Circumpolar Arctic Tundra Vegetation Change Is Linked to Sea Ice Decline

Earth Interactions

Uma S.Bhatt¹ 

关键词: Arctic climate;    Sea ice;    Tundra vegetation;   

DOI  :  10.1175/2010EI315.1

学科分类：地球科学(综合)

来源: American Geophysical Union

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Linkages between diminishing Arctic sea ice and changes in Arctic terrestrial ecosystems have not been previously demonstrated. Here, the authors use a newly available Arctic Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset (a measure of vegetation photosynthetic capacity) to document coherent temporal relationships between near-coastal sea ice, summer tundra land surface temperatures, and vegetation productivity. The authors find that, during the period of satellite observations (1982–2008), sea ice within 50 km of the coast during the period of early summer ice breakup declined an average of 25% for the Arctic as a whole, with much larger changes in the East Siberian Sea to Chukchi Sea sectors (>44% decline). The changes in sea ice conditions are most directly relevant and have the strongest effect on the villages and ecosystems immediately adjacent to the coast, but the terrestrial effects of sea ice changes also extend far inland. Low-elevation (<300 m) tundra summer land temperatures, a...

【 授权许可】

Unknown