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Evidence for rapid thinning of sea ice in the western Arctic Ocean at the end of the 1980s
Author(s) -
Tucker Walter B.,
Weatherly John W.,
Eppler Duane T.,
Farmer L. Dennis,
Bentley Diane L.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl012967
Subject(s) - arctic ice pack , sea ice , oceanography , geology , antarctic sea ice , arctic , thinning , drift ice , ocean gyre , beaufort sea , submarine , arctic sea ice decline , submarine pipeline , cryosphere , climatology , geography , subtropics , fishery , forestry , biology
Examination of springtime ice drafts obtained from submarine profiles in a narrow band of the western Arctic Ocean from offshore Alaska to 89°N indicates that the mean ice draft decreased 1.5 m between the mid‐1980s and early 1990s. No similar trend was evident in ice drafts near the North Pole. The 1980s drafts were composed largely of ice exceeding 3.5 m, while the early 1990s drafts contained more ice in thinner categories. The differences in drafts between the two periods appear to be related largely to ice dynamics effects associated with the presence and strength of the Beaufort Gyre, which weakened considerably in the early 1990s.