Arctic Sea Ice Volume Variability over 1901–2010: A Model-Based Reconstruction

Schweiger, Axel J.; Wood, Kevin R.; Zhang, Jinlun

doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0008.1

Title: Arctic Sea Ice Volume Variability over 1901–2010: A Model-Based Reconstruction

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Climate

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0008.1· OSTI ID:1530922

Schweiger, Axel J. ^[1]; Wood, Kevin R. ^[2]; Zhang, Jinlun ^[1]

Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

PIOMAS-20C, an Arctic sea ice reconstruction for 1901–2010, is produced by forcing the Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) with ERA-20C atmospheric data. ERA-20C performance over Arctic sea ice is assessed by comparisons with measurements and data from other reanalyses. ERA-20C performs similarly with respect to the annual cycle of downwelling radiation, air temperature, and wind speed compared to reanalyses with more extensive data assimilation such as ERA-Interim and MERRA. PIOMAS-20C sea ice thickness and volume are then compared with in situ and aircraft remote sensing observations for the period of ~1950–2010. Error statistics are similar to those for PIOMAS. We compare the magnitude and patterns of sea ice variability between the first half of the twentieth century (1901–40) and the more recent period (1980–2010), both marked by sea ice decline in the Arctic. The first period contains the so-called early-twentieth-century warming (ETCW; ~1920–40) during which the Atlantic sector saw a significant decline in sea ice volume, but the Pacific sector did not. The sea ice decline over the 1979–2010 period is pan-Arctic and 6 times larger than the net decline during the 1901–40 period. Sea ice volume trends reconstructed solely from surface temperature anomalies are smaller than PIOMAS-20C, suggesting that mechanisms other than warming, such as changes in ice motion and deformation, played a significant role in determining sea ice volume trends during both periods.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division; National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; ARC-1203425; PLR-1416920; PLR-1603259; OPP-1744587; NNX15AG68G; NNX17AD27G; NA15OAR4320063

OSTI ID:: 1530922

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1577705

Journal Information:: Journal of Climate, Journal Name: Journal of Climate Vol. 32 Journal Issue: 15; ISSN 0894-8755

Publisher:: American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 40 works

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