Satellite-observed drop of Arctic sea ice growth in winter 2015–2016
2017
An anomalous warm winter 2015–2016 lead to the lowest winter ice extent and highlights the sensitivity of the
Arctic
sea ice. Here we use the 6 year record of an improved
sea ice thicknessproduct retrieved from data fusion of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity
radiometrymeasurements to examine the impact of recent temperature trend on the
Arcticice mass balance. Between November 2015 and March 2016, we find a consistent drop of cumulative freezing
degree daysacross the
Arctic, with a negative peak anomaly of about 1000
degree daysin the Barents Sea, coinciding with an
Arctic-wide average thinning of 10 cm in March with respect to the 6 year average. In particular, the loss of ice volume is associated with a significant decline of March first-year ice volume by 13%. This reveals that due to the loss of multiyear ice during previous years, the
Arcticice cover becomes more sensitive to climate anomalies.
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