10 May 2016
10 May 2016
Abrupt transitions in Arctic open water area
- 1Climate Change Research Center, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
- 2Finance Division, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457 USA
- 3Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA
- 4Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA
- 5National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
- 1Climate Change Research Center, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
- 2Finance Division, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457 USA
- 3Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA
- 4Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA
- 5National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
Abstract. September open water fraction in the Arctic is analyzed using the satellite era record of ice concentration (1979–2014). This analysis suggests that there is a statistically significant breakpoint (shift in the mean) and increase in the variance around 1988 and another breakpoint around 2007 in the Pacific sector. These structural breaks are robust to the choice of algorithm used for deriving sea ice concentration from satellite data, and are also apparent in other measures of open water, such as operational ice charts and the record of navigable days from Barrow to Prudhoe Bay. Breakpoints in the Atlantic sector record of open water are evident in 1988 and 2007 but more weakly significant. The breakpoints appear to be associated with concomitant shifts in average ice age, and tend to lead change in Arctic circulation regimes. These results support the thesis that Arctic sea ice may have critical points beyond which a return to the previous state is less likely.
Michael A. Goldstein et al.


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RC1: 'Review of Goldstein et al., "Abrupt transitions in Arctic open water area"', Anonymous Referee #1, 21 Jun 2016
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AC1: 'Response to Comments by Reviewer 1', Amanda Lynch, 08 Jul 2016
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AC1: 'Response to Comments by Reviewer 1', Amanda Lynch, 08 Jul 2016
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RC2: 'Anonymous review of 'Abrupt transitions in Arctic open water area'', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Aug 2016
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AC2: 'Response to review from Anonymous Referee #2', Amanda Lynch, 24 Aug 2016
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AC2: 'Response to review from Anonymous Referee #2', Amanda Lynch, 24 Aug 2016


-
RC1: 'Review of Goldstein et al., "Abrupt transitions in Arctic open water area"', Anonymous Referee #1, 21 Jun 2016
-
AC1: 'Response to Comments by Reviewer 1', Amanda Lynch, 08 Jul 2016
-
AC1: 'Response to Comments by Reviewer 1', Amanda Lynch, 08 Jul 2016
-
RC2: 'Anonymous review of 'Abrupt transitions in Arctic open water area'', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Aug 2016
-
AC2: 'Response to review from Anonymous Referee #2', Amanda Lynch, 24 Aug 2016
-
AC2: 'Response to review from Anonymous Referee #2', Amanda Lynch, 24 Aug 2016
Michael A. Goldstein et al.
Michael A. Goldstein et al.
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