Spatio-temporal Variation of Arctic Sea Ice in Summer from 2003 to 2013

The variation in Arctic sea ice has significant implications for climate change due to its huge influence on the global heat balance. In this study, we quantified the spatio-temporal variation of Arctic sea ice distribution using Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer（AMSR-E） sea-ice concentration d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chinese geographical science 2018-02, Vol.28 (1), p.38-46
Main Authors: Wu, Mengquan, Jia, Lili, Xing, Qianguo, Song, Xiaodong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate change
Earth and Environmental Science
Geography
Heat balance
Ice
Polar environments
Sea ice
Summer
北极海冰
夏天
空间
时间
扫描辐射计
气候变化
伊丽莎白
热平衡
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Summary:The variation in Arctic sea ice has significant implications for climate change due to its huge influence on the global heat balance. In this study, we quantified the spatio-temporal variation of Arctic sea ice distribution using Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer（AMSR-E） sea-ice concentration data from 2003 to 2013. The results found that, over this period, the extent of sea ice reached a maximum in 2004, whereas in 2007 and 2012, the extent of summer sea ice was at a minimum. It declined continuously from 2010 to 2012, falling to its lowest level since 2003. Sea-ice extent fell continuously each summer between July and mid-September before increasing again. It decreased most rapidly in September, and the summer reduction rate was 1.35 × 10~5 km~2/yr, twice as fast as the rate between 1979 and 2006, and slightly slower than from 2002 to 2011. Area with 〉90% sea-ice concentration decreased by 1.32 × 10~7 km~2/yr, while locations with 〉50% sea-ice concentration, which were mainly covered by perennial ice, were near the North Pole, the Beaufort Sea, and the Queen Elizabeth Islands. Perennial Arctic ice decreased at a rate of 1.54 × 10~5 km~2 annually over the past 11 years.
ISSN:1002-0063
1993-064X
DOI:10.1007/s11769-017-0929-z