Paul Beckwith on the 2018 Arctic sea ice melt season

There is more to come

Arctic Sea Ice Melt Patterns and Analysis

Paul Beckwith

It appears that Arctic Sea-Ice will hang on for another year, as the melt season draws to a close for 2018. 

No blue-ocean event this year. 

However, the nature of the melt is definitely changing, and we can discern patterns in the melt from year to year. 

For example, at minimum-sea ice extent in Sept., 2014 there was still relatively thick ice (multi-year, and/or ridged ice) north of the Canadian Archipelago, but it pretty much vanished by the subsequent melt season. 

All that’s been left in September’s since then is ice less than a meter thick, apart from some 2 meter ice hanging on near the archipelago islands. 

Patterns of Arctic Sea-Ice Loss: Melt versus Export

Following up on my previous video, the summer melting characteristics for Arctic Sea-Ice are definitely changing. 

Melt occurs on: 

1) the top of the ice (air temperature above freezing, melt ponds, water within/between ice crystals, and ash/dirt in ice lower albedo), 

2) the edge of the ice (wave action fracturing, water mixing, turbulence), 

3) the bottom of the ice (water above freezing, fresh water lens, warmer salty water below). 

Also, ice is exported out :

a) the Fram Strait (less now as ice retreats), 

b) to the Atlantic north of Svalbard, 

c) out the Nares Strait (more now) and 

d) out the Canadian Archipelago channels (more now; no ridged ice left to block it).

 

What’s next? When? Why?

Stay tuned for 3 more ice videos. Please support my video analysis with a donation at http://paulbeckwith.net