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

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.

• Author: Frans-Jan Parmentier; Torben Christensen; Lise Lotte Sorensen; Soren Rysgaard; A. David McGuire; Paul Miller; Donald A. Walker
• 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
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1784
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Topic: Physical Geography
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1758-6798