Scientists are flying research aircraft through the heart of Arctic storms this summer to better understand how weather systems are affecting polar sea ice.
Scientists are flying research aircraft through the heart of Arctic storms this summer to better understand how weather systems are affecting polar sea ice.
Arctic cyclones are the main type of hazardous weather that affect the polar environment during summer. They can impact sea ice movement and trigger rapid ice loss, effects which themselves influence the development of cyclones.
Two aircraft are flying around 60 missions this month from the Norwegian Arctic, to study Arctic summer cyclones for the first time. This will create the most detailed physical picture yet of how the ice and ocean interact with the atmosphere above, in order to better simulate this in weather and climate prediction models.
As a result of global warming, sea ice is becoming thinner across large areas of the Arctic Ocean in summer, year on year. This means that winds can move the ice more easily, which in turn can influence weather systems. This makes predicting changes to the Arctic environment difficult in both the short and long term.
Read more at University of Reading
Photo Credit: apl-001600a135418d18e via Pixabay
