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The Climatic Environment of the Arctic Ocean

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The Arctic Ocean

Abstract

This chapter first reviews briefly the physical basis of climate in the Arctic and the generation of the global wind and ocean circulations that transport heat, moisture and pollutants (including natural ones such as volcanic dust) towards the Arctic. Next, the variations of the temperature climate, and its implications on various time-scales for changes in the extent of the Arctic sea-ice, are explored. It is found that the regions between Greenland and Iceland in the west and the Barents and Kara Seas in the east and the surrounding lands, are the most sensitive regions (perhaps in the whole world) to climate changes, and register very strong responses to either warming or cooling. The variations in this sector of the Arctic may serve as a useful indicator of the current state of world climate.

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Lamb, H.H. (1982). The Climatic Environment of the Arctic Ocean. In: Rey, L. (eds) The Arctic Ocean. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05919-5_7

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