Arctic sea ice

How over-consumption leads to reduced sea ice: Visualization through artwork

David Docquier June 2, 2023

Figure 1: Picture of the artistic stand of Zacharie Bodson and David Docquier during the Seas & Oceans exhibition organized in Brussels by Talk CEC. [Credit: Zacharie Bodson]

Do you think that it is sometimes challenging to understand science (as a reader or listener) or to explain it (as a scientist)? Then, art may be a good solution to the problem. Between April and June 2023, Zacharie Bodson (artist) and I (climate scientist) are participating in the Seas and Oceans exhibition to explain the links between changes in Arctic sea ice and over-consumption. Read here abo ...[Read More]

Did you know the mystery of the ice-cold rose?

Stefan Thiele April 21, 2023

Figure 1: Frost flowers on a glacial spring in Svalbard. [Credit: Stefan Thiele]

Darkness. Freezing cold. Thin layers of ice cover the wide Arctic Ocean. It is the time of the last dusk. You can almost see Fenris wolf chasing the sun to devour it, almost hear his howling as darkness falls. Fimbulwinter has arrived. But what is this? A flower? Out here on the Arctic Ocean? This is strange, so let us take a closer look at the mystery of the ice-cold rose. Where the Wild Roses Gr ...[Read More]

Highlighted Paper – The ice factories of the Arctic Ocean

Jakob Dörr March 31, 2023

Sea ice forming rapidly in a lead during springtime. [Credit: Stefan Thiele]

Each year, the Arctic sea ice goes through a cycle of melting and freezing. From March to September, sea ice gradually melts and becomes thinner, and from October to March, the water freezes again. In our warming climate, we see that more and more ice melts each year. One would expect that the ice would also freeze less, but we have observed that the ice growth – or ice production – has increased ...[Read More]

Did you know about the dark secrets of Arctic sea ice?

Linda Thielke March 17, 2023

A map that shows the Thermal infrared tsurface temperature of the ice floe of the MOSAiC expedition in blue where its cold and red where it is warmer (leads).

Have you ever wondered what dark secrets the Arctic sea ice holds during the harsh winter months? Imagine total darkness in the central Arctic, making it almost impossible to gather scientific information. At this time of the year, usually only satellite observations are available. This changed in September 2019 when a team of scientists collected in situ and airborne data in the central Arctic as ...[Read More]

For Dummies: How Arctic sea ice and the AMOC interact

David Docquier December 9, 2022

In this post, I will talk about two famous characters of the climate system; I will define them and see how they have changed in the current context of climate change. I will also show you how these two characters interact, one influencing the other, and vice versa. Finally, let’s see how the future looks like for them and the consequences for the global climate. I hope you will enjoy this story. ...[Read More]

Fun Cryo Facts – Don’t eat brown snow

Stefan “Zwiebel” Thiele December 2, 2022

What about digging a snow pit on the Arctic sea-ice during a stormy day? Sure, for science this and more! [credit: Stefan Thiele]

Scientist are curious people and we all know that the best discoveries happen by chance, so we always keep our eyes open for the unusual, the new, and the weird things in life. Especially, when we are out in the Arctic doing field work and find unknown brown layers… An unexpected discovery We were out in the Arctic, somewhere Northeast of Svalbard. It was a sunny day and we had just docked t ...[Read More]

Highlighted Paper – Welcome to the microbial BBQ in Arctic Sea ice

Stefan "Zwiebel" Thiele November 10, 2022

Figure 1: The brown spots are sea ice algae (aka vegan BBQ patties) in the Arctic sea ice, can you see them? [Credit: Stefan Thiele]

There, what is this, spoke the sea ice algae. Is this the first light of dawn? Is it finally this time of the year again? Spring…the best time of the year…the BBQ season? And in the little brine pockets all around the sea ice, the bacterial and archaeal community stirred alive. BBQ? Did somebody mention BBQ? Let’s have some vegan burgers! And so spring began inside of the Arctic sea ic ...[Read More]

More pancakes in the future!

Roxana S. Cremer April 21, 2022

Evening sun over pancake ice covering Hornsund Fjord in Svalbard, 27 March 2020. Credits: Roxana Cremer.

More pancakes in the future – that sounds like a very good New Year’s Eve resolution for Sunday brunches, but it could also be a development of the most tasty looking sea ice shape in the Arctic. Let’s find out more! Arctic Sea Ice The growth and melt of Arctic sea ice follows a seasonal cycle. In the springtime, under the midnight sun, the sea ice begins to melt until it reaches its m ...[Read More]

Will the ice break out? – a story from the farthest north ice trails

Dyre Oliver Dammann November 26, 2021

Man on snow machine looks bake to the canoe he is towing across ice.

A family traveling up the coast with a traditional Umiaq skin boat on an ice trail only days before the ice broke out in 2014. Photo: Dyre Dammann

"For over two decades, the sea ice group at the University of Alaska has worked with the community of Utqiaġvik, establishing an integrated observing network. This network includes local observations, a coastal radar system to monitor ice conditions, an in-situ mass balance site monitoring environmental change such as ice growth and snow cover, and the mapping of community sea ice trails." In thi ...[Read More]

Will the Arctic be ice free earlier than previously thought?

David Docquier September 17, 2021

Figure 1: Polar bear on sea ice in Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean. Figure credit: Alla Khan, NSIDC, CC BY 2.0.

There is no doubt that the Arctic is currently losing its sea ice as our climate is warming. And this process will carry on as temperatures continue climbing. But the rate at which sea ice will melt in the future and the exact date when the Arctic will be free of sea ice is not known due to several factors (which will be briefly discussed in this post). Torben Koenigk and I have selected climate m ...[Read More]