Large-Scale Sea Ice Features in the Western Arctic Basin and the Bering Sea as Viewed by the Noaa-2 Satellite

1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Streten
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arctic Basin ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
The Bering Sea

scholarly journals A Study of the Fluctuations in Sea-Ice Extent of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas with Passive Microwave Satellite Observations (Abstract)

1987 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 236-236
Author(s):  
D.J. Cavalieri ◽  
C.L. Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Sea Of Okhotsk ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Phase Relationship ◽  
Kamchatka Peninsula ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation Patterns ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
The Bering Sea

The seasonal sea-ice cover of the combined Bering and Okhotsk Seas at the time of maximum ice extent is almost 2 × 106 km2 and exceeds that of any other seasonal sea-ice zone in the Northern Hemisphere. Although both seas are relatively shallow bodies of water overlying continental shelf regions, there are important geographical differences. The Sea of Okhotsk is almost totally enclosed, being bounded to the north and west by Siberia and Sakhalin Island, and to the east by Kamchatka Peninsula. In contrast, the Bering Sea is the third-largest semi-enclosed sea in the world, with a surface area of 2.3 × 106 km2, and is bounded to the west by Kamchatka Peninsula, to the east by the Alaskan coast, and to the south by the Aleutian Islands arc.While the relationship between the regional oceanography and meteorology and the sea-ice covers of both the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk have been studied individually, relatively little attention has been given to the occasional out-of-phase relationship between the fluctuations in the sea-ice extent of these two large seas. In this study, we present 3 day averaged sea-ice extent data obtained from the Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR-5) for the four winters for which ESMR-5 data were available, 1973 through 1976, and document those periods for which there is an out-of-phase relationship in the fluctuations of the ice cover between the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. Further, mean sea-level pressure data are also analyzed and compared with the time series of sea-ice extent data to provide a basis for determining possible associations between the episodes of out-of-phase fluctuations and atmospheric circulation patterns.Previous work by Campbell and others (1981) using sea-ice concentrations also derived from ESMR-5 data noted this out-of-phase relationship between the two ice packs in 1973 and 1976. The authors commented that the out-of-phase relationship is “... surprising as these are adjacent seas, and one would assume that they had similar meteorologic environments”. We argue here that the out-of-phase relationship is consistent with large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, since the two seas span a range of longitude of about 60°, corresponding to a half wavelength of a zonal wave-number 3, and hence are quite susceptible to changes in the amplitude and phase of large-scale atmospheric waves.

scholarly journals Severe Cold Winter in North America Linked to Bering Sea Ice Loss

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (18) ◽  
pp. 8069-8085
Author(s):  
Mizuki Iida ◽  
Shusaku Sugimoto ◽  
Toshio Suga
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Cold Wave ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Ocean Reanalysis ◽  
The Bering Sea

AbstractNorth America experienced an intense cold wave with record low temperatures during the winter of 2017/18, at the time reaching the smallest rank of sea ice area (SIA) in the Bering Sea over the past four decades. Using observations, ocean reanalysis, and atmospheric reanalysis data for 39 winters (1979/80–2017/18), both the Bering SIA loss and cold winters in North America are linked robustly via sea level pressure variations over Alaska detected as a dominant mode, the Alaska Oscillation (ALO). The ALO differs from previously identified atmospheric teleconnection and climate patterns. In the positive ALO, the equatorward cold airflow through the Bering Strait increases, resulting in surface air cooling over the Bering Sea and an increase in Bering SIA, as well as surface warming (about 4 K for the winter mean) for North America in response to a decrease of equatorward cold airflow, and vice versa for negative phase. The northerly winds with the cold air over the Bering Sea result in substantial heat release from ocean to atmosphere over open water just south of the region covered by sea ice. Heating over the southern part of Bering Sea acts as a positive feedback for the positive ALO and its related large-scale atmospheric circulation in a linear baroclinic model experiment. Bering SIA shows no decreasing trend, but has remained small since 2015. CMIP6 climate models of the SSP5–8.5 scenario project a decrease of Bering SIA in the future climate. To explain severe cold winters in North America under global warming, it is necessary to get an understanding of climate systems with little or no sea ice.

scholarly journals A Study of the Fluctuations in Sea-Ice Extent of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas with Passive Microwave Satellite Observations (Abstract)

1987 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
D.J. Cavalieri ◽  
C.L. Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Sea Of Okhotsk ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Phase Relationship ◽  
Kamchatka Peninsula ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation Patterns ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
The Bering Sea

The seasonal sea-ice cover of the combined Bering and Okhotsk Seas at the time of maximum ice extent is almost 2 × 106 km2 and exceeds that of any other seasonal sea-ice zone in the Northern Hemisphere. Although both seas are relatively shallow bodies of water overlying continental shelf regions, there are important geographical differences. The Sea of Okhotsk is almost totally enclosed, being bounded to the north and west by Siberia and Sakhalin Island, and to the east by Kamchatka Peninsula. In contrast, the Bering Sea is the third-largest semi-enclosed sea in the world, with a surface area of 2.3 × 106 km2, and is bounded to the west by Kamchatka Peninsula, to the east by the Alaskan coast, and to the south by the Aleutian Islands arc. While the relationship between the regional oceanography and meteorology and the sea-ice covers of both the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk have been studied individually, relatively little attention has been given to the occasional out-of-phase relationship between the fluctuations in the sea-ice extent of these two large seas. In this study, we present 3 day averaged sea-ice extent data obtained from the Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR-5) for the four winters for which ESMR-5 data were available, 1973 through 1976, and document those periods for which there is an out-of-phase relationship in the fluctuations of the ice cover between the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. Further, mean sea-level pressure data are also analyzed and compared with the time series of sea-ice extent data to provide a basis for determining possible associations between the episodes of out-of-phase fluctuations and atmospheric circulation patterns. Previous work by Campbell and others (1981) using sea-ice concentrations also derived from ESMR-5 data noted this out-of-phase relationship between the two ice packs in 1973 and 1976. The authors commented that the out-of-phase relationship is “... surprising as these are adjacent seas, and one would assume that they had similar meteorologic environments”. We argue here that the out-of-phase relationship is consistent with large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, since the two seas span a range of longitude of about 60°, corresponding to a half wavelength of a zonal wave-number 3, and hence are quite susceptible to changes in the amplitude and phase of large-scale atmospheric waves.

scholarly journals Multiple-Scale Variations of Sea Ice and Ocean Circulation in the Bering Sea Using Remote Sensing Observations and Numerical Modeling

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changming Dong ◽  
Xiaoqian Gao ◽  
Yiming Zhang ◽  
Jingsong Yang ◽  
Hongchun Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Multiple Scale ◽  
Freshwater Flux ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Ice Coverage ◽  
The Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is located between the Aleutian Low and Siberian High, with strong seasonal variations in the oceanic circulation and the sea ice coverage. Within such a large-scale system, the physical processes in the Bering Sea carry interannual variability. The special topography in the Bering Sea traps a strong jet along the Bering Slope, whose instability enriches the eddy activity in the region. A Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS), coupled with a sea ice module, is employed to study multiple-scale variability in the sea ice and oceanic circulation in the Bering Sea for interannual, seasonal, and intra-seasonal eddy variations. The model domain covers the whole Bering Sea and a part of the Chukchi Sea and south of Aleutian Islands, with an averaged spatial resolution of 5 km. The external forcings are momentum, heat, and freshwater flux at the surface and adaptive nudging to reanalysis fields at the boundaries. The oceanic model starts in an equilibrium state from a multiple year cyclical climatology run, and then it is integrated from years 1990 through 2004. The 15 year simulation is analyzed and assessed against the observational data. The model accurately reproduces the seasonal and interannual variations in the sea ice coverage compared with the satellite-observed sea ice data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Sea surface temperature and eddy kinetic energy patterns from the ROMS agree with satellite remote sensing data. The transportation through the Bering Strait is also comparable with the estimate of mooring data. The mechanism for seasonal and interannual variation in the Bering Sea is connected to the Siberia-Aleutian index. Eddy variation along the Bering Slope is discussed. The model also simulates polynya generation and evolution around the St. Lawrence Island.

scholarly journals Reexamination of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Effect on Wintertime Sea Ice Concentrations in the North Pacific

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Ja-Young Hong ◽  
Joo-Hong Kim ◽  
Doo-Sun R. Park
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Madden Julian Oscillation ◽  
Phase 3 ◽  
The North ◽  
Dipole Pattern ◽  
The North Pacific ◽  
The Bering Sea

In the Pacific sector of the Arctic, a noticeable dipole pattern of the sea ice concentration (SIC) between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea has been reported on timescales of weeks to months. The dipole pattern owes its existence to the large-scale circulation variability across the North Pacific. Meanwhile, it is well known that eastward propagating tropical convection on an intraseasonal timescale, the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), forms large-scale circulation anomalies in the North Pacific through the poleward-propagating Rossby waves that are stimulated by MJO-related tropical convection, which is often manifested as a Pacific–North American teleconnection pattern. Few studies, however, have focused on the lagged MJO influence on the SIC change in the high-latitude North Pacific by poleward-propagating waves. Thus, herein, we investigated the intraseasonal SIC variations associated with the MJO phases by considering the lagged circulation response. The dipole pattern in the composite daily SIC change map between the two seas becomes apparent after approximately one week of MJO phases 3 and 7. In the Bering Sea (the Sea of Okhotsk), the SIC increases after MJO phase 3 (phase 7), while it decreases in phase 7 (phase 3). The lagged anomalous circulation pattern in the North Pacific associated with the MJO leads to SIC changes primarily through the dynamic response in 10 m winds and the resultant sea ice motion.

scholarly journals Contrasting trends in sea ice and primary production in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1180-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary W. Brown ◽  
Kevin R. Arrigo
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Light Limitation ◽  
The Bering Sea

Abstract Brown, Z. W., and Arrigo, K. R. 2012. Contrasting trends in sea ice and primary production in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: . Satellite remote sensing data were used to examine recent trends in sea-ice cover and net primary productivity (NPP) in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. In nearly all regions, diminished sea-ice cover significantly enhanced annual NPP, indicating that light-limitation predominates across the seasonally ice-covered waters of the northern hemisphere. However, long-term trends have not been uniform spatially. The seasonal ice pack of the Bering Sea has remained consistent over time, partially because of winter winds that have continued to carry frigid Arctic air southwards over the past six decades. Hence, apart from the “Arctic-like” Chirikov Basin (where sea-ice loss has driven a 30% increase in NPP), no secular trends are evident in Bering Sea NPP, which averaged 288 ± 26 Tg C year−1 over the satellite ocean colour record (1998–2009). Conversely, sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean has plummeted, extending the open-water growing season by 45 d in just 12 years, and promoting a 20% increase in NPP (range 441–585 Tg C year−1). Future sea-ice loss will likely stimulate additional NPP over the productive Bering Sea shelves, potentially reducing nutrient flux to the downstream western Arctic Ocean.

On the Bering Sea ice edge front

1985 ◽  
Vol 90 (C2) ◽  
pp. 3185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin D. Muench ◽  
James D. Schumacher
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Sea Ice Edge ◽  
The Bering Sea

scholarly journals An Atmospherically Driven Sea-Ice Drift Model for the Bering Sea

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 111-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Pease ◽  
J. E. Overland
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Drift Rate ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Drag Coefficients ◽  
Drift Model ◽  
Ice Drift ◽  
The Bering Sea

A free-drift sea-ice model for advection is described which includes an interactive wind-driven ocean for closure. A reduced system of equations is solved economically by a simple iteration on the water stress. The performance of the model is examined through a sensitivity study considering ice thickness, Ekman-layer scaling, wind speed, and drag coefficients. A case study is also presented where the model is driven by measured winds and the resulting drift rate compared to measured ice-drift rate for a three-day period during March 1981 at about 80 km inside the boundary of the open pack ice in the Bering Sea. The advective model is shown to be sensitive to certain assumptions. Increasing the scaling parameter A for the Ekman depth in the ocean model from 0.3 to 0.4 causes a 10 to 15% reduction in ice speed but only a slight decrease in rotation angle (α) with respect to the wind. Modeled α is strongly a function of ice thickness, while speed is not very sensitive to thickness. Ice speed is sensitive to assumptions about drag coefficients for the upper (CA) and lower (CW) surfaces of the ice. Specifying CA and the ratio of CA to CW are important to the calculations.

scholarly journals Perfluoroalkyl substances in sediments from the Bering Sea to the western Arctic: Source and pathway analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 105699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Lin ◽  
Jheng-Jie Jiang ◽  
Lisa A. Rodenburg ◽  
Minggang Cai ◽  
Zhai Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pathway Analysis ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
The Bering Sea
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