The Arctic's Beaufort Gyre has collapsed

Unprecedented Collapse of the Arctic Beaufort Gyre

Paul Beckwith

As I walk through the seemingly endless hallways filled with poster displays of scientific observations and analysis on geophysical Earth topics (climatology, oceanography, natural hazards, hydrology, soils, rocks, etc.), I discuss highlights on the Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice talks that I attended all morning

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Most significantly, the Arctic’s Beaufort Gyre collapsed. This unprecedented event in late 2016/early 2017 occurred with rapidly declining sea-ice, letting ever increasing numbers of stronger storms from the Atlantic to enter the Arctic, bringing moisture and more warming. A vicious cycle of cascading feedbacks…