NSIDC Arctic sea ice news August 2012

The NSIDC has released its latest analysis for the month of August.
Here are what I find the most interesting excerpts:

Following the new record low recorded on August 26, Arctic sea ice extent continued to drop and is now below 4.00 million square kilometers (1.54 million square miles). Compared to September conditions in the 1980s and 1990s, this represents a 45% reduction in the area of the Arctic covered by sea ice. At least one more week likely remains in the melt season.

(...)

In 2012, the rate of ice loss for August was 91,700 square kilometers (35,400 square miles) per day, the fastest observed for the month of August over the period of satellite observations. In August 2007, ice was lost at a rate of 66,000 square kilometers (25,400 square miles) per day, and in 2008, the year with the previous highest August ice loss, the rate was 80,600 square kilometers (31,100 square miles) per day. The average ice loss for August is 55,100 square kilometers (21,300 square miles) per day. This rapid pace of ice loss in 2012 was dominated by large losses in the East Siberian and the Chukchi seas, likely caused in part by the strong cyclone that entered the region earlier in the month and helped to break up the ice. However, even after the cyclone had dissipated, ice loss continued at a rate of 77,800 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) per day.

(...)

Evolution of sea surface temperatures in August

In recent summers, Arctic Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have been anomalously high (see our 2010 and 2011 end-of-summer posts), in part linked to loss of the reflective ice cover that allows darker open water areas to readily absorb solar radiation and warm the mixed layer of the ocean. According to Mike Steele, Wendy Ermold and Ignatius Rigor of the University of Washington, SSTs in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Laptev seas were once again anomalously high before the strong cyclone (mentioned earlier and discussed in our previous post) entered the East Siberian and Chukchi seas on August 5, 2012. SSTs were as much as 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal along the coastal areas in those seas. After the storm, the warm water that developed through summer was interspersed with large areas of cold water created by ice melt. By the third week of August, sea surface temperatures were mostly back to levels observed before the storm, but with a few more patches of colder water interspersed from additional ice melt.

(...)

Old ice continues to decline

Ice age is an important indicator of the health of the ice cover. Old ice, also called multiyear ice, tends to be thicker ice and less prone to melting out in summer. The last few summers have seen increased losses of multiyear ice in the Pacific sector of the Arctic; multiyear ice that is transported into the Beaufort and Chukchi seas tends to melt out in summer before being transported back to the central Arctic Ocean through the clockwise Beaufort Gyre circulation. This summer, the tongue of multiyear ice along the Alaska coast mostly melted out by the end of August, with a small remnant left in the Chukchi Sea. The ice on the Pacific side of the Arctic has melted back to the edge of the multiyear ice cover, which should help to slow further ice loss in the region. In the Laptev Sea, by contrast, a large amount of first-year ice remains. In the last two weeks, open water areas have developed within the first-year ice in the Laptev Sea, helping to further foster melt in that region.

Between mid-March and the third week of August, the total amount of multiyear ice within the Arctic Ocean declined by 33%, and the oldest ice, ice older than five years, declined by 51%.

I've copied most of this month's analysis, but that was because most of it was highly interesting. Read the rest here.

Comments

[Kris]

IMHO the most interesting feature is the ice-age comparison map.

For instance, it's fascinating to see how quite a tad of 5+-year ice to it's destroyement has been squized through the NWPassage.

Fascinating to see too the "tongue" pointing to the New Siberian Islands and formed in 2008/2009 still holds. Looks like it's the Arctics very last weapon to it's defence.

Out of intrest I've added this image to the September Arctic Parade

[Artful Dodger]

I found it more interesting the NSIDC says SIE is below 4.0 Million sq. km when on the day, and by their own data, SIE is below 3.6 Million sq. km.

Waiting for them to reassert Antarctic sea ice into the Arctic updates...

[Seke Rob]

The problem with the US public funded institutions is, there's 2 factions going by the TP and GOP monikers that likes to defund anything too loud. If they reassert [things are still salvageable] by integrating the Antarctic data... they can, and then inevitable the global image appears: http://bit.ly/CTGB01 . Close to 3 StdDev. Come October/November, will that red line dip below the 2010/2011 tracks?

[bill kapra]

A4R and Protege,

I'm following the HYCOM drift projections too and it looks as if we're in for very substantial ejection through Fram in coming days.

What do folks know about the likelihood of such ejected ice melting off the east coast of Greenland?

[Espen Olsen]

As long as it not an erection, but only a Fram export, it is ok!

[Bob Wallace]

Here's a thickness comparison of Jun 1 and Sep 4 ice thickness. (Thanks to A4R for the images.)

http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt275/Bob_Wall/Jun1Sep42012PanoIceThick.jpg?t=1346962306

It's certainly been a year of change.

[TenneyNaumer]

@bill kapra

The ice sent out through the Fram Strait will melt since it goes south to warmer waters. Sometimes it has to travel a long way to melt, sometimes it doesn't.

[Seke Rob]

New record minimum by the looks of it:

2012, 09, 09, 3.49977, 0.00000,
2012, 09, 10, 3.46646, 0.00000,

5 Day trailing mean 3512874

Yes it can!

[Jim Williams]

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

It's not exactly an announcement of minimum, but it is news.

[dorlomin]

"So far, air temperatures have remained above freezing and Stroeve has not observed any ice formation. "

Blimey.