Arctic Sea Ice and Its Role in Global Change

Liu, Jiping ; Horton, Radley M

关键词: AIR WATER INTERACTIONS;    ARCTIC REGIONS;    CARBON DIOXIDE CONCENTRATION;    CLIMATE CHANGE;    ECOSYSTEMS;    HEAT TRANSFER;    ICE ENVIRONMENTS;    MARINE ENVIRONMENTS;    RADIATION ABSORPTION;    SEA ICE;    SOLAR RADIATION;    TEMPERATE REGIONS;    THERMOHALINE CIRCULATION;    WATER;   

RP-ID  :  GSFC-E-DAA-TN55974

学科分类：海洋学与技术

美国|英语

来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

Sea ice is an important component of the global climate system. Sea ice forms, grows, and melts in the ocean. Sea ice grows during the fall and winter and melts during the spring and summer. Sea ice can melt completely in summer or survive multiple years. Sea ice can be classified by stages of development (thickness and age), that is, first-year sea ice (ice thickness typically <1.8 m) and multiyear sea ice (ice thickness typically >1.8 m). Sea ice occurs in both hemispheres. In the Northern Hemisphere, sea ice develops in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding bodies including Hudson and Baffin Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Greenland Sea, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk (sea ice can be observed as far south as Bohai Bay, China, ~38°N). In the Southern Hemisphere, sea ice only develops around Antarctica, reaching a maximum equatorward extension at around ~55°S).