Doctoral student, University of Helsinki Photo: Heikki Junninen, Lisa Beck Satellite monitoring over 1982-2015 shows earlier onset of snow melt on Svalbard. Svalbard: trends in snow cover and sea-ice area. (2021). These compounds form molecular clusters that can grow into bigger particles. Box 4
January 19, 2021 . In general, atmospheric particles and clouds play an important role in regulating the atmosphereâs temperature, and any changing behavior of these has consequences on Arctic warming. As the spring continues, the thinning sea ice leads to the emission of even more iodine compounds. The southern half of the Barents Sea, including the ports of Murmansk (Russia) and Vardø (Norway) remain ice-free year round due to the warm North Atlantic drift.In September, the entire Barents Sea is more or less completely ice-free. 00014 University of Helsinki, Switchboard:
Beck, L. J., Sarnela, N., Junninen, H., Hoppe, C. J. M., Garmash, O., Bianchi, F., et al. The index consists of both the sea-ice extent and sea-ice area information and is provided as global, hemispheric, and regional data. Satellite monitoring over 1982-2015 shows earlier onset of snow melt on Svalbard. What types of cryospheric observations are available on cryo.met.no for the Svalbard area, and what characterized these for 2020? The Ice is Changing. âCurrently, the Arctic sea ice is melting fast. While both sites are located at similar latitudes, about 1000 km south of the North Pole, their environments are very different. On behalf of the OSI SAF sea-ice team, we are happy to present the new OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1. Arctic sea ice extent averaged for January 2021 was 13.48 million square kilometers (5.20 million square miles). Until recent studies, the molecular processes of particle formation in the high Arctic remained a mystery.Â. Sea levels continue to rise at an alarming rate as oceans expand and ice on land melts amid climate change. P.O. Postdoctoral researcher, University of Helsinki Meltwater gushes from an ice cap on the island of Nordaustlandet, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. 2020 was the warmest year on record for Norway since the temperature measurements began more than 120 years ago. @NinaSarnela, Mikko Sipilä For some of these indigenous people, hunting isnât sport â it has been their means of providing food. Until the Winter War (1939â40), Finland's territory also reached to the Barents Sea. Publication: âOur observations are contributing to further understanding of what happens in the Arctic atmosphere due to warming. The study clarifies how Arctic warming and sea ice loss strengthens processes where different vapors are emitted to the atmosphere. Its harbor at Petsamo was Finland's only ice-free winter harbor. Current ice charts for European waters are available on weekdays (Monday-Friday) and the Antarctic on Mondays (October-April), both after 1500 UTC. Over the last six months, we have received many contributions through Ice Watch and testing of our new mobile application IceWatchApp. Therefore we update our daily Arctic sea-ice extent figure which includes the two recent years with the lowest sea-ice extent as reference curves. Austfonna, in the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, is the largest of many ice caps in Scandinavia. Differing mechanisms of new particle formation at two Arctic sites. While the entrance may be visible, the Vault itself is over 100 meters into the mountain. Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) lisa.beck@helsinki.fi, Nina Sarnela The Norwegian Meteorological Institute conducts in-situ measurements and remote sensing observations of the cryosphere: terrestrial snow cover, permafrost and sea ice. âCurrently, the Arctic sea ice is melting fast. 2020 holds the second-lowest sea-ice extent on record in the Arctic, following the record-low in 2012. The most pronounced shift is in valleys, where the ground is snow-free 1-2 days more every year during summer. For Svalbard, although not beating the record from 2016, 2020 was also a warm year with the warmest summer in the 121-year record for Svalbard Airport. The most pronounced shift is in valleys, where the ground is snow-free 1-2 days more every year during summer. about Svalbard: trends in snow cover and sea-ice area, about Svalbard: the state of the cryosphere 2020, about Sea Ice Extent plot with updated minimum years, about OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1 - new climate indicator of sea ice, Svalbard: trends in snow cover and sea-ice area, Svalbard: the state of the cryosphere 2020, Sea Ice Extent plot with updated minimum years, OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.1 - new climate indicator of sea ice. Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) We are planning to continue the studies in Svalbard to figure out what these organic compounds are and where they are coming fromâ, Beck says. Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) During their expeditions to the Arctic, the scientists collected measurements for 12 months in total. The results of the extensive research project were recently published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal. +358505741513,nina.sarnela@helsinki.fi Coronavirus situation at the University of Helsinki, Services for researchers and research policy, Researchers specialised in artificial intelligence and data science, Researchers specialised in climate change and biodiversity, Follow updates about the coronavirus situation, Faculty of biological and environmental sciences, Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR), The Polar and arctic atmospheric research group, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences. The researchers conducted measurements in Northern Greenland at Villum research station and in Svalbard at Ny-à lesund for 6-months at each station. In Northern Greenland the researchers discovered that in the spring after the Polar night the microalgae below the sea ice started to emit iodine compounds to the atmosphere. Villum-station is surrounded by sea ice all year round, while the warm sea currents cause the sea around Ny-à lesund to remain open.Â. In total, the database consists of close to 10 000 individual sea ice observations from research, operations and polar tourism cruises in remote polar waters. The particle concentrations in Svalbard were clearly higher than the ones measured in Northern-Greenland. Higher concentrations of vapors result in a higher amount of particles. As a result, we can assume that the processes observed in Svalbard will be more common in the Arctic areas that will be liberated from sea ice⦠To name a few vessels we currently have in our Ice Watch database; RV Kronprins Haakon, KV Svalbard, HI Sverdrup, Polarstern and Akademik Fedorov. ... Piqaluyak is salt-free multiyear sea ice. The researchers discovered that atmospheric vapors, particles, and cloud formation have clear differences within various Arctic environments. Dr Amstrup says polar bears are so adapted to the sea ice world that when they come ashore during the ice ... And new wells were sunk in Norwegian waters south of Svalbard in October. They have the southernmost range of any seal, but find the chilly waters rich with the prey they seek. Ice caps and ice ⦠Snow cover variability in lowlands correlates with the variability of sea ice in the adjacent seas, especially in June. Ivuniq is a pressure ridge. The large amount and role of organic compounds in the Arctic particle formation surprised the researchers.
Nina Sarnela. Detailed knowledge of these processes is crucial in order to understand the consequences of global warming. They know the weather patterns that allow them to travel safely on the sea ice for their hunting expeditions. This on the other hand will lead to more clouds, which can â depending on the season and location â either slow down or accelerate the Arctic warming. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2020GL091334. View image of Permafrost in Svalbard (Credit: ... Because the Arctic sea ice is melting, the north shore of Siberia has become more easily accessible by sea. +358 (0) 2941 911 (mobile call charge / local network charge), Coronavirus situÂation at the University of Helsinki, Photo: University operates on four campuses in Helsinki and at nine other locations. For centuries, the Inuit have lived out in the roughest environments. In the studies of Svalbard also organic compounds were detected. Svalbard is the best place on the planet to see polar bearsâwild, majestic, in their native habitat: the sea ice. As a result, we can assume that the processes observed in Svalbard will be more common in the Arctic areas that will be liberated from sea iceâ, Beck says. (Yliopistonkatu 3)
The published research is connected to the recent Polarstern studies that have continued the studies in the high Arctic in the middle of sea ice areas. The particle concentrations in Svalbard were clearly higher than the ones measured in Northern-Greenland. This was 400,000 square kilometers (154,000 square miles) above the record low set in 2018 and 940,000 square kilometers (363,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. The ice charts are produced by the Norwegian Ice Service as part of their operational responsibility for European waters and in addition as a collaboration for Antarctic waters.These ice charts are analyzed and quality controlled by a Sea Ice Analyst. âWe did not expect to observe many organic vapors in the cold and bare Arctic environment as they have been mainly seen in areas covered by forests. +358407093103mikko.sipila@helsinki.fi, Read more: The Polar and arctic atmospheric research group. This web portal gives access to the latest products and information about sea ice, snow and permafrost - the cryosphere - from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The thinning of sea ice enables more iodine emissions while broader open waters enable more emissions of sulfur-containing vapors. The researchers of the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth system research at the University of Helsinki have investigated how atmospheric particles are formed in the Arctic. The area is geologically stable and humidity levels are low. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv) is a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago. Associate professor, University of Helsinki Arctic areas are especially sensitive to changes in cloudiness and albedoâ, says Lisa Beck, a doctoral student at the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR). Weddell seals spend much of their time below the Antarctic ice. Researchers of the University of Helsinki have resolved for the first time, how the environment affects the formation of nanoparticles in the Arctic. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091334, Researcher Nina Sarnela conducting the measurements in Northern Greenland. The largest ice cap in the world is probably the Severny Island ice cap, part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Russian Arctic. And see them we doââduring our season in Svalbard, we observe all manner of behavior from hunting for seals amid the floes to frolicking cubsââall viewable from ⦠ In Svalbard, surrounded by open waters, the observations showed how sulfur-compounds emitted by phytoplankton could form a large amount of particles that could grow fast, and can even form cloud droplets. Ocean Science (OS), an international open-access scientific journal, wrote last week that "a perturbation in greenhouse gas concentrations changes the balance of energy fluxes between the atmosphere and the ocean surface and the balance of mass fluxes to and from glaciers and ice sheets." The results give additional insight into the future of melting sea ice and the Arctic atmosphere. Svalbard is the farthest north a person can fly on a scheduled flight, offering a remote location that is nevertheless accessible.