Shrinking sea ice, increasing snowfall and thinning lake ice

The dramatic shrinkage of Arctic sea ice is one of the starkest symptoms of global warming, with potentially severe and far-reaching impacts on arctic marine and terrestrial ecology (Post et al 2013 Science 341 519–24 ) and northern hemisphere climate (Screen et al 2015 Environ. Res. Lett . 10 084006 ). In their recent article, Alexeev et al (2016 Environ . Res . Lett . 11 074022 ) highlight another, and unexpected, consequence of Arctic sea ice retreat: the thinning of lake ice in northern Alaska. This is attributed to early winter ‘ocean effect’ snowfall which insulates lake surfaces and inhibits the formation of deep lake ice. Lake ice thinning has important consequences for Arctic lake hydrology, biology and permafrost degradation

Antarctic sea ice · Arctic · Arctic ecology · Arctic geoengineering · Arctic ice pack · Arctic sea ice decline · Arctic vegetation · Climatology · Cryosphere · Geography · Geomorphology · Northern Hemisphere · Permafrost · Physical geography · Sea ice · Snow · Thinning · Tundra · Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics · Climate change and permafrost · Cryospheric studies and observations · Environmental Science · Ecology · Geology · Oceanography

• Contrasting lake ice responses to winter climate indicate future variability and trends on the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain

  Open Access•Christopher D Arp, Benjamin M Jones et al.•Environmental Research Letters•2018

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• The Arctic’s rapidly shrinking sea ice cover

  Open Access•Julienne Strœve, Julienne C Stroeve et al.•Climatic Change•2012

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• The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification

  Open Access•James A Screen, Ian Simmonds•Nature•2010

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• Arctic sea ice decline contributes to thinning lake ice trend in northern Alaska

  Open Access•V A Alexeev, Christopher D Arp et al.•Environmental Research Letters•2016

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