Call for Abstracts
American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2004 Fall Meeting
Session C 16: The Changing Arctic Sea Ice Cover
The AGU Submission Form is available online at:
http://submissions4.agu.org/submission/entrance.asp
Abstract Submission Deadlines:
Thursday, 9 September 2004 (electronic submissions)
Wednesday, 1 September 2004 (mail submissions)
Session Description:
Mounting evidence from in situ data and satellite remote sensing
suggests that the last decades have experienced significant decreases in
Arctic sea ice cover. Submarine sonar records and model results also
suggest that the Arctic ice pack is thinning. Why have these changes
occurred? Various mechanisms may be working in tandem. Alterations in
the atmospheric circulation, in particular a general trend toward the
positive phases of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO),
have influenced the circulation of the sea ice in ways that act to break
up the ice cover and reduce the Arctic Ocean's store of older, thicker
ice. Higher surface air temperatures appear to have extended the length
of the sea ice melt season. Changes in the ocean circulation, partly in
response to variability of atmospheric forcing, seem to have influenced
ice growth and melt rates. Based on the entire record from satellite
passive microwave sensors, September 2002 set a new record minimum in
Arctic sea ice extent that was nearly matched in September 2003,
suggesting an accelerating downward trend. While climate models indicate
that the sea ice cover will continue to decline in response to
greenhouse gas loading of the atmosphere (some models pointing to a
complete loss of summer ice by 2070), a direct link between the observed
sea ice trend and greenhouse warming has yet to be clearly established.
Oral and poster presentations are invited for this session to advance
our understanding of the causes of these sea ice changes and examine
potential future states of the Arctic sea ice cover, drawing from direct
observations, models, and remote sensing. While presentations are
solicited addressing specific mechanisms contributing to the observed
sea ice decline, the conveners particularly encourage contributions that
attempt to synthesize our current understanding of the problem. These
include quantifying the relative importance of different causal
mechanisms, changes of their importance in the future, and elucidating
linkages and feedbacks between the sea ice, ocean, and atmosphere.
Conveners:
Wieslaw Maslowski
Naval Postgraduate School
E-mail: maslowsk [at] nps.edu
Mark Serreze
CIRES, University of Colorado
E-mail: serreze [at] kryos.colorado.edu
Sponsor: Cryosphere
Co-sponsors: Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean Sciences
The AGU Submission Form is available online at:
http://submissions4.agu.org/submission/entrance.asp