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Satellite observations of the summer decay of the Antarctic sea-ice

Satellitenbeobachtungen des Zerfalls des antarktischen Meereises im Sommer

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Summary

Sequences of hemispheric five day mean minimum brightness mosaics are used to plot the variation in the Antarctic pack ice edge for three summer seasons and to locate extremes at particular dates. Average and extreme areas of sea ice over the hemisphere are measured as a function of time. The geographical distribution of major polynyas is shown and the decay pattern of sea ice in the main continental embayments is described and found to show considerable similarity in each season. Some evidence is shown that apparent substantial differences in ice extent between October 1st, 1969 and the corresponding date in 1970 are qualitatively consistent with observed variations in the strength of the southern westerlies in October of both years.

Zusammenfassung

Es wurden Folgen von hemisphärischen Fünftagemitteln des Helligkeitsminimums zur Zeichnung der Änderungen der arktischen Packeisgrenze in drei Sommern und zur Lokalisierung der Extreme zu bestimmten Zeiten benützt. Mittel und Extreme der vom Meereis auf der Hemisphäre bedeckten Flächen wurden in ihrer Abhängigkeit von der Zeit gemessen. Es wird die geographische Verteilung von größeren Flächen von offenem Wasser innerhalb der Eisdecke (Polynyas) gezeigt und die Form des Zerfalls des Meereises in den hauptsächlichen kontinentalen Einbuchtungen beschrieben; dabei zeigt sich eine beträchtliche Ähnlichkeit in jedem Sommer. Es wird auch der Nachweis erbracht, daß offenkundig wesentliche Unterschiede in der Ausdehnung der Eisdecke zwischen 1. Oktober 1969 und dem entsprechenden Datum von 1970 bestehen, die mit dem beobachteten Stärkeunterschied der südwestlichen Winde im Oktober beider Jahre qualitativ in Übereinstimmung sind.

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  1. N. A. Streten

    Present address: Commonwealth Meteorology Research Centre, P. O. Box 5089 AA, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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    Streten, N.A. Satellite observations of the summer decay of the Antarctic sea-ice. Arch. Met. Geoph. Biokl. A. 22, 119–134 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02247676

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02247676

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