1. The Global Hydrological Cycle
Arctic Hydrology
September 20, 2005

2. Water and the Arctic Grease ice Pancake ice Ice plates Arctic sea ice
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.

3. Arctic Fresh Water Budget
Ocean: 60,000 km3
Ice : 30,000 km3
Lake
Baikal : 23,600 km3
River runoff 35
Bering Strait Inflow 18
Freezing, melting plus precipitation 9 make sure it is consistent with ice budg
Norwegian boundary current 3
Ice outflow 29
Ocean surface current 9
CAA throughflow 10
West Spitsbergen Current 3
Atlantic water input in Barents Sea 6
imbalance of 9
The contribution of the surface currents at Fram Strait is subject of debate, it could be much larger
explain how the ocean could give huge contribution to this outflow? Bring slide from arctic commission presentation.

4. SIC climatology March September SSMI passive microwave
This shows the summer SIC climatology, as expected we see the penetration of te North Atlantic Drift responsible the Norwegian Sea clear of ice, we can also clearly see its two branches, one that makes it onto the continental plateau in the Barents Sea and the West Spitsberegn Current that flows west of Svalbard, and also that recirculates soutward in the Greenland Sea.
We can also see the east Greenland Current that carries ice out of the Arctic along the coast.
The region of violet are more compact ice, which is observed where multi-year ice is present in the Central Arctic, the peripheral seas on the other hand are less compact.
A similar east-west assymetry is obsered in the North Pacific.
In the summer, we see that all peripheral seas are clear of ice, except for the East Siberian Sea which has thicker accumulation in the winter due to the weterlies
This shows the mean, but of course there area large interannual variations. For instance the Barents sea in winter can be completely ice covered or ice free, and the same applies to the summer
Interestingly during time of large ice export, the ice extent in the Greenland Sea is small, due to the large recirculation in the Greenland Sea.
SSMI passive microwave

5. Fresh Water Reservoir
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.

6. Fresh Water Reservoir
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.

7. Arctic Fresh Water Budget
Ocean: 60,000 km3
Ice : 30,000 km3
Runoff: 2500 km3/year
Sea Ice
Export: 2500 km3/year
River runoff 35
Bering Strait Inflow 18
Freezing, melting plus precipitation 9 make sure it is consistent with ice budg
Norwegian boundary current 3
Ice outflow 29
Ocean surface current 9
CAA throughflow 10
West Spitsbergen Current 3
Atlantic water input in Barents Sea 6
imbalance of 9
The contribution of the surface currents at Fram Strait is subject of debate, it could be much larger
explain how the ocean could give huge contribution to this outflow? Bring slide from arctic commission presentation.
Liquid
Export: 2000 km3/year

8. Arctic Drainage Basin 1.5% of the Total Ocean Volume
10% of the total river runoff

9. Arctic Fresh Water Budget
Bering Strait
Inflow : 1300 km3/year
Ocean: 60,000 km3
Ice : 30,000 km3
Runoff: 2500 km3/year
Ice/Water
Export: 3000 km3/year
River runoff 35
Bering Strait Inflow 18
Freezing, melting plus precipitation 9 make sure it is consistent with ice budg
Norwegian boundary current 3
Ice outflow 29
Ocean surface current 9
CAA throughflow 10
West Spitsbergen Current 3
Atlantic water input in Barents Sea 6
imbalance of 9
The contribution of the surface currents at Fram Strait is subject of debate, it could be much larger
explain how the ocean could give huge contribution to this outflow? Bring slide from arctic commission presentation.

10. Monitoring fresh water
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.

11. Mooring deployment
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.

12. Mooring deployment
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.

13. Grace Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment 110 km 550 km
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.
550 km

14. Grace Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
This figure shows the change in sea ice thickness from and
The data is from submarine draft measurements and are located in the Gore triangle…. The data used is for similar location but for different times...We can see that all the open triangles are above the solid squares in all regions of the Arctic. The mean decrease in ice thickness over the entire Arctic is approximately 70cm over this 20 year period...
Are these changes in SIC and sea ice thickness of thermodynamic or dynamic origin? We saw from the SLP map how potentially more ice could be exported out of the Arctic in the last 2 decades… later on we will see this thinning is a dynamic rather than a thermodynamic consequence
Of course three is submarine data close to the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Eurasian continental shelf, but for political reasons, it is a bit touchy to release such data
We have seen earlier how thicker ice might have been displaced towards the Beaufort Sea, we will see later from model results how this how this is causing problem in the interpretation in the observed sea ice thinning.