer mobility. Our findings illustrate the impact of hydraulic and thermal gradients on tracer mobility, as well as of the freeze-up time.
Fredrik Boberg, Ruth Mottram, Nicolaj Hansen, Shuting Yang, and Peter L. Langen
The Cryosphere, 16, 17–33, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-17-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-17-2022, 2022
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Using the regional climate model HIRHAM5, we compare two versions (v2 and v3) of the global climate model EC-Earth for the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets. We are interested in the surface mass balance of the ice sheets due to its importance when making estimates of future sea level rise. We find that the end-of-century change in the surface mass balance for Antarctica is 420 Gt yr−1 (v2) and 80 Gt yr−1 (v3), and for Greenland it is −290 Gt yr−1 (v2) and −1640 Gt yr−1 (v3).
Jinlei Chen, Shichang Kang, Wentao Du, Junming Guo, Min Xu, Yulan Zhang, Xinyue Zhong, Wei Zhang, and Jizu Chen
The Cryosphere, 15, 5473–5482, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5473-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5473-2021, 2021
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Sea ice is retreating with rapid warming in the Arctic. It will continue and approach the worst predicted pathway released by the IPCC. The irreversible tipping point might show around 2060 when the oldest ice will have completely disappeared. It has a huge impact on human production. Ordinary merchant ships will be able to pass the Northeast Passage and Northwest Passage by the midcentury, and the opening time will advance to the next 10 years for icebreakers with moderate ice strengthening.
Qiang Wang, Sergey Danilov, Longjiang Mu, Dmitry Sidorenko, and Claudia Wekerle
The Cryosphere, 15, 4703–4725, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4703-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4703-2021, 2021
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Using simulations, we found that changes in ocean freshwater content induced by wind perturbations can significantly affect the Arctic sea ice drift, thickness, concentration and deformation rates years after the wind perturbations. The impact is through changes in sea surface height and surface geostrophic currents and the most pronounced in warm seasons. Such a lasting impact might become stronger in a warming climate and implies the importance of ocean initialization in sea ice prediction.
Henrieka Detlef, Brendan Reilly, Anne Jennings, Mads Mørk Jensen, Matt O'Regan, Marianne Glasius, Jesper Olsen, Martin Jakobsson, and Christof Pearce
The Cryosphere, 15, 4357–4380, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4357-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4357-2021, 2021
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Here we examine the Nares Strait sea ice dynamics over the last 7000 years and their implications for the late Holocene readvance of the floating part of Petermann Glacier. We propose that the historically observed sea ice dynamics are a relatively recent feature, while most of the mid-Holocene was marked by variable sea ice conditions in Nares Strait. Nonetheless, major advances of the Petermann ice tongue were preceded by a shift towards harsher sea ice conditions in Nares Strait.
Timothy Williams, Anton Korosov, Pierre Rampal, and Einar Ólason
The Cryosphere, 15, 3207–3227, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3207-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3207-2021, 2021
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neXtSIM (neXt-generation Sea Ice Model) includes a novel and extremely realistic way of modelling sea ice dynamics – i.e. how the sea ice moves and deforms in response to the drag from winds and ocean currents. It has been developed over the last few years for a variety of applications, but this paper represents its first demonstration in a forecast context. We present results for the time period from November 2018 to June 2020 and show that it agrees well with satellite observations.
Paul D. Bons, Tamara de Riese, Steven Franke, Maria-Gema Llorens, Till Sachau, Nicolas Stoll, Ilka Weikusat, Julien Westhoff, and Yu Zhang
The Cryosphere, 15, 2251–2254, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2251-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2251-2021, 2021
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The modelling of Smith-Johnson et al. (The Cryosphere, 14, 841–854, 2020) suggests that a very large heat flux of more than 10 times the usual geothermal heat flux is required to have initiated or to control the huge Northeast Greenland Ice Stream. Our comparison with known hotspots, such as Iceland and Yellowstone, shows that such an exceptional heat flux would be unique in the world and is incompatible with known geological processes that can raise the heat flux.
Tobias Reiner Vonnahme, Emma Persson, Ulrike Dietrich, Eva Hejdukova, Christine Dybwad, Josef Elster, Melissa Chierici, and Rolf Gradinger
The Cryosphere, 15, 2083–2107, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2083-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2083-2021, 2021
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We describe the impact of subglacial discharge in early spring on a sea-ice-covered fjord on Svalbard by comparing a site influenced by a shallow tidewater glacier with two reference sites. We found a moderate under-ice phytoplankton bloom at the glacier front, which we attribute to subglacial upwelling of nutrients; a strongly stratified surface layer; and higher light penetration. In contrast, sea ice algae biomass was limited by low salinities and brine volumes.
Sourav Chatterjee, Roshin P. Raj, Laurent Bertino, Sebastian H. Mernild, Meethale Puthukkottu Subeesh, Nuncio Murukesh, and Muthalagu Ravichandran
The Cryosphere, 15, 1307–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1307-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1307-2021, 2021
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Sea ice in the Greenland Sea (GS) is important for its climatic (fresh water), economical (shipping), and ecological contribution (light availability). The study proposes a mechanism through which sea ice concentration in GS is partly governed by the atmospheric and ocean circulation in the region. The mechanism proposed in this study can be useful for assessing the sea ice variability and its future projection in the GS.
Ruibo Lei, Mario Hoppmann, Bin Cheng, Guangyu Zuo, Dawei Gui, Qiongqiong Cai, H. Jakob Belter, and Wangxiao Yang
The Cryosphere, 15, 1321–1341, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1321-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1321-2021, 2021
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Quantification of ice deformation is useful for understanding of the role of ice dynamics in climate change. Using data of 32 buoys, we characterized spatiotemporal variations in ice kinematics and deformation in the Pacific sector of Arctic Ocean for autumn–winter 2018/19. Sea ice in the south and west has stronger mobility than in the east and north, which weakens from autumn to winter. An enhanced Arctic dipole and weakened Beaufort Gyre in winter lead to an obvious turning of ice drifting.
Tingfeng Dou, Cunde Xiao, Jiping Liu, Qiang Wang, Shifeng Pan, Jie Su, Xiaojun Yuan, Minghu Ding, Feng Zhang, Kai Xue, Peter A. Bieniek, and Hajo Eicken
The Cryosphere, 15, 883–895, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-883-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-883-2021, 2021
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Rain-on-snow (ROS) events can accelerate the surface ablation of sea ice, greatly influencing the ice–albedo feedback. We found that spring ROS events have shifted to earlier dates over the Arctic Ocean in recent decades, which is correlated with sea ice melt onset in the Pacific sector and most Eurasian marginal seas. There has been a clear transition from solid to liquid precipitation, leading to a reduction in spring snow depth on sea ice by more than −0.5 cm per decade since the 1980s.
Eef C. H. van Dongen, Guillaume Jouvet, Shin Sugiyama, Evgeny A. Podolskiy, Martin Funk, Douglas I. Benn, Fabian Lindner, Andreas Bauder, Julien Seguinot, Silvan Leinss, and Fabian Walter
The Cryosphere, 15, 485–500, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, 2021
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The dynamic mass loss of tidewater glaciers is strongly linked to glacier calving. We study calving mechanisms under a thinning regime, based on 5 years of field and remote-sensing data of Bowdoin Glacier. Our data suggest that Bowdoin Glacier ungrounded recently, and its calving behaviour changed from calving due to surface crevasses to buoyancy-induced calving resulting from basal crevasses. This change may be a precursor to glacier retreat.
Lu Zhou, Julienne Stroeve, Shiming Xu, Alek Petty, Rachel Tilling, Mai Winstrup, Philip Rostosky, Isobel R. Lawrence, Glen E. Liston, Andy Ridout, Michel Tsamados, and Vishnu Nandan
The Cryosphere, 15, 345–367, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-345-2021, 2021
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Snow on sea ice plays an important role in the Arctic climate system. Large spatial and temporal discrepancies among the eight snow depth products are analyzed together with their seasonal variability and long-term trends. These snow products are further compared against various ground-truth observations. More analyses on representation error of sea ice parameters are needed for systematic comparison and fusion of airborne, in situ and remote sensing observations.
Beena Balan-Sarojini, Steffen Tietsche, Michael Mayer, Magdalena Balmaseda, Hao Zuo, Patricia de Rosnay, Tim Stockdale, and Frederic Vitart
The Cryosphere, 15, 325–344, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-325-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-325-2021, 2021
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Our study for the first time shows the impact of measured sea ice thickness (SIT) on seasonal forecasts of all the seasons. We prove that the long-term memory present in the Arctic winter SIT is helpful to improve summer sea ice forecasts. Our findings show that realistic SIT initial conditions to start a forecast are useful in (1) improving seasonal forecasts, (2) understanding errors in the forecast model, and (3) recognizing the need for continuous monitoring of world's ice-covered oceans.
Chao Min, Qinghua Yang, Longjiang Mu, Frank Kauker, and Robert Ricker
The Cryosphere, 15, 169–181, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-169-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-169-2021, 2021
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An ensemble of four estimates of the sea-ice volume (SIV) variations in Baffin Bay from 2011 to 2016 is generated from the locally merged satellite observations, three modeled sea ice thickness sources (CMST, NAOSIM, and PIOMAS) and NSIDC ice drift data (V4). Results show that the net increase of the ensemble mean SIV occurs from October to April with the largest SIV increase in December, and the reduction occurs from May to September with the largest SIV decline in July.
Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Michael Fritz, Juliane Wolter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Hanno Meyer, Matthias Fuchs, Aleksei Aksenov, Heidrun Matthes, Lutz Schirrmeister, and Thomas Opel
The Cryosphere, 14, 4525–4551, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, 2020
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In the present study, we analysed geochemical and sedimentological properties of relict permafrost and ground ice exposed at the Sobo-Sise Yedoma cliff in the eastern Lena delta in NE Siberia. We obtained insight into permafrost aggradation and degradation over the last approximately 52 000 years and the climatic and morphodynamic controls on regional-scale permafrost dynamics of the central Laptev Sea coastal region.
Christopher Chambers, Ralf Greve, Bas Altena, and Pierre-Marie Lefeuvre
The Cryosphere, 14, 3747–3759, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3747-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3747-2020, 2020
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The topography of the rock below the Greenland ice sheet is not well known. One long valley appears as a line of dips because of incomplete data. So we use ice model simulations that unblock this valley, and these create a watercourse that may represent a form of river over 1000 km long under the ice. When we melt ice at the bottom of the ice sheet only in the deep interior, water can flow down the valley only when the valley is unblocked. It may have developed while an ice sheet was present.
Mohammed E. Shokr, Zihan Wang, and Tingting Liu
The Cryosphere, 14, 3611–3627, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3611-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3611-2020, 2020
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This paper uses sequential daily SAR images covering the Robeson Channel to quantitatively study kinematics of individual ice floes with exploration of wind influence and the evolution of the ice arch at the entry of the channel. Results show that drift of ice floes within the Robeson Channel and the arch are both significantly influenced by wind. The study highlights the advantage of using the high-resolution daily SAR coverage in monitoring sea ice cover in narrow water passages.
Guillian Van Achter, Leandro Ponsoni, François Massonnet, Thierry Fichefet, and Vincent Legat
The Cryosphere, 14, 3479–3486, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3479-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3479-2020, 2020
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We document the spatio-temporal internal variability of Arctic sea ice thickness and its changes under anthropogenic forcing, which is key to understanding, and eventually predicting, the evolution of sea ice in response to climate change.
The patterns of sea ice thickness variability remain more or less stable during pre-industrial, historical and future periods, despite non-stationarity on short timescales. These patterns start to change once Arctic summer ice-free events occur, after 2050.
Abigail Smith, Alexandra Jahn, and Muyin Wang
The Cryosphere, 14, 2977–2997, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2977-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2977-2020, 2020
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The annual cycle of Arctic sea ice can be used to gain more information about how climate model simulations of sea ice compare to observations. In some models, the September sea ice area agrees with observations for the wrong reasons because biases in the timing of seasonal transitions compensate for other unrealistic sea ice characteristics. This research was done to provide new process-based metrics of Arctic sea ice using satellite observations, the CESM Large Ensemble, and CMIP6 models.
Frédéric Bouchard, Daniel Fortier, Michel Paquette, Vincent Boucher, Reinhard Pienitz, and Isabelle Laurion
The Cryosphere, 14, 2607–2627, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020, 2020
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We combine lake mapping, landscape observations and sediment core analyses to document the evolution of a thermokarst (thaw) lake in the Canadian Arctic over the last millennia. We conclude that temperature is not the only driver of thermokarst development, as the lake likely started to form during a cooler period around 2000 years ago. The lake is now located in frozen layers with an organic carbon content that is an order of magnitude higher than the usually reported values across the Arctic.
Michael Kern, Robert Cullen, Bruno Berruti, Jerome Bouffard, Tania Casal, Mark R. Drinkwater, Antonio Gabriele, Arnaud Lecuyot, Michael Ludwig, Rolv Midthassel, Ignacio Navas Traver, Tommaso Parrinello, Gerhard Ressler, Erik Andersson, Cristina Martin-Puig, Ole Andersen, Annett Bartsch, Sinead Farrell, Sara Fleury, Simon Gascoin, Amandine Guillot, Angelika Humbert, Eero Rinne, Andrew Shepherd, Michiel R. van den Broeke, and John Yackel
The Cryosphere, 14, 2235–2251, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2235-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2235-2020, 2020
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The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter will provide high-resolution sea ice thickness and land ice elevation measurements and the capability to determine the properties of snow cover on ice to serve operational products and services of direct relevance to the polar regions. This paper describes the mission objectives, identifies the key contributions the CRISTAL mission will make, and presents a concept – as far as it is already defined – for the mission payload.
Thomas Krumpen, Florent Birrien, Frank Kauker, Thomas Rackow, Luisa von Albedyll, Michael Angelopoulos, H. Jakob Belter, Vladimir Bessonov, Ellen Damm, Klaus Dethloff, Jari Haapala, Christian Haas, Carolynn Harris, Stefan Hendricks, Jens Hoelemann, Mario Hoppmann, Lars Kaleschke, Michael Karcher, Nikolai Kolabutin, Ruibo Lei, Josefine Lenz, Anne Morgenstern, Marcel Nicolaus, Uwe Nixdorf, Tomash Petrovsky, Benjamin Rabe, Lasse Rabenstein, Markus Rex, Robert Ricker, Jan Rohde, Egor Shimanchuk, Suman Singha, Vasily Smolyanitsky, Vladimir Sokolov, Tim Stanton, Anna Timofeeva, Michel Tsamados, and Daniel Watkins
The Cryosphere, 14, 2173–2187, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2173-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2173-2020, 2020
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In October 2019 the research vessel Polarstern was moored to an ice floe in order to travel with it on the 1-year-long MOSAiC journey through the Arctic. Here we provide historical context of the floe's evolution and initial state for upcoming studies. We show that the ice encountered on site was exceptionally thin and was formed on the shallow Siberian shelf. The analyses presented provide the initial state for the analysis and interpretation of upcoming biogeochemical and ecological studies.
Sukun Cheng, Justin Stopa, Fabrice Ardhuin, and Hayley H. Shen
The Cryosphere, 14, 2053–2069, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2053-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2053-2020, 2020
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Wave states in ice in polar oceans are mostly studied near the ice edge. However, observations in the internal ice field, where ice morphology is very different from the ice edge, are rare. Recently derived wave data from satellite imagery are easier and cheaper than field studies and provide large coverage. This work presents a way of using these data to have a close view of some key features in the wave propagation over hundreds of kilometers and calibrate models for predicting wave decay.
Anatoliy Gavrilov, Vladimir Pavlov, Alexandr Fridenberg, Mikhail Boldyrev, Vanda Khilimonyuk, Elena Pizhankova, Sergey Buldovich, Natalia Kosevich, Ali Alyautdinov, Mariia Ogienko, Alexander Roslyakov, Maria Cherbunina, and Evgeniy Ospennikov
The Cryosphere, 14, 1857–1873, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1857-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1857-2020, 2020
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The geocryological study of the Arctic shelf remains insufficient for economic activity. The article presents a study of its evolution by methods of math modeling of heat transfer in rocks. As a result, a model of the evolution and current state of the cryolithozone of the Kara shelf was created based on ideas about the history of its geocryological development over the past 125 kyr. The modeling results are correlated to the available field data and are presented as a geocryological map.
Jutta E. Wollenburg, Morten Iversen, Christian Katlein, Thomas Krumpen, Marcel Nicolaus, Giulia Castellani, Ilka Peeken, and Hauke Flores
The Cryosphere, 14, 1795–1808, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1795-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1795-2020, 2020
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Based on an observed omnipresence of gypsum crystals, we concluded that their release from melting sea ice is a general feature in the Arctic Ocean. Individual gypsum crystals sank at more than 7000 m d−1, suggesting that they are an important ballast mineral. Previous observations found gypsum inside phytoplankton aggregates at 2000 m depth, supporting gypsum as an important driver for pelagic-benthic coupling in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean.
Xiaoyong Yu, Annette Rinke, Wolfgang Dorn, Gunnar Spreen, Christof Lüpkes, Hiroshi Sumata, and Vladimir M. Gryanik
The Cryosphere, 14, 1727–1746, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1727-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1727-2020, 2020
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This study presents an evaluation of Arctic sea ice drift speed for the period 2003–2014 in a state-of-the-art coupled regional model for the Arctic, called HIRHAM–NAOSIM. In particular, the dependency of the drift speed on the near-surface wind speed and sea ice conditions is presented. Effects of sea ice form drag included by an improved parameterization of the transfer coefficients for momentum and heat over sea ice are discussed.
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Short summary
The Hazen Plateau of Ellesmere Island, Nunavat, Canada, is unglaciated with the exception of four small ice caps, the two St. Patrick Bay ice caps and the Murray and Simmons ice caps. Satellite data reveal that as of July 2016, the St. Patrick Bay ice caps have shrunk to 5 % of the area they covered in 1959 and will disappear in a few years. The Murray and Simmons ice caps have been reduced to 39 % and 25 %, respectively, of their former areas and may persist for another one or two decades.
The Hazen Plateau of Ellesmere Island, Nunavat, Canada, is unglaciated with the exception of...
