Potential effect of nuclear war smokefall on sea ice

Abstract

A large nuclear war could produce massive quantities of smoke from burning cities and industries. A portion of this smoke would fall out on Arctic sea ice, thus lowering its albedo and potentially increasing the solar energy absorbed by the ice and the snow that covers it. We use a one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model to examine the effect of ‘smokefall’ on the seasonal variation of sea ice. In particular, we test the sensitivity of the model results to the time of year, duration, and latitude of smokefall. Sea ice thickness variations and the period of summer ice-free conditions are sensitive to the season of smokefall. The largest sea ice perturbations are generated by smokefall in spring. In this case the period of ice-free conditions during the summer can increase by 2 – 3.5 months between 67.5° N and 82.5° N. In any given season, the annual cycle of sea ice is not very sensitive to the duration of smokefall. The equilibrium annual cycle of sea ice variation is restored within a few years of smokefall when the smoke is flushed out of the ice/snow system. Since the sea ice model used here is not a comprehensive global climate model, it is difficult to predict the mid-latitude climate effects of the massive, but temporary, Arctic sea ice changes. However, our results suggest that future global climate model simulations of the effects of nuclear war smoke include interactive sea ice calculations.