Author(s): Yu Yan; Wei Gu; Ning Li
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No keywords
Abstract: Despite the backdrop of continuous global warming, sea ice extent has been found not to consistently decrease across the globe, and instead exhibit heterogeneous variability at middle to high latitudes. Continuous satellite monitoring of the Bohai Sea has shown that the sea ice cover area has increased slightly (1.55±1.13% yr–1) from 1988 to 2015. The long-term average ice area (AIA) and maximum ice area (MIA) range from 0.40×104–2.00×104 km2 and 0.78×104–3.55×104 km2, covering 5.35–26.7% and 10.4–47.4% of the Bohai Sea, respectively. The detrended annual average ice area (AAIA) was further found to correlate with a slight decreasing mean ice-period average temperature (IAT, r = –0.58, p < 0.01) of 11 meteorological stations around the Bohai Sea as well as a mild increasing cumulative freezing degree days (CFDD, r = 0.65, p < 0.01). Correlation with decreasing Arctic Oscillation (AO) index (r = –0.60, p < 0.01) over the study period suggested AO as the primary large-scale climate factor for Bohai Sea ice. The results can provide important references for climate change and disaster monitoring and risk management.
Year: 2018