| Title | Antarctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979-2006 |
| Author | Cavalieri, D.J.; Parkinson, C.L. |
| Author Affil | Cavalieri, D.J., NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD |
| Source | Journal of Geophysical Research, 113(C7), Citation C07004. Publisher: American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, United States. ISSN: 0148-0227 |
| Publication Date | 2008 |
| Notes | In English. 18 refs. Ant. Acc. No: 87473. GeoRef Acc. No: 297100 |
| Index Terms | ice; microwaves; remote sensing; statistical analysis; variations; Antarctica-- Amundsen Sea; Southern Ocean--Bellingshausen Sea; Indian Ocean; Southern Ocean--Ross Sea; Southern Ocean--Weddell Sea; Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Bellingshausen Sea; geophysical methods; microwave methods; monthly variations; passive methods; Ross Sea; satellite methods; sea ice; Southern Ocean; spatial distribution; time series analysis; Weddell Sea |
| Abstract | Analyses of 28 years (1979-2006) of Antarctic sea ice extents and areas derived from satellite passive microwave radiometers are presented and placed in the context of results obtained previously for the 20-year period 1979-1998. We present monthly averaged sea ice extents and areas, monthly deviations, yearly and seasonal averages, and their trends for the Southern Hemisphere as a whole and for each of five sectors: the Weddell Sea, the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean, the Ross Sea, and the Bellingshausen/Amundsen seas. The total Antarctic sea ice extent trend increased slightly, from 0.96 ± 0.61% decade-1 to 1.0 ± 0.4% decade-1, from the 20- to 28-year period, reflecting contrasting changes in the sector trends. The eight additional years resulted in smaller positive yearly trends in sea ice extent for the Weddell Sea (0.80 ± 1.4% decade-1), the western Pacific Ocean (1.4 ± 1.9% decade-1), and the Ross Sea (4.4 ± 1.7% decade-1) sectors, a lessening of the negative trend for the Bellingshausen/Amundsen seas (-5.4 ± 1.9% decade-1) sector, and a shift from a negative trend to a positive trend for the Indian Ocean (1.9 ± 1.4% decade-1) sector. The trends for the Southern Hemisphere as a whole and for the Ross Sea sector are significant at the 95% level, whereas the trend for the Bellingshausen/Amundsen seas sector is significant at the 99% level. A similar pattern of yearly trend changes for the two periods is also apparent in the sea ice area time series. |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1029/2007JC004564 |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 64002126 |