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The Arctic Ocean: Physical Processes and their Effects on Climate and the Ecosystem
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The early collapse of the 2017 Lincoln Sea Ice Arch in response to thin ice and anomalous wind forcing (Invited)
Wednesday 9th @ 1350-1410, Conference Room 5
Kent Moore* , University of Toronto Mississauga
K. McNeil, University of Toronto Mississauga
Presenter Email: gwk.moore@utoronto.ca |
| One of the most dramatic indicators of climate change is the reduction in the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice. As a result of this reduction, there has been increased sea ice mobility in response to surface wind forcing that has implications for the Arctic sea ice mass budget. In addition, recent winters in the Arctic have also been unusually warm. The winter of 2017 was characterized not only by warmer temperatures but also by a reversal in the seasonal surface winds and ice motion in the western Arctic that has not been observed previously. During late April and early May of 2017, satellite observations indicated that the ice arch that forms along the boundary between Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea collapsed. Typically, this collapse occurs in July or August each year allowing thick multi-year sea ice to exit the Arctic through Nares Strait. Here we use satellite and in-situ meteorological data, as well as atmospheric model fields to argue that the early collapse during 2017 was due to thin ice in the Lincoln Sea that was the result of the anomalous wind forcing during the preceding winter as well as an unusual Nares Strait wind regime characterized by intermittent strong northerly flow. If the ice in the region continues to thin, there may be a secular trend towards an earlier arch collapse even under climatological wind forcing. Early collapses hold consequences for the Arctic sea ice mass budget as well as downstream climate, ecosystem and maritime hazard impacts. |
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