Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat
Abstract Antarctic sea ice has changed significantly over the past four decades; yet limited understanding of fundamental processes, including its seasonal cycle, hinders our ability to interpret these changes. Here, we examine the processes determining the moment when sea ice locally disappears eac...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL114764 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849434491817295872 |
|---|---|
| author | Kenza Himmich Martin Vancoppenolle Sharon Stammerjohn Marion Bocquet Gurvan Madec Sara Fleury |
| author_facet | Kenza Himmich Martin Vancoppenolle Sharon Stammerjohn Marion Bocquet Gurvan Madec Sara Fleury |
| author_sort | Kenza Himmich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Antarctic sea ice has changed significantly over the past four decades; yet limited understanding of fundamental processes, including its seasonal cycle, hinders our ability to interpret these changes. Here, we examine the processes determining the moment when sea ice locally disappears each spring, defined as the retreat date, using satellite observations over 1994–2020. We find that climatological retreat date is driven by sea ice melt in most of the seasonal ice zone and strongly constrained by the seasonal maximum ice thickness. Ice removal due to drifting ice export predominantly drives retreat only in coastal polynyas. At interannual timescales, retreat date anomalies are also preconditioned by prior maximum ice thickness, which affects melt‐driven spring ice loss through the ice‐albedo feedback, though this effect appears limited to specific regions. Winds emerge as a primary driver of interannual variability in the retreat date, influencing both drift‐ and melt‐related spring ice removal processes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab8cf56744a94e3e87898b7f2b9662fc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-ab8cf56744a94e3e87898b7f2b9662fc2025-08-20T03:26:38ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-05-015210n/an/a10.1029/2025GL114764Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice RetreatKenza Himmich0Martin Vancoppenolle1Sharon Stammerjohn2Marion Bocquet3Gurvan Madec4Sara Fleury5Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat Sorbonne Université CNRS/IRD/MNHN Paris FranceLaboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat Sorbonne Université CNRS/IRD/MNHN Paris FranceInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USANORCE Norwegian Research Centre Tromsø NorwayLaboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat Sorbonne Université CNRS/IRD/MNHN Paris FranceUniversité de Toulouse CNES CNRS IRD UPS Toulouse FranceAbstract Antarctic sea ice has changed significantly over the past four decades; yet limited understanding of fundamental processes, including its seasonal cycle, hinders our ability to interpret these changes. Here, we examine the processes determining the moment when sea ice locally disappears each spring, defined as the retreat date, using satellite observations over 1994–2020. We find that climatological retreat date is driven by sea ice melt in most of the seasonal ice zone and strongly constrained by the seasonal maximum ice thickness. Ice removal due to drifting ice export predominantly drives retreat only in coastal polynyas. At interannual timescales, retreat date anomalies are also preconditioned by prior maximum ice thickness, which affects melt‐driven spring ice loss through the ice‐albedo feedback, though this effect appears limited to specific regions. Winds emerge as a primary driver of interannual variability in the retreat date, influencing both drift‐ and melt‐related spring ice removal processes.https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL114764Antarctic sea icesea ice retreatsouthern ocean |
| spellingShingle | Kenza Himmich Martin Vancoppenolle Sharon Stammerjohn Marion Bocquet Gurvan Madec Sara Fleury Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat Geophysical Research Letters Antarctic sea ice sea ice retreat southern ocean |
| title | Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat |
| title_full | Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat |
| title_fullStr | Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat |
| title_full_unstemmed | Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat |
| title_short | Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat |
| title_sort | local drivers of antarctic spring sea ice retreat |
| topic | Antarctic sea ice sea ice retreat southern ocean |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL114764 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kenzahimmich localdriversofantarcticspringseaiceretreat AT martinvancoppenolle localdriversofantarcticspringseaiceretreat AT sharonstammerjohn localdriversofantarcticspringseaiceretreat AT marionbocquet localdriversofantarcticspringseaiceretreat AT gurvanmadec localdriversofantarcticspringseaiceretreat AT sarafleury localdriversofantarcticspringseaiceretreat |