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Sea Ice and Ice Temperature Variability as Observed by Microwave and Infrared Satellite DataRecent reports of a retreating and thinning sea ice cover in the Arctic have pointed to a strong suggestion of significant warming in the polar regions. It is especially important to understand what these reports mean in light of the observed global warning and because the polar regions are expected to be most sensitive to changes in climate. To gain insight into this phenomenon, co-registered ice concentrations and surface temperatures derived from two decades of satellite microwave and infrared data have been processed and analyzed. While observations from meteorological stations indicate consistent surface warming in both regions during the last fifty years, the last 20 years of the same data set show warming in the Arctic but a slight cooling in the Antarctic. These results are consistent with the retreat in the Arctic ice cover and the advance in the Antarctic ice cover as revealed by historical satellite passive microwave data. Surface temperatures derived from satellite infrared data are shown to be consistent within 3 K with surface temperature data from the limited number of stations. While not as accurate, the former provides spatially detailed changes over the twenty year period. In the Arctic, for example, much of the warming occurred in the Beaufort Sea and the North American region in 1998 while slight cooling actually happened in parts of the Laptev Sea and Northern Siberia during the same time period. Big warming anomalies are also observed during the last five years but a periodic cycle of about ten years is apparent suggesting a possible influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation. In the Antarctic, large interannual and seasonal changes are also observed in the circumpolar ice cover with regional changes showing good coherence with surface temperature anomalies. However, a mode 3 is observed to be more dominant than the mode 2 wave reported in the literature. Some of these spatial and temporal changes appear to be influenced by the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave (ACW) and changes in coastal polynya activities.
Document ID
20010095442
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Comiso, Josefino C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Koblinsky, Chester J.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 19, 2001
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Meeting Information
Meeting: Sixth AMS Polar Meteorology and Oceanography Conference
Location: San Diego, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: May 14, 2001
End Date: May 18, 2001
Sponsors: American Meteorological Society
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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