The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange

• Published in: Nature climate change Vol. 3; no. 3; pp. 195 - 202
• Main Authors: Parmentier, Frans-Jan W., Christensen, Torben R., Sørensen, Lise Lotte, Rysgaard, Søren, McGuire, A. David, Miller, Paul A., Walker, Donald A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.03.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 704/106/125; 704/106/47; 704/106/694; 704/106/829; Air temperature; Atmosphere; Carbon dioxide; Climate Change; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; Earth and Related Environmental Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Environment; Environmental impact; Environmental Law/Policy/Ecojustice; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Gas exchange; Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap; Geovetenskap och relaterad miljövetenskap; Greenhouses; Ice cover; Latitude; Marine; Marine ecosystems; Meteorology; Natural Sciences; Naturgeografi; Naturvetenskap; Physical Geography; Physics of the oceans; review-article; Sea ice; Arctic Ocean; polar regions; Arctic region; PN, Arctic Ocean; air-sea interface; Carbon dioxide; Air ground interaction; ocean-atmosphere interaction; Source sink relationship; Ice cover; greenhouse gas; Polar amplification; sea ice; Polar region; Gas exchange; climate change; glacial extent
• ISSN: 1758-678X; 1758-6798; 1758-6798
• DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1784

An increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean could have significant implications for greenhouse-gas sources and sinks in the Northern high latitudes. In this Review, the impact of diminishing sea-ice extent on greenhouse-gas exchange in both marine and terrestrial Arctic environments is synthesised and discussed. In September 2012, Arctic sea-ice extent plummeted to a new record low: two times lower than the 1979–2000 average. Often, record lows in sea-ice cover are hailed as an example of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Less apparent, however, are the implications of reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean for marine–atmosphere CO 2 exchange. Sea-ice decline has been connected to increasing air temperatures at high latitudes. Temperature is a key controlling factor in the terrestrial exchange of CO 2 and methane, and therefore the greenhouse-gas balance of the Arctic. Despite the large potential for feedbacks, many studies do not connect the diminishing sea-ice extent with changes in the interaction of the marine and terrestrial Arctic with the atmosphere. In this Review, we assess how current understanding of the Arctic Ocean and high-latitude ecosystems can be used to predict the impact of a lower sea-ice cover on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange.