Observed Hemispheric Asymmetry in Global Sea Ice Changes

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 278; no. 5340; pp. 1104 - 1106
• Main Authors: Cavalieri, D. J., Gloersen, P., Parkinson, C. L., Comiso, J. C., Zwally, H. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 07-11-1997; American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Applied geophysics; Climate change; Climate models; Climatic changes; Datasets; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Environmental aspects; Exact sciences and technology; Global warming; Ice; Internal geophysics; Marine; Microwaves; Oceans; Pollution, environment geology; Sea ice; Sensors; Spacecraft; Spacecraft launching; Time series; Arctic region; Antarctica; PS, Antarctica; PN, Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Antarctic (Southern) Ocean; carbon dioxide; annual variations; climate modification; greenhouse effect; sea ice; radiometry; climate warming; polar regions; asymmetry; satellite methods; microwave methods
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.278.5340.1104

From November 1978 through December 1996, the areal extent of sea ice decreased by 2.9 ± 0.4 percent per decade in the Arctic and increased by 1.3 ± 0.2 percent per decade in the Antarctic. The observed hemispheric asymmetry in these trends is consistent with a modeled response to a carbon dioxide-induced climate warming. The interannual variations, which are 2.3 percent of the annual mean in the Arctic, with a predominant period of about 5 years, and 3.4 percent of the annual mean in the Antarctic, with a predominant period of about 3 years, are uncorrelated.