The Arctic ice brought alarming numbers this season. It recorded its lowest winter accumulation since records began 47 years ago.
This is an alarming symptom of climate change that will have repercussions worldwide. This was confirmed by a group of scientists on Thursday.
The issue of decreasing Arctic ice
The Arctic reaches its maximum sea ice thickness in March of each year, followed by a six-month melting season.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center pointed out that the maximum measurement taken last Saturday was 14.33 million square kilometers, about 80,000 less than the previous lowest peak recorded in 2017. This is a size difference equivalent to California.
“The increase in global temperatures is what is causing the ice decrease,” said ice data specialist Walt Meier.
Melting ice, a product of climate change.
“Sea ice, in particular, is very sensitive. Thus, 31 degrees Fahrenheit means skating on ice and 33 degrees turn into swimming,” he added.
What this loss indicates
“The disappearance of sea ice is especially worrying because it is truly an early warning system that alerts us to a series of difficult-to-observe changes,” said Jennifer Francis, a scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod.
Scientists warn that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world.
Thus, the pressure and temperature differences between the north and south are reduced. This weakens the jet stream, which moves weather systems, causing them to dip further south with cold outbreaks and storms that often stall and result in more rain or snow.
On the other hand, they specified that the remaining ice is thin enough to melt quickly this summer. In this sense, a record low winter surface does not guarantee a record low summer surface.
Consequences: the study that reveals the relationship between Arctic ice melt and cyclones
A recent study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment suggests a possible reason for the underestimation of sea ice decline and the formation of Arctic cyclones.
Led by Steven Cavallo, a professor at the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, this research could result in more accurate meteorological and climate models and improve the prediction of cyclones in the Arctic.
Since 1979, the extent of Arctic sea ice, which describes the portion of the Arctic Ocean covered in ice, has decreased by 40% in the final months of summer. Global climate models have consistently underestimated this reduction.
Arctic ice melt.
The study examines what Cavallo and his co-authors call “Very Rapid Ice Loss Events” or VRILE. The decrease in sea ice since 1979 is the sum of numerous VRILE events that occur individually over periods of 5 to 18 days.
Cavallo suggests that Arctic cyclones are at least partially responsible. Arctic cyclones are meteorological phenomena that are difficult to predict and incorporate into models.
Although the exact mechanisms by which these cyclones can accelerate ice loss are not fully understood, Cavallo proposes two theories. The first is the interaction of turbulent seas with the ice.
