by Tracy Rogers
4-21-14
UAF Phys 212
Welcome to my webpage about Arctic sea ice. With this site, I will be exploring several aspects of Arctic sea ice, including extent, volume, and flux. An abundance of literature has contributed to the widespread understanding that pan-Arctic sea ice coverage decreased over the past several decades, especially in the summer season (Meier et al., 2007; Parkinson and Cavalieri, 2008; Stroeve et al., 2012). The accelerated rate of ice loss has increased the likelihood that the Arctic Ocean will become seasonally ice-free during the present century, although the time frame for disappearance of summer sea ice remains highly uncertain.
Ice extent, in km2, is a metric for the coverage of ice in the Arctic Ocean. Ice volume, in km3, is the total quantity of ice in the Arctic Ocean. Ice heat flux, in Joules, is the total energy required to melt the difference in ice between the maximum and minimum months of sea ice volume (April and September).
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Figures used in this project were produced using R for Statistical Analysis.