Abstract
Arctic sea ice extent has been declining in recent years, although ice extent varies with changes in atmospheric circulation, especially changes in the phase of the Arctic Oscillation. The negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation has generally favored survival of sea ice, but while an extreme negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation took place in winter 2009–2010, the September 2010 Arctic sea ice extent was the third lowest in the satellite record. Stroeve et al. investigated the causes of the low ice extent in 2010. They analyzed sea ice concentrations as well as sea level pressure and air temperature data from 1979 through 2010 and found that atmospheric circulation during winter 2009–2010 was different from previous negative Arctic Oscillation events. In typical negative events, winds drive thick multiyear ice in the Beaufort Sea northward to areas where the ice thickens and survives the summer melt season, but during the 2009–2010 winter, winds drove older ice across the Beaufort Sea into the warmer southern areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2010GL045662, 2011)
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