Climate and Global Change Issues - Atmospheric Angular Momentum
Climate and Global Change Issues - Cryosphere: Snow Cover
Table of Contents
Total Arctic sea ice extent (Fig. 1.25d) exhibits relatively large year-to-year variability. A relatively steady increase in the total Arctic sea-ice extent has been observed since July 1993. Over the 18 month period from July 1993 to December 1994, ice cover increased slightly in the Barents and Okhotsk Seas (Figs. 1.25a, b), and increased more dramatically in the Beaufort Sea (Fig. 1.25c).
In contrast with the Arctic, total sea-ice cover in the Antarctic has shown little variability since 1989 (Fig. 1.26d), suggesting a relatively stable sub-ocean circulation and heat transport in high southern latitudes. These conditions differ from the large anomalies in total sea-ice observed early in the record, which have been linked to slow variations in the subsurface oceanic heat and salinity fluxes.
During the past several years, selected sub-regions around the Antarctic have experienced substantial changes in sea-ice extent (Figs. 1.26a-c). However, these changes have tended to be out of phase from one region to the next, resulting in little net change in total ice cover during the period.
Climate and Global Change Issues - Atmospheric Angular Momentum
Climate and Global Change Issues - Cryosphere: Snow Cover
Table of Contents
