Interannual variability in Transpolar Drift summer sea ice thickness and potential impact of Atlantification

15 June 2021

Summer sea ice thickness observations based on electromagnetic induction measurements north of Fram Strait show a 20 % reduction in mean and modal ice thickness from 2001–2020. The observed variability is caused by changes in drift speeds and consequential variations in sea ice age and number of freezing-degree days. Increased ocean heat fluxes measured upstream in the source regions of Arctic ice seem to precondition ice thickness, which is potentially still measurable more than a year later.

The press release by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) can be found at: https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press/single-view/default-07b7450ef9.html

Contact: H. Jakob Belter (jakob.belter@awi.de)