Analysis of Spatiotemporal Variations and Influencing Factors of Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic and Antarctic

Xiaoyu Sun; Tingting Lv; Qizhen Sun; Zhuoming Ding; Hui Shen; Yi Gao; Yawen He; Min Fu; Chunhua Li

doi:10.3390/rs15235563

Remote Sensing (Nov 2023)

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Variations and Influencing Factors of Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic and Antarctic

Xiaoyu Sun,
Tingting Lv,
Qizhen Sun,
Zhuoming Ding,
Hui Shen,
Yi Gao,
Yawen He,
Min Fu,
Chunhua Li

Affiliations

Xiaoyu Sun: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
Tingting Lv: Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Qizhen Sun: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
Zhuoming Ding: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
Hui Shen: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
Yi Gao: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
Yawen He: Ocean and Spatial Information College, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266000, China
Min Fu: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
Chunhua Li: Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15235563
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 23
p. 5563

Abstract

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The 44 years (1979–2022) of satellite-derived sea ice extent in the Arctic and Antarctic reveals the details and new trends in the process of polar sea ice coverage changes. The speed of Arctic sea ice extent reduction and the interannual difference significantly increased after 2004. Trend analysis suggests that the Arctic Ocean may experience an ice-free period around 2060. The maximum anomaly of Arctic sea ice extent has gradually transitioned from September to October, indicating a trend of prolonged melting period. The center of gravity of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is biased towards the Pacific side, and the spatial distribution pattern of sea ice is greatly influenced by the Atlantic warm current. The dynamism of the sea ice extent on the Atlantic side is significantly greater than in other regions. Since 2014, the Antarctic sea ice extent has shifted from slow growth to a rapid decreasing trend; the sea ice extent reached a historical minimum in 2022, decreasing by 2.02 × 106 km2 compared to 2014. The Antarctic experiences seven months of ice growth each year and five months of ice melting period, the annual change patterns of sea ice extent in the Arctic and Antarctic are slightly different.

Published in Remote Sensing

ISSN: 2072-4292 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/

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