Physical and optical characteristics of sea ice in the Pacific Arctic Sector during the summer of 2018

The reduction in Arctic sea ice in summer has been reported to have a significant impact on the global climate.In this study,Arctic sea ice/snow at the end of the melting season in 2018 was investigated during CHINARE-2018,in terms of its temperature,salinity,density and textural structure,the snow density,water content and albedo,as well as morphology and albedo of the refreezing melt pond.The interior melting of sea ice caused a strong stratification of temperature,salinity and density.The temperature of sea ice ranged from–0.8℃ to 0℃,and exhibited linear cooling with depth.The average salinity and density of sea ice were approximately 1.3 psu and 825 kg/m3,respectively,and increased slightly with depth.The first-year sea ice was dominated by columnar grained ice.Snow cover over all the investigated floes was in the melt phase,and the average water content and density were 0.74%and 241 kg/m3,respectively.The thickness of the thin ice lid ranged from 2.2 cm to 7.0 cm,and the depth of the pond ranged from 1.8 cm to 26.8 cm.The integrated albedo of the refreezing melt pond was in the range of 0.28–0.57.Because of the thin ice lid,the albedo of the melt pond improved to twice as high as that of the mature melt pond.These results provide a reference for the current state of Arctic sea ice and the mechanism of its reduction.

Observation and modelling of snow and sea ice mass balance and its sensitivity to atmospheric forcing during spring and summer 2007 in the Central Arctic

Snow depth and sea ice thickness were observed applying an ice mass balance buoy(IMB)in the drifting ice station Tara during the International Polar Year in 2007.Detailed in situ observations on meteorological variables and surface fluxes were taken during May to August.For this study,the operational analyses and short-term forecasts from two numerical weather prediction(NWP)models(ECMWF and HIRLAM)were extracted for the Tara drift trajectory.We compared the IMB,meteorological and surface flux observations against the NWP products,also applying a one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model(HIGHTSI)to calculate the snow and ice mass balance and its sensitivity to atmospheric forcing.The modelled snow depth time series,controlled by NWP-based precipitation,was in line with the observed one.HIGHTSI reproduced well the snowmelt onset,the progress of the melt,and the first date of snow-free conditions.HIGHTSI performed well also in the late August freezing season.Challenges remain to model the“false bottom”observed during the melting season.The evolution of the vertical temperature profiles in snow and ice was better simulated when the model was forced by in situ observations instead of NWP results.During the melting period,the nonlinear ice temperature profile was successfully modelled with both forcing options.During spring and the melting season,total sea ice mass balance was most sensitive to uncertainties in NWP results for the downward longwave radiation,followed by the downward shortwave radiation,air temperature,and wind speed.

Numerical Simulation of Bohai Oil Spill in the Winter Sea Ice Period

The Bohai Sea is a seasonal icy sea area that has the lowest latitude of any sea experiencing icing in the northern hemisphere, and simulation studies on oil spills during its sea ice period are the key to analyzing winter oil spill accidents. This study applied the three-dimensional free surface to establish a high-resolution hydrodynamic model and simulate tidal distributions in the Bohai Sea. Then, the oil spill model of the open sea area and thermodynamic model were combined to establish a numerical model for the Bohai oil spill during the winter sea ice period. The hydrodynamic model and sea ice growth and melting model were verified, and the parameters were adjusted based on the measured values, which indicate that the numerical model established in this paper is of high accuracy,stability and ubiquity. Finally, after checking the calculations repeatedly, the diffusion coefficient for the Bohai Sea was determined to be 1.0×10^(–7 )m^2/s. It is better that the comprehensive weathering attenuation coefficient is lower than that of a non-winter oil spill, with 1.3×10^(–7 )m^2/s being the most appropriate coefficient. This study can provide the reliable technical support for the operational safety and reduction in losses caused by winter oil spill accidents for the petroleum industry.

Effects of sea ice melt water input on phytoplankton biomass and community structure in the eastern Amundsen Sea

Sea ice melt water and circumpolar deep water(CDW)intrusion have important impacts on the ecosystem of the Amundsen Sea.In this study,samples of nutrients and phytoplankton pigments from nine stations in the eastern Amundsen Sea were collected during the austral summer.Based on in-situ hydrological observations,sea ice density data from satellite remote sensing,and chemical taxonomy calculations,the relationships between environmental factors and phytoplankton biomass and community structure were studied.The results showed that with increasing latitude,the contribution of sea ice melt water(MW%)and the stability of the water body increased,and the depth of the mixed layer(MLD)decreased.The integrated concentration of chlorophyll a(Chl-a)ranged from 21.4 mg·m^(−2) to 148.4 mg·m^(−2)(the average value was 35.7±53.4 mg·m^(−2)).Diatoms(diatoms-A[Fragilariopsis spp.,Chaetoceros spp.,and Proboscia spp.]and diatoms-B[Pseudonitzschia spp.])and Phaeocystis antarctica were the two most widely distributed phytoplankton groups and contributed 32%±16%and 28%±11%,respectively,of the total biomass.The contributions of Dinoflagellates,Chlorophytes,Cryptophytes,the high-iron group of P.antarctica,and Diatom group A were approximately 17%±8%,15%±13%,9%±6%,5%±9%,and 3%±7%,respectively.The area with the highest phytoplankton biomass was located near the ice-edge region,with a short time lag(T_(lag))between sampling and complete sea ice melt and a high MW%,while the area with the second-highest Chl-a concentration was located in the area affected by the upwelling of CDW,with thorough water mixing.Vertically,in the area with a short T_(lag) and a shallow MLD,the phytoplankton biomass and proportion of diatoms decreased rapidly with increasing water depth.In contrast,in the region with a long T_(lag) and limited CDW upwelling,the phytoplankton community was dominated by a relatively constant and high proportion of micro phytoplankton,and the phytoplankton biomass was low and relatively stable vertically.Generally,the phytoplankton community structure and biomass in the study area showed high spatial variation and were sensitive to environmental changes.

Aerial observations of sea ice and melt ponds near the North Pole during CHINARE2010

An aerial photography has been used to provide validation data on sea ice near the North Pole where most polar orbiting satellites cannot cover. This kind of data can also be used as a supplement for missing data and for reducing the uncertainty of data interpolation. The aerial photos are analyzed near the North Pole collected during the Chinese national arctic research expedition in the summer of 2010（CHINARE2010）. The result shows that the average fraction of open water increases from the ice camp at approximately 87°N to the North Pole, resulting in the decrease in the sea ice. The average sea ice concentration is only 62.0% for the two flights（16 and 19 August 2010）. The average albedo（0.42） estimated from the area ratios among snow-covered ice,melt pond and water is slightly lower than the 0.49 of HOTRAX 2005. The data on 19 August 2010 shows that the albedo decreases from the ice camp at approximately 87°N to the North Pole, primarily due to the decrease in the fraction of snow-covered ice and the increase in fractions of melt-pond and open-water. The ice concentration from the aerial photos and AMSR-E（The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System） images at 87.0°–87.5°N exhibits similar spatial patterns, although the AMSR-E concentration is approximately 18.0%（on average） higher than aerial photos. This can be attributed to the 6.25 km resolution of AMSR-E, which cannot separate melt ponds/submerged ice from ice and cannot detect the small leads between floes. Thus, the aerial photos would play an important role in providing high-resolution independent estimates of the ice concentration and the fraction of melt pond cover to validate and/or supplement space-borne remote sensing products near the North Pole.

Characterization of sea ice and its snow cover in the Arctic Pacific sector during the summer of 2016

A comprehensive analysis of sea ice and its snow cover during the summer in the Arctic Pacific sector was conducted using the observations recorded during the 7th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(CHIANRE-2016)and the satellite-derived parameters of the melt pond fraction(MPF)and snow grain size(SGS)from MODIS data.The results show that there were many low-concentration ice areas in the south of 78°N,while the ice concentration and thickness increased significantly with the latitude above the north of 78°N during CHIANRE-2016.The average MPF presented a trend of increasing in June and then decreasing in early September for 2016.The average snow depth on sea ice increased with latitude in the Arctic Pacific sector.We found a widely developed depth hoar layer in the snow stratigraphic profiles.The average SGS generally increased from June to early August and then decreased from August to September in 2016,and two valley values appeared during this period due to snowfall incidents.

Response of Northern Hemispheric Air Temperature to Arctic Sea Ice Decline

Two numerical experiments were performed by using the Community Atmosphere Model version 3 （CAM3） with different sea ice datasets to assess the con- tribution of the decline of Arctic sea ice to warming in the Northern Hemisphere. One observed sea ice cover data; experiment was driven by for the other one, the authors used the sea ice data of the 4xCO2 scenario simulated by the fourth-generation European Centre Hamburg atmos- pheric general circulation Model of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy （1NGV ECHAM4）. The comparison of the two experiments indicates that the de- cline of the Arctic sea ice leads to a dramatic wanning over the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, char- acterized by a maximum warming of more than 26~C over the Arctic region. The significant warming is closely re- lated to the enhanced atmospheric heat source. A 40-60 W m-2 increase in the apparent heat source was simulated in winter due to the decline of Arctic sea ice. In contrast, no significant change was found in the atmospheric ap- parent heat source in summer. As a result, the summer temperature change induced by the decline of Arctic sea ice appears to be weak. This study suggests that accurate sea ice cover data is crucial for future climate projection of air temperature in high latitudes.

Winter sea ice albedo variations in the Bohai Sea of China

Sea ice conditions in the Bohai Sea of China are sensitive to large-scale climatic variations. On the basis of CLARA-A1-SAL data, the albedo variations are examined in space and time in the winter（December, January and February） from 1992 to 2008 in the Bohai Sea sea ice region. Time series data of the sea ice concentration（SIC）, the sea ice extent（SIE） and the sea surface temperature（SST） are used to analyze their relationship with the albedo. The sea ice albedo changed in volatility appears along with time, the trend is not obvious and increases very slightly during the study period at a rate of 0.388% per decade over the Bohai Sea sea ice region.The interannual variation is between 9.93% and 14.50%, and the average albedo is 11.79%. The sea ice albedo in years with heavy sea ice coverage, 1999, 2000 and 2005, is significantly higher than that in other years; in years with light sea ice coverage, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2006, has low values. For the monthly albedo, the increasing trend（at a rate of 0.988% per decade） in December is distinctly higher than that in January and February. The mean albedo in January（12.90%） is also distinctly higher than that in the other two months. The albedo is significantly positively correlated with the SIC and is significantly negatively correlated with the SST（significance level 90%）.

Spatio-temporal analysis of the melt onset dates over Arctic sea ice from 1979 to 2017

The melt onset dates(MOD)over Arctic sea ice plays an important role in the seasonal cycle of sea ice surface properties,which impacts Arctic surface solar radiation absorbed by the ice-ocean system.Monitoring interannual variations in MOD is valuable for understanding climate change.In this study,we investigated the spatio-temporal variability of MOD over Arctic sea ice and 14 Arctic sub-regions in the period of 1979 to 2017 from passive microwave satellite data.A set of mathematical and statistical methods,including the Sen’s slope and Mann-Kendall mutation tests,were used to comprehensively assess the variation trend and abrupt points of MOD during the past 39 years for different Arctic sub-regions.Additionally,the correlation between Arctic Oscillation(AO)and MOD was analyzed.The results indicate that:(1)all Arctic sub-regions show a trend toward earlier MOD except the Bering Sea and St.Lawrence Gulf.The East Siberian Sea exhibits a significantly earlier trend,with the highest rate of-9.45 d/decade;(2)the temporal variability and statistical significance of MOD trend exhibit large interannual differences with different time windows for most regions in the Arctic;(3)during the past 39 years,the MOD changed abruptly in different years for different sub-regions;(4)the seasonal AO has more influence on MOD than monthly AO.The findings in this study can improve our knowledge of MOD changes and are beneficial for further Arctic climate change study.

Arctic sea ice in CMIP5 climate model projections and their seasonal variability

This paper is focused on the seasonality change of Arctic sea ice extent （SIE） from 1979 to 2100 using newly available simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 （CMIP5）. A new approach to compare the simulation metric of Arctic SIE between observation and 31 CMIP5 models was established. The approach is based on four factors including the climatological average, linear trend of SIE, span of melting season and annual range of SIE. It is more objective and can be popularized to other comparison of models. Six good models （GFDL-CM3, CESM1-BGC, MPI-ESM-LR, ACCESS-1.0, HadGEM2-CC, and HadGEM2-AO in turn） are found which meet the criterion closely based on above approach. Based on ensemble mean of the six models, we found that the Arctic sea ice will continue declining in each season and firstly drop below 1 million km2 （defined as the ice-free state） in September 2065 under RCP4.5 scenario and in September 2053 under RCP8.5 scenario. We also study the seasonal cycle of the Arctic SIE and find out the duration of Arctic summer （melting season） will increase by about I00 days under RCP4.5 scenario and about 200 days under RCPS.5 scenario relative to current circumstance by the end of the 21st century. Asymmetry of the Arctic SIE seasonal cycle with later freezing in fall and early melting in spring, would be more apparent in the future when the Arctic climate approaches to ＂tipping point＂, or when the ice-free Arctic Ocean appears. Annual range of SIE （seasonal melting ice extent） will increase almost linearly in the near future 30-40 years before the Arctic appears ice-free ocean, indicating the more ice melting in summer, the more ice freezing in winter, which may cause more extreme weather events in both winter and summer in the future years.

Accumulation of freshwater in the permanent ice zone of the Canada Basin during summer 2008

A combination of 5180 and salinity data was employed to explore the freshwater balance in the Canada Basin in summer 2008. The Arctic river water and Pacific river water were quantitatively distinguished by using different saline end-members. The fractions of total river water, including the Arctic and Pacific river water, were high in the upper 50 m and decreased with depth as well as increasing latitude. In contrast, the fraction of Pacific river water increased gradually with depth but decreased toward north. The inventory of total river water in the Canada Basin was higher than other arctic seas, indicating that Canada Basin was a main storage region for river water in the Arctic Ocean. The fraction of Arctic river water was higher than Pacific river water in the upper 50 m while the opposite was true below 50 m. As a result, the inventories of Pacific river water were higher than those of Arctic river water, demonstrating that the Pacific inflow through the Bering Strait is the main source of freshwater in the Canada Basin. Both the river water and sea-ice melted water in the permanent ice zone were more abundant than those in the region with sea-ice just melted. The fractions of total river water, Arctic river water, Pacific river water increased northward to the north of 82°N, indicating an additional source of river water in the permanent ice zone of the northern Canada Basin. A possible reason for the extra river water in the permanent ice zone is the lateral advection of shelf waters by the Trans-Polar Drift. The penetration depth of sea-ice melted waters was less than 30 m in the southern Canada Basin, while it extended to 125 m in the northern Canada Basin. The inventory of sea- ice melted water suggested that sea-ice melted waters were also accumulated in the permanent ice zone, attributing to the trap of earlier melted waters in the permanent ice zone via the Beaufort Gyre.

Oxygen isotopic composition and its application to the study of tracing oceanographical process in Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea

In this paper, the 18 O distribution of surface water from the central sea areas of the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea was studied. The δ 18 O value of surface water from the Bering Sea is averagely -0.5‰; the δ 18 O contents of the Chukchi Sea are distributionally lower in northeast and higher in southwest; the δ 18 O value at the margin of Canadian Basin is -2.8‰, and averagely -0.8‰ in the southern area of the Chukchi Sea. The δ 18 O vertical distribution in some deep water stations from the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea is also studied. In the southern margin of Canadian Basin, the δ 18 O value is -2‰ -3‰ for surface layer and rises to 0 at 100 m depth layer. In the Bering Sea, the δ 18 O is about -0.5‰ for surface layer and increases to 0 at the depth of 300 m. The NO tracer can reflect obviously three water masses vertically distributed in the central Bering Sea: the upper Bering water mass, the middle Bering water mass and the deep Pacific water mass. The distributive ranges of NO and temperature for the various water masses are T<7℃, NO>780 μmol/dm 3 and T≥7℃, NO>650 μmol/dm 3 for upper Bering water mass, T<4℃, 550<NO<780 μmol/dm 3 for middle Bering water mass, and T<4℃, 330<NO<550 μmol/dm 3 for deep Pacific water mass. It is found from δ 18 O-S relation diagram and δ 18 O vertical profiles that the δ 18 O is about +0.3‰ from halocline layer till sea bottom. Its isotopic characteristics are the same as the Atlantic water, showing that the sea water comes from the north Atlantic. The freshwater end member of the Chukchi Sea in the survey period is also explored.

Determination of Arctic melt pond fraction and sea ice roughness from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery

Melt ponds on Arctic sea ice are of great significance in the study of the heat balance in the ocean mixed layer, mass and salt balances of Arctic sea ice, and other aspects of the earth-atmosphere system. During the 7th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition, aerial photographs were taken from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle over an ice floe in the Canada Basin. Using threshold discrimination and three-dimensional modeling, we estimated a melt pond fraction of 1.63% and a regionally averaged surface roughness of 0.12 for the study area. In view- of the particularly foggy environment of the Arctic, aerial images were defogged using an improved dark channel prior based image defog algorithm, especially adapted for the special conditions of sea ice images. An aerial photo mosaic was generated, melt ponds were identified from the mosaic image and melt pond fractions were calculated. Three-dimensional modeling techniques were used to generate a digital elevation model allowing relative elevation and roughness of the sea ice surface to be estimated. Analysis of the relationship between the distributions of melt ponds and sea ice surface roughness show-s that melt ponds are smaller on sea ice with higher surface roughness, while broader melt ponds usually occur in areas where sea ice surface roughness is lower.

Evidences of the expanding Earth from space-geodetic data over solid land and sea level rise in recent two decades

According to the space-geodetic data recorded at globally distributed stations over solid land spanning a period of more than 20-years under the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2008,our previous estimate of the average-weighted vertical variation of the Earth＇s solid surface suggests that the Earth＇s solid part is expanding at a rate of 0.24 ± 0.05 mm/a in recent two decades.In another aspect,the satellite altimetry observations spanning recent two decades demonstrate the sea level rise（SLR） rate 3.2 ± 0.4 mm/a,of which1.8 ± 0.5 mm/a is contributed by the ice melting over land.This study shows that the oceanic thermal expansion is 1.0 ± 0.1 mm/a due to the temperature increase in recent half century,which coincides with the estimate provided by previous authors.The SLR observation by altimetry is not balanced by the ice melting and thermal expansion,which is an open problem before this study.However,in this study we infer that the oceanic part of the Earth is expanding at a rate about 0.4 mm/a.Combining the expansion rates of land part and oceanic part,we conclude that the Earth is expanding at a rate of 0.35 ± 0.47 mm/a in recent two decades.If the Earth expands at this rate,then the altimetry-observed SLR can be well explained.

Retrievals of Arctic sea ice melt pond depth and underlying ice thickness using optical data

Melt pond is a distinctive characteristic of the summer Arctic,which affects energy balance in the Arctic system.The Delta-Eddington model(BL)and Two-strEam rAdiative transfer model(TEA)are employed to retrieving pond depth Hpand underlying ice thickness Hi according to the ratio X of the melt-pond albedo in two bands.Results showed that whenλ1=359 nm andλ2=605 nm,the Pearson’s correlation coefficient r between X and Hp is 0.99 for the BL model.The result of TEA model was similar to the BL model.The retrievals of Hp for the two models agreed well with field observations.For Hi,the highest r(0.99)was obtained whenλ1=447 nm andλ2=470 nm for the BL model,λ1=447 nm andλ2=451 nm for the TEA model.Furthermore,the BL model was more suitable for the retrieval of thick ice(0<Hi<3.5 m,R2=0.632),while the TEA model is on the contrary(Hi<1 m,R2=0.842).The present results provide a potential method for the remote sensing on melt pond and ice in the Arctic summer.

Large spread across AeroCom Phase II models in simulating black carbon in melting snow over Arctic sea ice

Over two dozen global atmospheric chemistry models contributing to the Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models(AeroCom)project were used in this study to drive the Los Alamos sea ice model to simulate the black carbon(BC)concentration in melting snow on Arctic sea ice.Measurements of BC during the melting season show concentrations in the range 2.8–41.6 ng·g−1(average:15.3 ng·g−1)in the central Arctic Ocean and Canada Basin.Most results from models contributing to the Phase I project were within the 25th and 75th percentiles of the observations,and the multimodel mean was slightly lower than that of the observations.In contrast,there was larger divergence among the Phase II model simulations and the mean value of BC was overestimated.The multimodel mean bias was−3.1(−11.2 to+6.7)ng·g−1 for Phase I models and+3.9(−9.5 to+21.3)ng·g−1 for Phase II models.The differences between the models of the two phases were probably attributable to the updated aerosol scheme in the new contributions,in which removal processes are parameterized by considering the actual dimensions and chemical compositions of the particles.This means the removal mechanism acts in a way that is more selective and leads to more BC particles being transported to the Arctic.In addition,higher spatial resolution could be another important reason for overestimation of BC concentration in snow in Phase II models.

An improved dual-polarized ratio algorithm for sea ice concentration retrieval from passive microwave satellite data and inter-comparison with ASI,ABA and NT2

The dual-polarized ratio algorithm(DPR)for the retrieval of Arctic sea ice concentration from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS(AMSR-E)data was improved using a contrast ratio(CR)parameter.In contrast to three other algorithms(Artist Sea Ice algorithm,ASI;NASA-Team 2 algorithm,NT2;and AMSR-E Bootstrap algorithm,ABA),this algorithm does not use a series of tie-points or a priori values of brightness temperature of sea-ice constituents,such as open water and 100% sea ice.Instead,it is based on a ratio(a)of horizontally and vertically polarized sea ice emissivity at 36.5 GHz,which can be automatically determined by the CR.aexhibited a clear seasonal cycle:changing slowly during winter,rapidly at other times,and reaching a minimum during summer.The DPR was improved using a seasonala.The systematic diff erences in the Arctic sea ice area over the complete AMSR-E period(2002–2011)were-0.8% ±2.0% between the improved DPR and ASI;-1.3%±1.7% between the improved DPR and ABA;and-0.7% ±1.9% between the improved DPR and NT2.The improved DPR and ASI(or ABA)had small seasonal diff erences.The seasonal diff erences between the improved DPR and NT2 decreased,except in summer.The improved DPR identified extremely low ice concentration regions in the Pacific sector of the central Arctic(north of 83°N)around August 12,2010,which was confirmed by the Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition.A series of high-resolution MODIS images(250 m×250 m)of the Beaufort Sea during summer were used to assess the four algorithms.According to mean bias and standard deviations,the improved DPR algorithm performed equally well with the other three sea ice concentration algorithms.The improved DPR can provide reasonable sea ice concentration data,especially during summer.

Variation of upper-ocean heat content in the Canada Basin in summers of 2003 and 2008

Conductivity, temperature, and depth data collected during the summers of 2003 and 2008 were used to study upper-ocean （top 200 m） heat content in the Canada Basin. The variation of heat content with depth, heat content differences between the summers, principal driving factors, and horizontal spatial scale differences were analyzed. A catastrophic reduction of sea ice cover in the Canada Basin was evident in 2008 by comparison with 2003, suggesting that more solar radiation was absorbed in the upper ocean during the summer of 2008. The sea ice reduction produced more freshwater in the upper ocean. Thus, seawater properties changed. The study shows that the huge reduction of sea ice would result in two changes-widespread warming of the upper ocean, and the depth of Pacific inflow water in the basin increased substantially. Near-surface temperature maximum （NSTM） water was also analyzed as an indicator of Arctic Ocean warming.

Arctic summer sea ice phenology including ponding from 1982 to 2017

Information on the Arctic sea ice climate indicators is crucial to business strategic planning and climate monitoring.Data on the evolvement of the Arctic sea ice and decadal trends of phenology factors during melt season are necessary for climate prediction under global warming.Previous studies on Arctic sea ice phenology did not involve melt ponds that dramatically lower the ice surface albedo and tremendously affect the process of sea ice surface melt.Temporal means and trends of the Arctic sea ice phenology from 1982 to 2017 were examined based on satellite-derived sea ice concentration and albedo measurements.Moreover,the timing of ice ponding and two periods corresponding to it were newly proposed as key stages in the melt season.Therefore,four timings,i.e.,date of snow and ice surface melt onset(MO),date of pond onset(PO),date of sea ice opening(DOO),and date of sea ice retreat(DOR);and three durations,i.e.,melt pond formation period(MPFP,i.e.,MO–PO),melt pond extension period(MPEP,i.e.,PO–DOR),and seasonal loss of ice period(SLIP,i.e.,DOO–DOR),were used.PO ranged from late April in the peripheral seas to late June in the central Arctic Ocean in Bootstrap results,whereas the pan-Arctic was observed nearly 4 days later in NASA Team results.Significant negative trends were presented in the MPEP in the Hudson Bay,the Baffin Bay,the Greenland Sea,the Kara and Barents seas in both results,indicating that the Arctic sea ice undergoes a quick transition from ice to open water,thereby extending the melt season year to year.The high correlation coefficient between MO and PO,MPFP illustrated that MO predominates the process of pond formation.

Last deglacial relative sea level variations in Antarctica derived from glacial isostatic adjustment modelling

We present relative sea level （RSL） curves in Antarctica derived from glacial isostatic adjustment （GIA）predictions based on the melting scenarios of the Antarctic ice sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）given in previous works.Simultaneously,Holocene-age RSL observations obtained at the raised beaches along the coast of Antarctica are shown to be in agreement with the GIA predictions.The differences from previously published ice-loading models regarding the spatial distribution and total mass change of the melted ice are significant.These models were also derived from GIA modelling; the variations can be attributed to the lack of geological and geographical evidence regarding the history of crustal movement due to ice sheet evolution.Next,we summarise the previously published ice load models and demonstrate the RSL curves based on combinations of different ice and earth models.The RSL curves calculated by GIA models indicate that the model dependence of both the ice and earth models is significantly large at several sites where RSL observations were obtained.In particular,GIA predictions based on the thin lithospheric thickness show the spatial distributions that are dependent on the melted ice thickness at each sites.These characteristics result from the short-wavelength deformation of the Earth.However,our predictions strongly suggest that it is possible to find the average ice model despite the use of the different models of lithospheric thickness.By sea level and crustal movement observations,we can deduce the geometry of the post-LGM ice sheets in detail and remove the GIA contribution from the crustal deformation and gravity change observed by space geodetic techniques,such as GPS and GRACE,for the estimation of the Antarctic ice mass change associated with recent global warming.