New research by University of Delaware doctoral student Zhangxian Ouyang and oceanographer Wei-Jun Cai, and an international team of researchers, demonstrates that rapid warming and sea-ice loss have induced major changes in the western Arctic Ocean.
New research by University of Delaware doctoral student Zhangxian Ouyang and oceanographer Wei-Jun Cai, and an international team of researchers, demonstrates that rapid warming and sea-ice loss have induced major changes in the western Arctic Ocean.
The research team’s findings — published Monday, June 15 in Nature Climate Change — show that the Arctic Ocean’s ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can vary greatly depending on location.
Arctic Ocean sea-ice loss is a critical consequence of climate change. As sea ice continues to melt in the western Arctic Ocean, more fresh water is entering the upper portion of the water in the Canada Basin, which sits off the coast of Alaska and Canada, south of the Chukchi Shelf.
This summertime melt cycle is exacerbating seasonal changes and increasing the amount of carbon dioxide present in the water’s topmost layer, which comprises the upper 70 feet of the water column. This is reducing the basin’s capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Read more at University Of Delaware
Photo: The reflection of reddish sunlight off the water in this image of the ice-free Canada Basin, taken on Aug 24, 2016, is an apt symbol of warming in the western Arctic Ocean. Photos courtesy of Zhangxian Ouyang
