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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Impact of River Discharge and Regional Climatology on the Decay of Sea Ice in the Laptev Sea during Spring and Early Summer
Contributor:
Bareiss, Jörg;
Eicken, Hajo;
Helbig, Alfred;
Martin, Thomas
imprint:
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, 1999
Published in:Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
Language:
English
ISSN:
1523-0430;
1938-4246
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<p>Summer sea-ice conditions in the Laptev Sea are characterized by high interannual variability. The impact of Lena River discharge, one of the Arctic's major rivers discharging roughly 525 km<sup>3</sup> annually onto the Laptev shelf, and the regional meteorological regime affect the spring and summer ice regime of the Laptev Sea. Using ground and remote-sensing data and statistical analyses, it is shown that river discharge plays an insignificant role in the large-scale decay of the Laptev Sea ice cover. Hydrological and remote sensing data for the period 1979-1990 show that discharge/sea-ice interactions are confined to the coastal regions, with Lena River water flooding a fast-ice belt, roughly 25 km wide, in early to mid-June. Sea-ice decay and summer ice extent are shown to be affected most strongly by dynamic atmospheric forcing and by opening and enlargement of coastal polynyas in early spring.</p>