Northern Russia Wind Patterns Major Factor in Arctic Sea Ice Loss
03.05.2010 - Water & Oceans, Arctic
While the ice cover has consistently receded in recent years, climate change might not be the only one to blame, Norwegian researchers say. Although there have been significant changes, the researchers believe that changes in air circulation patterns create winds that might push away the ice.
Since 1980, the researchers had been observing a decrease in ice cover. This decrease, they thought, was the result of a slow process of climate change combined with fluctuating patterns of atmospheric pressure and air currents over the Arctic. They concluded that the positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) was a major cause of the receding ice cover.
In 2000, however, the AO switched to a negative phase researchers believed would slow down the pace of ice cover loss in the Arctic. This change, the Norwegian researchers found, agrees with the acceleration of the reduction of ice cover in the Arctic. The researchers then began to analyze the circulation patterns over the Arctic.
Changing wind patterns, the researchers found, is a major factor in the extent of the ice cover over the Arctic. In fact, months with very little ice cover and high temperatures seemed to correspond with crucial variations in the wind patterns. While the changing wind patterns drove the ice away from the Arctic and along the eastern coast of Greenland, receding ice formation is due to pressure systems in northern Russia influencing winds over the Arctic.
Although the most dramatic changes in the extent of Arctic sea ice in recent years were caused by atmospheric circulation patterns, they also include a slow process of climate change. Furthermore, while not rejecting the IPCC’s prediction of an ice-free Arctic towards the end of the century, the researchers believe that we should be cautious about interpreting the receding Arctic ice cover in the past decade as an indication of an ice-free Arctic in 10 to 20 years.
