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Paul Miller. Photo.

Paul Miller

Senior lecturer

Paul Miller. Photo.

The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange

Author

  • Frans-Jan Parmentier
  • Torben Christensen
  • Lise Lotte Sorensen
  • Soren Rysgaard
  • A. David McGuire
  • Paul Miller
  • Donald A. Walker

Summary, in English

In September 2012, Arctic sea-ice extent plummeted to a new record low: two times lower than the 1979-2000 average. Often, record lows in sea-ice cover are hailed as an example of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Less apparent, however, are the implications of reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean for marine-atmosphere CO2 exchange. Sea-ice decline has been connected to increasing air temperatures at high latitudes. Temperature is a key controlling factor in the terrestrial exchange of CO2 and methane, and therefore the greenhouse-gas balance of the Arctic. Despite the large potential for feedbacks, many studies do not connect the diminishing sea-ice extent with changes in the interaction of the marine and terrestrial Arctic with the atmosphere. In this Review, we assess how current understanding of the Arctic Ocean and high-latitude ecosystems can be used to predict the impact of a lower sea-ice cover on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange.

Department/s

  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
  • MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate

Publishing year

2013

Language

English

Pages

195-202

Publication/Series

Nature Climate Change

Volume

3

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Topic

  • Physical Geography

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1758-6798