Friday, January 2, 2015

Strong winds threaten to push sea ice out of Arctic Ocean

By Albert Kallio


The lateral viscosity of the thin Arctic sea ice cover continues to lower. In November just one quarter of the high Arctic Ocean basin above 85° north was covered by a thin this winter's ice. This has now doubled, soon covering two quarters. The ice has been pushed away from Russia towards Canada and to the Fram Strait at phenomenal rates.
 
Animation by navy.mil showing 30 days of sea ice thickness, up to January 1, 2015
This is increasingly suggesting that the remaining half in front of the Fram Strait will be sucked into the Atlantic Ocean soon. The dark blue ice is newly formed crushed ice behind the North Pole (pack ice). We may well be in course to the first recorded ice free season in the Arctic Ocean. In addition, the rear is pushed from behind Canada to the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

Animation by navy.mil showing 30 days of sea ice speed and drift, up to January 1, 2015

We need to act, now. I think we need to monitor this development almost on daily basis. I am curious to see how the ice may behave after the last remainders of the second quarter are sucked into the Atlantic Ocean and the newly forming sea ice will face the force of the Atlantic waves. That could mean extremely highly fractured sea ice across the Russian side by the return of spring 2015 sunlight.

I think we are witnessing a historic transition right now with no ice in the summers.



2 comments:

  1. The ability of the new deniers, those that under state the gravity of the situation to downplay the disaster becomes more untenable every day. We are now in a time of abrupt climate change.

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  2. The ice at high Arctic is strong now for foundations of Wall St takings. The price of food rising is climax.
    No matter the fact that conversion of sunlight to sugars under mild climate was Earth's primary ecosystem function. Wrecking that has the plus side of ensuring a rush of money to Corporate Life form - and the people are silent and complacent like as if in shock, unable to cope w the reality of it.. Real..
    But, theoretically it is still possible to undo the lock out of Closed System and clear decks for change.

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