Winds from Siberia Reduce Arctic Sea Ice Cover, Norwegian Researchers Find

[The Straight Story]

Winds from Siberia Reduce Arctic Sea Ice Cover, Norwegian Researchers Find

ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2010) — The ice cover in the Arctic has decreased dramatically in recent years. Norwegian researchers have discovered that changes in air circulation patterns create winds that push away the ice.

In recent years, satellite images have shown large variations in the ice cover around the North Pole. The images have also shown that the ice cover in the Arctic has diminished considerably over the past 30 years, with the most drastic reductions occurring in recent years.

Many experts believe that it is now only a matter of decades before climate change results in a totally ice-free Arctic during parts of the year. For instance, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that this may occur by the end of this century.

How much of the change in ice cover is caused by dramatic changes in the climate, and how much is the result of other factors? And what is causing the ice cover in the Arctic to disappear even faster than the climate models project?

The Arctic climate paradox

A few years ago, US researchers discovered what they termed the "Arctic climate paradox." Since 1980, the researchers had been observing a decrease in ice cover. They explained this through a slow process of climate change combined with fluctuations in patterns of atmospheric pressure and air currents over the Arctic. It was believed that the positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) was a major cause of the receding ice cover.

... As a result, researchers predicted that the pace of reduction in the ice cover would slow down.

Instead it accelerated.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100427111449.htm