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55. Characteristics, recent evolution, and ongoing retreat of Hunt Fjord Ice Shelf, northern Greenland.

Author

Ochwat, Naomi, Scambos, Ted, Fahnestock, Mark, and Stammerjohn, Sharon

Subjects
*ICE shelves, *FJORDS, *ICE sheets, *LANDSAT satellites, *MELTWATER, *GLACIERS, *GLACIOLOGY
Abstract

Arctic ice shelves have declined over the past several decades, one of many indications of a rapidly changing cryosphere. Here we use a collection of off-nadir Landsat 8 images, a 1978 digital orthophotograph and photogrammetrically derived DEM, satellite altimetry and other data to examine the causes of an Arctic ice-shelf retreat in northernmost Greenland, the Hunt Fjord Ice Shelf (HFIS). HFIS has several distinct provenance regions comprised of glacier-derived ice and corrugated multi-decadal fast ice, with varying ice thicknesses (5–64 m). Available imagery shows little change in HFIS between 1978 and 2012, after which several midsummer calving events occurred (2012, 2016 and 2019) that reduced the HFIS by 42.5 km2 (~56%). Shelf area losses began as the number of surface melt days on the adjacent ice sheet more than doubled relative to the 1980s. Recent calving events also occurred during open-water periods at the ice-shelf front. Prior to mid-2012, there were no calving events during similar open-water periods. HFIS tributary glaciers have thinned by 3–20 m near their grounding zones, and may have accelerated since the 1980s, likely due to increased basal melting from contact with warm Atlantic Water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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56. Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

Author

Alley, Karen E., primary, Wild, Christian T., additional, Luckman, Adrian, additional, Scambos, Ted A., additional, Truffer, Martin, additional, Pettit, Erin C., additional, Muto, Atsuhiro, additional, Wallin, Bruce, additional, Klinger, Marin, additional, Sutterley, Tyler, additional, Child, Sarah F., additional, Hulen, Cyrus, additional, Lenaerts, Jan T. M., additional, Maclennan, Michelle, additional, Keenan, Eric, additional, and Dunmire, Devon, additional

Published
2021
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58. Extracting recent short-term glacier velocity evolution over southern Alaska and the Yukon from a large collection of Landsat data

Author

Altena, B., Scambos, Ted A., Fahnestock, Mark, Kääb, Andreas, Sub Dynamics Meteorology, Marine and Atmospheric Research, Sub Dynamics Meteorology, and Marine and Atmospheric Research

Subjects
National Snow and Ice Data Center, lcsh:GE1-350, geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Ice stream, Stack (geology), lcsh:QE1-996.5, 0211 other engineering and technologies, Glacier, Satellite system, 02 engineering and technology, Geodesy, 01 natural sciences, Term (time), lcsh:Geology, 13. Climate action, Satellite imagery, Scale (map), Geology, lcsh:Environmental sciences, 021101 geological & geomatics engineering, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Earth-Surface Processes, Water Science and Technology
Abstract

The measurement of glacier velocity fields using repeat satellite imagery has become a standard method of cryospheric research. However, the reliable discovery of important glacier velocity variations on a large scale is still problematic because time series span different time intervals and are partly populated with erroneous velocity estimates. In this study we build upon existing glacier velocity products from the GoLIVE dataset (https://nsidc.org/data/golive, last access: 26 February 2019) and compile a multi-temporal stack of velocity data over the Saint Elias Mountains and vicinity. Each layer has a time separation of 32 days, making it possible to observe details such as within-season velocity change over an area of roughly 150 000 km2. Our methodology is robust as it is based upon a fuzzy voting scheme applied in a discrete parameter space and thus is able to filter multiple outliers. The multi-temporal data stack is then smoothed to facilitate interpretation. This results in a spatiotemporal dataset in which one can identify short-term glacier dynamics on a regional scale. The goal is not to improve accuracy or precision but to enhance extraction of the timing and location of ice flow events such as glacier surges. Our implementation is fully automatic and the approach is independent of geographical area or satellite system used. We demonstrate this automatic method on a large glacier area in Alaska and Canada. Within the Saint Elias and Kluane mountain ranges, several surges and their propagation characteristics are identified and tracked through time, as well as more complicated dynamics in the Wrangell Mountains.

Published
2019

59. How fast is the Greenland ice sheet melting?

Author

Scambos, Ted, Straneo, Fiamma, Tedesco, Marco, Scambos, Ted, Straneo, Fiamma, and Tedesco, Marco

Abstract

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scambos, T., Straneo, F., & Tedesco, M. How fast is the Greenland ice sheet melting? Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research, 53(1), (2021): 221–222, https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2021.1946241., THE ISSUE The Greenland Ice Sheet and the glacier-covered areas of Alaska and other Arctic lands are losing ice at an accelerating rate, contributing billions of tons of water to sea level rise. WHY IT MATTERS Ice loss from the ice sheets contributes directly to sea level rise. These losses are likely to increase rapidly as warming in the Arctic continues. Surface melt and runoff is now increasing more quickly than all other factors driving Greenland’s ice loss, although faster glacier outflow remains important. Increased ice loss from Alaska’s glaciers is also due mainly to surface melting. Given these trends, and the rapid warming in the Arctic (twice the global rate of warming), the Arctic is poised to lose ice even more rapidly and raise sea level. STATE OF KNOWLEDGE Since 2000, the net loss of ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased five-fold, from 50 billion to about 250 billion tons per year1,2 (362 billion tons is equal to 1 mm in sea level rise). Ice losses in the Gulf of Alaska region have risen from about 40 to 70 billion tons per year3. These trends are confirmed by three independent satellite methods, using gravitational changes, elevation changes, and changes in the mass budget (the net difference between snowfall and the combination of glacier outflow and runoff)1. In total, the Arctic currently contributes approximately 350 billion tons (~1 mm) to sea level each year, primarily from Greenland, Alaska, and Arctic Canada. Recent measurements of the rate of sea level rise are 3.0 mm per year, with the additional rise coming from other glaciers and Antarctica (~0.4. mm) and expansion of the oceans due to warming (~1.7 mm)4. Slightly cooler summer seasons for Greenland in 2013 and 2014, and again in 2017 and 2018, temporarily reduced the rate of ice loss. Ocean temperatures cooled in some places along the western Greenland coast, slowing glacier outflow there5. However, strong melting in 2015, 2016 and 2019 again contributed large amounts of runoff, This work was supported by the Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, and NSF’s Study of Environmental Arctic Change.

Published
2021

61. Megadune

Author

Hargitai, Henrik, primary, Kereszturi, Ákos, additional, and Scambos, Ted, additional

Published
2014
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66. Topography of streaklines on an Antarctic ice shelf from photoclinometry applied to a single advanced land imager (ALI) image

Author

Raup, Bruce H., Scambos, Ted A., and Haran, Terry

Subjects
Ice sheets -- Research, Remote sensing -- Research, Satellite imaging -- Research, Business, Earth sciences, Electronics and electrical industries
Abstract

We investigate the usefulness of the experimental Advanced Land Imager instrument onboard the Earth Observing 1 satellite and a shape-from-shading technique to study streaklines (flow stripes) on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Local variations in brightness in the image are directly related to surface topography because the snow surface reflectivity is mostly uniform. Image brightness values are combined with sun position and streakline orientation to calculate surface topography to centimeter-level vertical precision. The amplitude of the streaklines is typically 1-2 m, and spacing is on the order of 1 km. The streaklines show complex along-flow changes in cross-sectional shape that we interpret to be effects from temporal changes in grounding line dynamics and decay of ice topography due to flow. Cross-sectional areas of the streaklines are calculated at various points along flow to investigate morphological evolution. The study area subscene covers a 28 km x 90 km area and covers ~ 350 years of ice flow. Index Terms--Advanced Land Imager (ALI), Earth Observing 1 (EO-1), flow stripes, ice flow, ice shelves, photoclinometry, streaklines.

Published
2005

67. Mass Balance of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets from 1992 to 2020.

Author

Otosaka, Inès N., Shepherd, Andrew, Ivins, Erik R., Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne, Amory, Charles, van den Broeke, Michiel R., Horwath, Martin, Joughin, Ian, King, Michalea D., Krinner, Gerhard, Nowicki, Sophie, Payne, Antony J., Rignot, Eric, Scambos, Ted, Simon, Karen M., Smith, Benjamin E., Sørensen, Louise S., Velicogna, Isabella, Whitehouse, Pippa L., and A., Geruo

Subjects
ICE sheets, GREENLAND ice, ANTARCTIC ice, SEA level, MELTWATER, SUBGLACIAL lakes
Abstract

Ice losses from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets have accelerated since the 1990s, accounting for significant increase in global mean sea level. Here, we present a new 29-year record of ice sheet mass balance from 1992 to 2020 from the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE). We compare and combine 50 independent estimates of ice sheet mass balance derived from satellite observations of temporal changes in ice sheet flow, in ice sheet volume and in Earth's gravity field. Between 1992 and 2020, the ice sheets contributed 21.0 ± 1.9 mm to global mean sealevel, with the rate of mass loss rising from 105 Gt yr-1 between 1992 and 1996 to 372 Gt yr-1 between 2016 and 2020. In Greenland, the rate of mass loss is 169 ± 9 Gt yr-1 between 1992 and 2020 but there are large inter-annual variations in mass balance with mass loss ranging from 86 Gt yr-1 in 2017 to 444 Gt yr-1 in 2019 due to large variability in surface mass balance. In Antarctica, ice losses continue to be dominated by mass loss from West Antarctica (-82 ± 9 Gt yr-1) and to lesser extent from the Antarctic Peninsula (-13 ± 5 Gt yr-1). East Antarctica remains close to a state of balance (3 ± 15 Gt yr- 1), but is the most uncertain component of Antarctica's mass balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2022
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74. Influence of Persistent Wind Scour on the Surface Mass Balance of Antarctica

Author

Das, Indrani, Bell, Robin E, Scambos, Ted A, Wolovick, Michael, Creyts, Timothy T, Studinger, Michael, Fearson, Nicholas, Nicolas, Julien P, Lenaerts, Jan T. M, and vandenBroeke, Michiel R

Subjects
Geophysics, Meteorology And Climatology
Abstract

Accurate quantification of surface snow accumulation over Antarctica is a key constraint for estimates of the Antarctic mass balance, as well as climatic interpretations of ice-core records. Over Antarctica, near-surface winds accelerate down relatively steep surface slopes, eroding and sublimating the snow. This wind scour results in numerous localized regions (< or = 200 sq km) with reduced surface accumulation. Estimates of Antarctic surface mass balance rely on sparse point measurements or coarse atmospheric models that do not capture these local processes, and overestimate the net mass input in wind-scour zones. Here we combine airborne radar observations of unconformable stratigraphic layers with lidar-derived surface roughness measurements to identify extensive wind-scour zones over Dome A, in the interior of East Antarctica. The scour zones are persistent because they are controlled by bedrock topography. On the basis of our Dome A observations, we develop an empirical model to predict wind-scour zones across the Antarctic continent and find that these zones are predominantly located in East Antarctica. We estimate that approx. 2.7-6.6% of the surface area of Antarctica has persistent negative net accumulation due to wind scour, which suggests that, across the continent, the snow mass input is overestimated by 11-36.5 Gt /yr in present surface-mass-balance calculations.

Published
2013
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75. Benefits of the free and open Landsat data policy

Author

Zhu, Zhe, Wulder, Michael A., Roy, David P., Woodcock, Curtis E., Hansen, Matthew C., Radeloff, Volker C., Healey, Sean P., Schaaf, Crystal, Hostert, Patrick, Strobl, Peter, Pekel, Jean-Francois, Lymburner, Leo, Pahlevan, Nima, and Scambos, Ted A.

Published
2019
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83. Mass Loss of Larsen B Tributary Glaciers (Antarctic Peninsula) Unabated Since 2002

Author

Berthier, Etienne, Scambos, Ted, and Shuman, Christopher A

Subjects
Meteorology And Climatology, Geosciences (General), Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Abstract

Ice mass loss continues at a high rate among the large glacier tributaries of the Larsen B Ice Shelf following its disintegration in 2002. We evaluate recent mass loss by mapping elevation changes between 2006 and 201011 using differencing of digital elevation models (DEMs). The measurement accuracy of these elevation changes is confirmed by a null test, subtracting DEMs acquired within a few weeks. The overall 2006201011 mass loss rate (9.0 2.1 Gt a-1) is similar to the 2001022006 rate (8.8 1.6 Gt a-1), derived using DEM differencing and laser altimetry. This unchanged overall loss masks a varying pattern of thinning and ice loss for individual glacier basins. On Crane Glacier, the thinning pulse, initially greatest near the calving front, is now broadening and migrating upstream. The largest losses are now observed for the HektoriaGreen glacier basin, having increased by 33 since 2006. Our method has enabled us to resolve large residual uncertainties in the Larsen B sector and confirm its state of ongoing rapid mass loss.

Published
2012
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84. Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018

Author

Shepherd, Andrew, Ivins, Erik, Rignot, Eric, Smith, Ben, van den Broeke, Michiel, Velicogna, Isabella, Whitehouse, Pippa, Briggs, Kate, Joughin, Ian, Krinner, Gerhard, Nowicki, Sophie, Payne, Tony, Scambos, Ted, Schlegel, Nicole, Geruo, A., Agosta, Cécile, Ahlstrøm, Andreas, Babonis, Greg, Barletta, Valentina R., Bjørk, Anders A., Blazquez, Alejandro, Bonin, Jennifer, Colgan, William, Csatho, Beata, Cullather, Richard, Engdahl, Marcus E., Felikson, Denis, Fettweis, Xavier, Forsberg, Rene, Hogg, Anna E., Gallee, Hubert, Gardner, Alex, Gilbert, Lin, Gourmelen, Noel, Groh, Andreas, Gunter, Brian, Hanna, Edward, Harig, Christopher, Helm, Veit, Horvath, Alexander, Horwath, Martin, Khan, Shfaqat, Kjeldsen, Kristian K., Konrad, Hannes, Langen, Peter L., Lecavalier, Benoit, Loomis, Bryant, Luthcke, Scott, McMillan, Malcolm, Melini, Daniele, Mernild, Sebastian, Mohajerani, Yara, Moore, Philip, Mottram, Ruth, Mouginot, Jeremie, Moyano, Gorka, Muir, Alan, Nagler, Thomas, Nield, Grace, Nilsson, Johan, Noël, Brice, Otosaka, Ines, Pattle, Mark E., Peltier, W. Richard, Pie, Nadège, Rietbroek, Roelof, Rott, Helmut, Sørensen, Louise Sandberg, Sasgen, Ingo, Save, Himanshu, Scheuchl, Bernd, Schrama, Ernst, Schröder, Ludwig, Seo, Ki-Weon, Simonsen, Sebastian B., Slater, Thomas, Spada, Giorgio, Sutterley, Tyler, Talpe, Matthieu, Tarasov, Lev, Jan van de Berg, Willem, van der Wal, Wouter, van Wessem, Melchior, Vishwakarma, Bramha Dutt, Wiese, David, Wilton, David, Wagner, Thomas, Wouters, Bert, Wuite, Jan, Team, The IMBIE, Marine and Atmospheric Research, Sub Dynamics Meteorology, Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP ), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Andrew Shepherd, Erik Ivin, Eric Rignot, Ben Smith, Michiel van den Broeke, Isabella Velicogna, Pippa Whitehouse, Kate Brigg, Ian Joughin, Gerhard Krinner, Sophie Nowicki, Tony Payne, Ted Scambo, Nicole Schlegel, A Geruo, Cécile Agosta, Andreas Ahlstrøm, Greg Baboni, Valentina R. Barletta, Anders A. Bjørk, Alejandro Blazquez, Jennifer Bonin, William Colgan, Beata Csatho, Richard Cullather, Marcus E. Engdahl, Denis Felikson, Xavier Fettwei, Rene Forsberg, Anna E. Hogg, Hubert Gallee, Alex Gardner, Lin Gilbert, Noel Gourmelen, Andreas Groh, Brian Gunter, Edward Hanna, Christopher Harig, Veit Helm, Alexander Horvath, Martin Horwath, Shfaqat Khan, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Hannes Konrad, Peter L. Langen, Benoit Lecavalier, Bryant Loomi, Scott Luthcke, Malcolm McMillan, Daniele Melini, Sebastian Mernild, Yara Mohajerani, Philip Moore, Ruth Mottram, Jeremie Mouginot, Gorka Moyano, Alan Muir, Thomas Nagler, Grace Nield, Johan Nilsson, Brice Noël, Ines Otosaka, Mark E. Pattle, W. Richard Peltier, Nadège Pie, Roelof Rietbroek, Helmut Rott, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Ingo Sasgen, Himanshu Save, Bernd Scheuchl, Ernst Schrama, Ludwig Schröder, Ki-Weon Seo, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Thomas Slater, Giorgio Spada, Tyler Sutterley, Matthieu Talpe, Lev Tarasov, Willem Jan van de Berg, Wouter van der Wal, Melchior van Wessem, Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma, David Wiese, David Wilton, Thomas Wagner, Bert Wouter, Jan Wuite, Marine and Atmospheric Research, and Sub Dynamics Meteorology

Subjects
geography, Multidisciplinary, geography.geographical_feature_category, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Global warming, Greenland ice sheet, Climate change, Glacier, GLACIAL ISOSTATIC-ADJUSTMENT, RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL PETERMANN GLACIER, ELEVATION CHANGE, SURFACE, GRACE, CLIMATE, MODEL, ACCELERATION, ANTARCTICA, 010502 geochemistry & geophysics, Atmospheric sciences, 01 natural sciences, Glacier mass balance, 13. Climate action, Taverne, [SDE]Environmental Sciences, SDG 13 - Climate Action, Environmental science, Climate model, Ice sheet, F840 Physical Geography, Meltwater, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

ArticlePublished: 10 December 2019This is an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. Nature Research are providing this early version of the manuscript as a service to our customers. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting and a proof review before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018The IMBIE TeamNature (2019)Cite this article6914 Accesses1410 AltmetricMetricsdetailsAbstractIn recent decades, the Greenland Ice Sheet has been a major contributor to global sea-level rise1,2, and it is expected to be so in the future3. Although increases in glacier flow4–6 and surface melting7–9 have been driven by oceanic10–12 and atmospheric13,14 warming, the degree and trajectory of today’s imbalance remain uncertain. Here we compare and combine 26 individual satellite measurements of changes in the ice sheet’s volume, flow and gravitational potential to produce a reconciled estimate of its mass balance. Although the ice sheet was close to a state of balance in the 1990s, annual losses have risen since then, peaking at 335 ± 62 billion tonnes per year in 2011. In all, Greenland lost 3,800 ± 339 billion tonnes of ice between 1992 and 2018, causing the mean sea level to rise by 10.6 ± 0.9 millimetres. Using three regional climate models, we show that reduced surface mass balance has driven 1,971 ± 555 billion tonnes (52%) of the ice loss owing to increased meltwater runoff. The remaining 1,827 ± 538 billion tonnes (48%) of ice loss was due to increased glacier discharge, which rose from 41 ± 37 billion tonnes per year in the 1990s to 87 ± 25 billion tonnes per year since then. Between 2013 and 2017, the total rate of ice loss slowed to 217 ± 32 billion tonnes per year, on average, as atmospheric circulation favoured cooler conditions15 and as ocean temperatures fell at the terminus of Jakobshavn Isbræ16. Cumulative ice losses from Greenland as a whole have been close to the IPCC’s predicted rates for their high-end climate warming scenario17, which forecast an additional 50 to 120 millimetres of global sea-level rise by 2100 when compared to their central estimate.

Published
2020
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85. Ice Sheet Change Detection by Satellite Image Differencing

Author

Bindschadler, Robert A, Scambos, Ted A, Choi, Hyeungu, and Haran, Terry M

Subjects
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Abstract

Differencing of digital satellite image pairs highlights subtle changes in near-identical scenes of Earth surfaces. Using the mathematical relationships relevant to photoclinometry, we examine the effectiveness of this method for the study of localized ice sheet surface topography changes using numerical experiments. We then test these results by differencing images of several regions in West Antarctica, including some where changes have previously been identified in altimeter profiles. The technique works well with coregistered images having low noise, high radiometric sensitivity, and near-identical solar illumination geometry. Clouds and frosts detract from resolving surface features. The ETM(plus) sensor on Landsat-7, ALI sensor on EO-1, and MODIS sensor on the Aqua and Terra satellite platforms all have potential for detecting localized topographic changes such as shifting dunes, surface inflation and deflation features associated with sub-glacial lake fill-drain events, or grounding line changes. Availability and frequency of MODIS images favor this sensor for wide application, and using it, we demonstrate both qualitative identification of changes in topography and quantitative mapping of slope and elevation changes.

Published
2010
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86. Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018

Author

Marine and Atmospheric Research, Sub Dynamics Meteorology, Shepherd, Andrew, Ivins, Erik, Rignot, Eric, Smith, Ben, van den Broeke, Michiel, Velicogna, Isabella, Whitehouse, Pippa, Briggs, Kate, Joughin, Ian, Krinner, Gerhard, Nowicki, Sophie, Payne, Tony, Scambos, Ted, Schlegel, Nicole, Geruo, A., Agosta, Cécile, Ahlstrøm, Andreas, Babonis, Greg, Barletta, Valentina R., Bjørk, Anders A., Blazquez, Alejandro, Bonin, Jennifer, Colgan, William, Csatho, Beata, Cullather, Richard, Engdahl, Marcus E., Felikson, Denis, Fettweis, Xavier, Forsberg, Rene, Hogg, Anna E., Gallee, Hubert, Gardner, Alex, Gilbert, Lin, Gourmelen, Noel, Groh, Andreas, Gunter, Brian, Hanna, Edward, Harig, Christopher, Helm, Veit, Horvath, Alexander, Horwath, Martin, Khan, Shfaqat, Kjeldsen, Kristian K., Konrad, Hannes, Langen, Peter L., Lecavalier, Benoit, Loomis, Bryant, Luthcke, Scott, McMillan, Malcolm, Melini, Daniele, Mernild, Sebastian, Mohajerani, Yara, Moore, Philip, Mottram, Ruth, Mouginot, Jeremie, Moyano, Gorka, Muir, Alan, Nagler, Thomas, Nield, Grace, Nilsson, Johan, Noël, Brice, Otosaka, Ines, Pattle, Mark E., Peltier, W. Richard, Pie, Nadège, Rietbroek, Roelof, Rott, Helmut, Sørensen, Louise Sandberg, Sasgen, Ingo, Save, Himanshu, Scheuchl, Bernd, Schrama, Ernst, Schröder, Ludwig, Seo, Ki-Weon, Simonsen, Sebastian B., Slater, Thomas, Spada, Giorgio, Sutterley, Tyler, Talpe, Matthieu, Tarasov, Lev, Jan van de Berg, Willem, van der Wal, Wouter, van Wessem, Melchior, Vishwakarma, Bramha Dutt, Wiese, David, Wilton, David, Wagner, Thomas, Wouters, Bert, Wuite, Jan, Team, The IMBIE, Marine and Atmospheric Research, Sub Dynamics Meteorology, Shepherd, Andrew, Ivins, Erik, Rignot, Eric, Smith, Ben, van den Broeke, Michiel, Velicogna, Isabella, Whitehouse, Pippa, Briggs, Kate, Joughin, Ian, Krinner, Gerhard, Nowicki, Sophie, Payne, Tony, Scambos, Ted, Schlegel, Nicole, Geruo, A., Agosta, Cécile, Ahlstrøm, Andreas, Babonis, Greg, Barletta, Valentina R., Bjørk, Anders A., Blazquez, Alejandro, Bonin, Jennifer, Colgan, William, Csatho, Beata, Cullather, Richard, Engdahl, Marcus E., Felikson, Denis, Fettweis, Xavier, Forsberg, Rene, Hogg, Anna E., Gallee, Hubert, Gardner, Alex, Gilbert, Lin, Gourmelen, Noel, Groh, Andreas, Gunter, Brian, Hanna, Edward, Harig, Christopher, Helm, Veit, Horvath, Alexander, Horwath, Martin, Khan, Shfaqat, Kjeldsen, Kristian K., Konrad, Hannes, Langen, Peter L., Lecavalier, Benoit, Loomis, Bryant, Luthcke, Scott, McMillan, Malcolm, Melini, Daniele, Mernild, Sebastian, Mohajerani, Yara, Moore, Philip, Mottram, Ruth, Mouginot, Jeremie, Moyano, Gorka, Muir, Alan, Nagler, Thomas, Nield, Grace, Nilsson, Johan, Noël, Brice, Otosaka, Ines, Pattle, Mark E., Peltier, W. Richard, Pie, Nadège, Rietbroek, Roelof, Rott, Helmut, Sørensen, Louise Sandberg, Sasgen, Ingo, Save, Himanshu, Scheuchl, Bernd, Schrama, Ernst, Schröder, Ludwig, Seo, Ki-Weon, Simonsen, Sebastian B., Slater, Thomas, Spada, Giorgio, Sutterley, Tyler, Talpe, Matthieu, Tarasov, Lev, Jan van de Berg, Willem, van der Wal, Wouter, van Wessem, Melchior, Vishwakarma, Bramha Dutt, Wiese, David, Wilton, David, Wagner, Thomas, Wouters, Bert, Wuite, Jan, and Team, The IMBIE

Published
2020

87. Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Author

UCL - SST/ELI/ELIC - Earth & Climate, Abrahamsen, E. Povl, Barreira, Sandra, Bitz, Cecilia M., Butler, Amy, Clem, Kyle R., Colwell, Steve, Coy, Lawrence, de Laat, Jos, du Plessis, Marcel D., Fogt, Ryan L., Fricker, Helen Amanda, Fyfe, John, Gardner, Alex S., Gille, Sarah T., Gorte, Tessa, Gregor, L., Hobbs, Will, Johnson, Bryan, Keenan, Eric, Keller, Linda M., Kramarova, Natalya A., Lazzara, Matthew A., Lenaerts, Jan T. M., Lieser, Jan L., Liu, Hongxing, Long, Craig S., Maclennan, Michelle, Massom, Robert A., Massonnet, François, Mazloff, Matthew R., Mikolajczyk, David, Narayanan, A., Nash, Eric R., Newman, Paul A., Petropavlovskikh, Irina, Pitts, Michael, Queste, Bastien Y., Reid, Phillip, Roquet, F., Santee, Michelle L., Strahan, Susan, Swart, Sebastiann, Wang, Lei, Scambos, Ted A., Stammerjohn, Sharon, UCL - SST/ELI/ELIC - Earth & Climate, Abrahamsen, E. Povl, Barreira, Sandra, Bitz, Cecilia M., Butler, Amy, Clem, Kyle R., Colwell, Steve, Coy, Lawrence, de Laat, Jos, du Plessis, Marcel D., Fogt, Ryan L., Fricker, Helen Amanda, Fyfe, John, Gardner, Alex S., Gille, Sarah T., Gorte, Tessa, Gregor, L., Hobbs, Will, Johnson, Bryan, Keenan, Eric, Keller, Linda M., Kramarova, Natalya A., Lazzara, Matthew A., Lenaerts, Jan T. M., Lieser, Jan L., Liu, Hongxing, Long, Craig S., Maclennan, Michelle, Massom, Robert A., Massonnet, François, Mazloff, Matthew R., Mikolajczyk, David, Narayanan, A., Nash, Eric R., Newman, Paul A., Petropavlovskikh, Irina, Pitts, Michael, Queste, Bastien Y., Reid, Phillip, Roquet, F., Santee, Michelle L., Strahan, Susan, Swart, Sebastiann, Wang, Lei, Scambos, Ted A., and Stammerjohn, Sharon

Published
2020

88. Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Author

Abrahamsen, E Povl, Scambos, Ted A1, Stammerjohn, Sharon, Abrahamsen, E Povl, Barreira, Sandra, Bitz, Cecilia M, Butler, Amy, Clem, Kyle R, Colwell, Steve, Coy, Lawrence, de Laat, Jos, du Plessis, Marcel D, Fogt, Ryan L, Fricker, Helen Amanda, Fyfe, John, Gardner, Alex S, Gille, Sarah T, Gorte, Tessa, Gregor, L, Hobbs, Will, Johnson, Bryan, Keenan, Eric, Keller, Linda M, Kramarova, Natalya A, Lazzara, Matthew A, Lenaerts, Jan TM, Lieser, Jan L, Liu, Hongxing, Long, Craig S, Maclennan, Michelle, Massom, Robert A, Massonnet, François, Mazloff, Matthew R, Mikolajczyk, David, Narayanan, A, Nash, Eric R, Newman, Paul A, Petropavlovskikh, Irina, Pitts, Michael, Queste, Bastien Y, Reid, Phillip, Roquet, F, Santee, Michelle L, Strahan, Susan, Swart, Sebastiann, Wang, Lei, Abrahamsen, E Povl, Scambos, Ted A1, Stammerjohn, Sharon, Abrahamsen, E Povl, Barreira, Sandra, Bitz, Cecilia M, Butler, Amy, Clem, Kyle R, Colwell, Steve, Coy, Lawrence, de Laat, Jos, du Plessis, Marcel D, Fogt, Ryan L, Fricker, Helen Amanda, Fyfe, John, Gardner, Alex S, Gille, Sarah T, Gorte, Tessa, Gregor, L, Hobbs, Will, Johnson, Bryan, Keenan, Eric, Keller, Linda M, Kramarova, Natalya A, Lazzara, Matthew A, Lenaerts, Jan TM, Lieser, Jan L, Liu, Hongxing, Long, Craig S, Maclennan, Michelle, Massom, Robert A, Massonnet, François, Mazloff, Matthew R, Mikolajczyk, David, Narayanan, A, Nash, Eric R, Newman, Paul A, Petropavlovskikh, Irina, Pitts, Michael, Queste, Bastien Y, Reid, Phillip, Roquet, F, Santee, Michelle L, Strahan, Susan, Swart, Sebastiann, and Wang, Lei

Published
2020

89. Space-based Swath Imaging Laser Altimeter for Cryospheric Topographic and Surface Property Mapping

Author

Abshire, James, Harding, David, Shuman, Chris, Sun, Xiaoli, Dabney, Phil, Krainak, Michael, and Scambos, Ted

Subjects
Instrumentation And Photography
Abstract

Uncertainties in the response of the Greenland and Antarctic polar ice sheets to global climatic change inspired the development of ICESat/GLAS as part of NASA's Earth Observing System. ICESat's primary purpose is the measurement of ice sheet surface elevation profiles with sufficient accuracy, spatial density, and temporal coverage so that elevation changes can be derived with an accuracy of <1.5 cm/year for averages of measurements over the ice sheets with areas of 100 x 100 km. The primary means to achieve this elevation change detection is spatial averaging of elevation differences at cross-overs between ascending and descending profiles in areas of low ice surface slope. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

Published
2005

90. Ice Shelves and Landfast Ice on the Antarctic Perimeter: Revised Scope of Work

Author

Abdalati, Waleed and Scambos, Ted

Subjects
Meteorology And Climatology
Abstract

Ice shelves respond quickly and profoundly to a warming climate. Within a decade after mean summertime temperature reaches approximately 0 deg C and persistent melt ponding is observed, a rapid retreat and disintegration begins. This link was documented for ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula region (the Larsen 'A', B', and Wilkins Ice shelves) in the results of a previous grant under ADRO-1. Modeling of shelf ice flow and the effects of meltwater indicated that melt ponding accelerates shelf breakup by increasing fracturing. The ADRO-2 funding (topic of this report) supported further inquiry into the evolution of ice shelves under warming conditions, and the post-breakup effects on their feeder glaciers. Also, this grant considered fast ice and sea ice characteristics, to the extent that they provide information regarding shelf stability. A major component of this work was in the form of NSIDC image data support and in situ sea ice research on the Aurora Australis 'ARISE' cruise of September 9 2003 through October 28 2003.

Published
2004

91. Validation of EOS Aqua AMSR Sea Ice Products for East Antarctica

Author

Massom, Rob, Lytle, Vicky, Allison, Ian, Worby, Tony, Markus, Thorsten, Scambos, Ted, Haran, Terry, Enomoto, Hiro, Tateyama, Kazu, and Pfaffling, Andi

Subjects
Meteorology And Climatology
Abstract

This paper presents results from AMSR-E validation activities during a collaborative international cruise onboard the RV Aurora Australis to the East Antarctic sea ice zone (64-65 deg.S, 110-120 deg.E) in the early Austral spring of 2003. The validation strategy entailed an IS-day survey of the statistical characteristics of sea ice and snowcover over a Lagrangian grid 100 x 50 km in size (demarcated by 9 drifting ice beacons) i.e. at a scale representative of Ah4SR pixels. Ice conditions ranged h m consolidated first-year ice to a large polynya offshore from Casey Base. Data sets collected include: snow depth and snow-ice interface temperatures on 24 (?) randomly-selected floes in grid cells within a 10 x 50 km area (using helicopters); detailed snow and ice measurements at 13 dedicated ice stations, one of which lasted for 4 days; time-series measurements of snow temperature and thickness at selected sites; 8 aerial photography and thermal-IR radiometer flights; other satellite products (SAR, AVHRR, MODIS, MISR, ASTER and Envisat MERIS); ice drift data; and ancillary meteorological (ship-based, meteorological buoys, twice-daily radiosondes). These data are applied to a validation of standard AMSR-E ice concentration, snowcover thickness and ice-temperature products. In addition, a validation is carried out of ice-surface skin temperature products h m the NOAA AVHRR and EOS MODIS datasets.

Published
2004

92. Characterizing the Siple Coast Ice Stream System using Satellite Images, Improved Topography, and Integrated Aerogeophysical Measurements

Author

Scambos, Ted

Subjects
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Abstract

A technique for improving elevation maps of the polar ice sheets has been developed using AVHRR images. The technique is based on 'photoclinometry' or 'shape from shading', a technique used in the past for mapping planetary surfaces where little elevation information was available. The fundamental idea behind photoclinometry is using the brightness of imaged areas to infer their surface slope in the sun-illuminated direction. Our version of the method relies on a calibration of the images based on an existing lower-resolution digital elevation model (DEM), and then using the images to improve the input DEM resolution to the scale of the image data. Most current DEMs covering the ice sheets are based on Radar altimetry data, and have an inherent resolution of 10 to 25 km at best - although the grid scale of the DEM is often finer. These DEMs are highly accurate (to less than 1 meter); but they report the mean elevation of a broad area, thus erasing smaller features of glaciological interest. AVHRR image data, when accurately geolocated and calibrated, provides surface slope measurements (based on the pixel brightness under known lighting conditions) every approximately 1.1 km. The limitations of the technique are noisiness in the image data, small variations in the albedo of the snow surface, and the integration technique used to create an elevation field from the image-derived slopes. Our study applied the technique to several ice sheet areas having some elevation data; Greenland, the Amery Ice Shelf, the Institute Ice Stream, and the Siple Coast. For the latter, the input data set was laser-altimetry data collected under NSF's SOAR Facility (Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research) over the onset area of the Siple Coast. Over the course of the grant, the technique was greatly improved and modified, significantly improving accuracy and reducing noise from the images. Several publications resulted from the work, and a follow-on proposal to NASA has been submitted to apply the same method to MODIS data using ICESat and other elevation input information. This follow-on grant will explore two applications that are facilitated by the improved surface morphology characterizations of the ice sheets: accumulation and temperature variations near small undulations in the ice.

Published
2003

93. Ice Shelves and Landfast Ice on the Antarctic Perimeter: Revised Scope of Work

Author

Scambos, Ted

Subjects
Geophysics
Abstract

Ice shelves respond quickly and profoundly to a warming climate. Within a decade after mean summertime temperature reaches approx. O C and persistent melt pending is observed, a rapid retreat and disintegration occurs. This link was documented for ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula region (the Larsen 'A', 'B' and Wilkins Ice shelves) by the results of a previous grant under ADRO-1. Modeling of ice flow and the effects of meltwater indicated that melt pending accelerates shelf breakup by increasing fracture penetration. SAR data supplemented an AVHRR- and SSM/I-based image analysis of extent and surface characteristic changes. This funded grant is a revised, scaled-down version of an earlier proposal under the ADRO-2 NRA. The overall objective remains the same: we propose to build on the previous study by examining other ice shelves of the Antarctic and incorporate an examination of the climate-related characteristics of landfast ice. The study now considers just a few shelf and fast ice areas for study, and is funded for two years. The study regions are the northeastern Ross Ice Shelf, the Larsen 'B' and 'C' shelves, fast ice and floating shelf ice in the Pine Island Glacier area, and fast ice along the Wilkes Land coast. Further, rather than investigating a host of shelf and fast ice processes, we will home in on developing a series of characteristics associated with climate change over shelf and fast ice areas. Melt pending and break-up are the end stages of a response to a warming climate that may begin with increased melt event frequency (which changes both albedo and emissivity temporarily), changing firn backscatter (due to percolation features), and possibly increased rifting of the shelf surface. Fast ice may show some of these same processes on a seasonal timescale, providing insight into shelf evolution.

Published
2002

94. State of the Climate in 2018

Author

Ades, M., Adler, R., Aldeco, Laura S., Alejandra, G., Alfaro, Eric J., Aliaga-Nestares, Vannia, Allan, Richard P., Allan, Rob, Alves, Lincoln M., Amador, Jorge A., Andersen, J. K., Anderson, John, Arndt, Derek S., Arosio, C., Arrigo, Kevin, Azorin-Molina, César, Bardin, M. Yu, Barichivich, Jonathan, Barreira, Sandra, Baxter, Stephen, Beck, H. E., Becker, Andreas, Bell, Gerald D., Bellouin, Nicolas, Belmont, M., Benedetti, Angela, Benedict, Imme, Bernhard, G. H., Berrisford, Paul, Berry, David I., Bettio, Lynette, Bhatt, U. S., Biskaborn, B. K., Bissolli, Peter, Bjella, Kevin L., Bjerke, J. K., Blake, Eric S., Blenkinsop, Stephen, Blunden, Jessica, Bock, Olivier, Bosilovich, Michael G., Boucher, Olivier, Box, J. E., Boyer, Tim, Braathen, Geir, Bringas, Francis G., Bromwich, David H., Brown, Alrick, Brown, R., Brown, Timothy J., Buehler, S. A., Cáceres, Luis, Calderón, Blanca, Camargo, Suzana J., Campbell, Jayaka D., Campos Diaz, Diego A., Cappelen, J., Carrea, Laura, Carrier, Seth B., Carter, Brendan R., Castro, Anabel Y., Cetinic, Ivona, Chambers, Don P., Chen, Lin, Cheng, Lijing, Cheng, Vincent Y.S., Christiansen, Hanne H., Christy, John R., Chung, E. S., Claus, Federico, Clem, Kyle R., Coelho, Caio A.S., Coldewey-Egbers, Melanie, Colwell, Steve, Cooper, Owen R., Cosca, Cathy, Covey, Curt, Coy, Lawrence, Dávila, Cristina P., Davis, Sean M., de Eyto, Elvira, de Jeu, Richard A.M., De Laat, Jos, Decharme, B., Degasperi, Curtis L., Degenstein, Doug, Demircan, Mesut, Derksen, C., Dhurmea, K. R., Di Girolamo, Larry, Diamond, Howard J., Diaz, Eliecer, Diniz, Fransisco A., Dlugokencky, Ed J., Dohan, Kathleen, Dokulil, Martin T., Dolman, A. Johannes, Domingues, Catia M., Domingues, Ricardo, Donat, Markus G., Dorigo, Wouter A., Drozdov, D. S., Druckenmiller, Matthew L., Dunn, Robert J.H., Durre, Imke, Dutton, Geoff S., Elkharrim, M., Elkins, James W., Epstein, H. E., Espinoza, Jhan C., Famiglietti, James S., Farrell, Sinead L., Fausto, R. S., Feely, Richard A., Feng, Z., Fenimore, Chris, Fettweis, X., Fioletov, Vitali E., Flemming, Johannes, Fogt, Ryan L., Forbes, B. C., Foster, Michael J., Francis, S. D., Franz, Bryan A., Frey, Richard A., Frith, Stacey M., Froidevaux, Lucien, Ganter, Catherine, Garforth, J., Gerland, Sebastian, Gilson, John, Gleason, Karin, Gobron, Nadine, Goetz, S., Goldenberg, Stanley B., Goni, Gustavo, Gray, Alison, Grooß, Jens Uwe, Gruber, Alexander, Gu, Guojun, Guard, Charles Chip P., Gupta, S. K., Gutiérrez, Dimitri, Haas, Christian, Hagos, S., Hahn, Sebastian, Haimberger, Leo, Hall, Brad D., Halpert, Michael S., Hamlington, Benjamin D., Hanna, E., Hanssen-Bauer, I., Harris, Ian, Hazeleger, Wilco, He, Q., Heidinger, Andrew K., Heim, Richard R., Hemming, D. L., Hendricks, Stefan, Hernández, Rafael, Hersbach, H. E., Hidalgo, Hugo G., Ho, Shu Peng Ben, Holmes, R. M., Hu, Chuanmin, Huang, Boyin, Hubbard, Katherine, Hubert, Daan, Hurst, Dale F., Ialongo, Iolanda, Ijampy, J. A., Inness, Antje, Isaac, Victor, Isaksen, K., Ishii, Masayoshi, Jeffries, Martin O., Jevrejeva, Svetlana, Jia, G., Jiménez, C., Jin, Xiangze, John, Viju, Johnsen, Bjørn, Johnson, Gregory C., Johnson, Kenneth S., Johnson, Bryan, Jones, Philip D., Jumaux, Guillaume, Kabidi, Khadija, Kaiser, J. W., Karaköylü, Erdem M., Karlsen, S. R., Karnauskas, Mandy, Kato, Seiji, Kazemi, A. Fazl, Kelble, Christopher, Keller, Linda M., Kennedy, John, Kholodov, A. L., Khoshkam, Mahbobeh, Kidd, R., Killick, Rachel, Kim, Hyungjun, Kim, S. J., King, A. D., King, Brian A., Kipling, Z., Klotzbach, Philip J., Knaff, John A., Korhonen, Johanna, Korshunova, Natalia N., Kramarova, Natalya A., Kratz, D. P., Kruger, Andries, Kruk, Michael C., Krumpen, Thomas, Labbé, L., Ladd, C., Lakatos, Mónika, Lakkala, Kaisa, Lander, Mark A., Landschützer, Peter, Landsea, Chris W., Lareau, Neil P., Lavado-Casimiro, Waldo, Lazzara, Matthew A., Lee, T. C., Leuliette, Eric, L’heureux, Michelle, Li, Bailing, Li, Tim, Lieser, Jan L., Lim, J. Y., Lin, I. I., Liu, Hongxing, Locarnini, Ricardo, Loeb, Norman G., Long, Craig S., López, Luis A., Lorrey, Andrew M., Loyola, Diego, Lumpkin, Rick, Luo, Jing Jia, Luojus, K., Lyman, John M., Malkova, G. V., Manney, Gloria L., Marchenko, S. S., Marengo, José A., Marin, Dora, Marquardt Collow, Allison B., Marra, John J., Marszelewski, Wlodzimierz, Martens, B., Martínez-Güingla, Rodney, Massom, Robert A., May, Linda, Mayer, Michael, Mazloff, Matthew, McBride, Charlotte, McCabe, M., McClelland, J. W., McEvoy, Daniel J., McGree, Simon, McVicar, Tim R., Mears, Carl A., Meier, Walt, Meijers, Andrew, Mekonnen, Ademe, Mengistu Tsidu, G., Menzel, W. Paul, Merchant, Christopher J., Meredith, Michael P., Merrifield, Mark A., Miller, Ben, Miralles, Diego G., Misevicius, Noelia, Mitchum, Gary T., Mochizuki, Y., Monselesan, Didier, Montzka, Stephen A., Mora, Natali, Morice, Colin, Mosquera-Vásquez, Kobi, Mostafa, Awatif E., Mote, T., Mudryk, L., Mühle, Jens, Mullan, A. Brett, Müller, Rolf, Myneni, R., Nash, Eric R., Nauslar, Nicholas J., Nerem, R. Steven, Newman, Paul A., Nicolas, Julien P., Nieto, Juan José, Noetzli, Jeannette, Osborn, Tim J., Osborne, Emily, Overland, J., Oyunjargal, Lamjav, Park, T., Pasch, Richard J., Pascual Ramírez, Reynaldo, Pastor Saavedra, Maria Asuncion, Paterson, Andrew M., Pearce, Petra R., Pelto, Mauri S., Perovich, Don, Petropavlovskikh, Irina, Pezza, Alexandre B., Phillips, C., Phillips, David, Phoenix, G., Pinty, Bernard, Pitts, Michael, Po-Chedley, S., Polashenski, Chris, Preimesberger, W., Purkey, Sarah G., Quispe, Nelson, Rajeevan, Madhavan, Rakotoarimalala, C. L., Ramos, Andrea M., Ramos, Isabel, Randel, W., Raynolds, M. K., Reagan, James, Reid, Phillip, Reimer, Christoph, Rémy, Samuel, Revadekar, Jayashree V., Richardson, A. D., Richter-Menge, Jacqueline, Ricker, Robert, Ripaldi, A., Robinson, David A., Rodell, Matthew, Rodriguez Camino, Ernesto, Romanovsky, Vladimir E., Ronchail, Josyane, Rosenlof, Karen H., Rösner, Benajamin, Roth, Chris, Rozanov, A., Rusak, James A., Rustemeier, Elke, Rutishäuser, T., Sallée, Jean Baptiste, Sánchez-Lugo, Ahira, Santee, Michelle L., Sawaengphokhai, P., Sayouri, Amal, Scambos, Ted A., Scanlon, T., Scardilli, Alvaro S., Schenzinger, Verena, Schladow, S. Geoffey, Schmid, Claudia, Schmid, Martin, Schoeneich, P., Schreck, Carl J., Selkirk, H. B., Sensoy, Serhat, Shi, Lei, Shiklomanov, A. I., Shiklomanov, Nikolai I., Shimpo, A., Shuman, Christopher A., Siegel, David A., Sima, Fatou, Simmons, Adrian J., Smeets, C. J.P.P., Smith, Adam, Smith, Sharon L., Soden, B., Sofieva, Viktoria, Sparks, T. H., Spence, Jacqueline, Spencer, R. G.M., Spillane, Sandra, Srivastava, A. K., Stabeno, P. J., Stackhouse, Paul W., Stammerjohn, Sharon, Stanitski, Diane M., Steinbrecht, Wolfgang, Stella, José L., Stengel, M., Stephenson, Tannecia S., Strahan, Susan E., Streeter, Casey, Streletskiy, Dimitri A., Sun-Mack, Sunny, Suslova, A., Sutton, Adrienne J., Swart, Sebastiann, Sweet, William, Takahashi, Kenneth S., Tank, S. E., Taylor, Michael A., Tedesco, M., Thackeray, S. J., Thompson, Philip R., Timbal, Bertrand, Timmermans, M. L., Tobin, Skie, Tømmervik, H., Tourpali, Kleareti, Trachte, Katja, Tretiakov, M., Trewin, Blair C., Triñanes, Joaquin A., Trotman, Adrian R., Tschudi, Mark, Tye, Mari R., van As, D., van de Wal, R. S.W., van der A, Ronald J., van der Schalie, Robin, van der Schrier, Gerard, van der Werf, Guido R., van Heerwaarden, Chiel, Van Meerbeeck, Cedric J., Verburg, Piet, Vieira, G., Vincent, Lucie A., Vömel, Holger, Vose, Russell S., Walker, D. A., Walsh, J. E., Wang, Bin, Wang, Hui, Wang, Lei, Wang, M., Wang, Mengqiu, Wang, Ray, Wang, Sheng Hung, Wanninkhof, Rik, Watanabe, Shohei, Weber, Mark, Webster, Melinda, Weerts, Albrecht, Weller, Robert A., Westberry, Toby K., Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A., Widlansky, Matthew J., Wijffels, Susan E., Wilber, Anne C., Wild, Jeanette D., Willett, Kate M., Wong, Takmeng, Wood, E. F., Woolway, R. Iestyn, Xue, Yan, Yin, Xungang, Yu, Lisan, Zambrano, Eduardo, Zeyaeyan, Sadegh, Zhang, Huai Min, Zhang, Peiqun, Zhao, Guanguo, Zhao, Lin, Zhou, Xinjia, Zhu, Zhiwei, Ziemke, Jerry R., Ziese, Markus, Andersen, Andrea, Griffin, Jessicca, Hammer, Gregory, Love-Brotak, S. Elizabeth, Misch, Deborah J., Riddle, Deborah B., Veasey, Sara W., Processus et interactions de fine échelle océanique (PROTEO), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Océan et variabilité du climat (VARCLIM), Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU), Berry, David, Jevrejeva, Svetlana, King, Brian, and Domingues, Catia

Subjects
Surface (mathematics), Atmospheric Science, Materials science, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, 0207 environmental engineering, Mineralogy, [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph], 02 engineering and technology, 01 natural sciences, ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING, SDG 13 - Climate Action, SDG 14 - Life Below Water, 020701 environmental engineering, GeneralLiterature_REFERENCE(e.g.,dictionaries,encyclopedias,glossaries), ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-continued their increase. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface was 407.4 ± 0.1 ppm, the highest in the modern instrumental record and in ice core records dating back 800 000 years. Combined, greenhouse gases and several halogenated gases contribute just over 3 W m−2 to radiative forcing and represent a nearly 43% increase since 1990. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 65% of this radiative forcing. With a weak La Niña in early 2018 transitioning to a weak El Niño by the year's end, the global surface (land and ocean) temperature was the fourth highest on record, with only 2015 through 2017 being warmer. Several European countries reported record high annual temperatures. There were also more high, and fewer low, temperature extremes than in nearly all of the 68-year extremes record. Madagascar recorded a record daily temperature of 40.5°C in Morondava in March, while South Korea set its record high of 41.0°C in August in Hongcheon. Nawabshah, Pakistan, recorded its highest temperature of 50.2°C, which may be a new daily world record for April. Globally, the annual lower troposphere temperature was third to seventh highest, depending on the dataset analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was approximately fifth lowest. The 2018 Arctic land surface temperature was 1.2°C above the 1981-2010 average, tying for third highest in the 118-year record, following 2016 and 2017. June's Arctic snow cover extent was almost half of what it was 35 years ago. Across Greenland, however, regional summer temperatures were generally below or near average. Additionally, a satellite survey of 47 glaciers in Greenland indicated a net increase in area for the first time since records began in 1999. Increasing permafrost temperatures were reported at most observation sites in the Arctic, with the overall increase of 0.1°-0.2°C between 2017 and 2018 being comparable to the highest rate of warming ever observed in the region. On 17 March, Arctic sea ice extent marked the second smallest annual maximum in the 38-year record, larger than only 2017. The minimum extent in 2018 was reached on 19 September and again on 23 September, tying 2008 and 2010 for the sixth lowest extent on record. The 23 September date tied 1997 as the latest sea ice minimum date on record. First-year ice now dominates the ice cover, comprising 77% of the March 2018 ice pack compared to 55% during the 1980s. Because thinner, younger ice is more vulnerable to melting out in summer, this shift in sea ice age has contributed to the decreasing trend in minimum ice extent. Regionally, Bering Sea ice extent was at record lows for almost the entire 2017/18 ice season. For the Antarctic continent as a whole, 2018 was warmer than average. On the highest points of the Antarctic Plateau, the automatic weather station Relay (74°S) broke or tied six monthly temperature records throughout the year, with August breaking its record by nearly 8°C. However, cool conditions in the western Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sector contributed to a low melt season overall for 2017/18. High SSTs contributed to low summer sea ice extent in the Ross and Weddell Seas in 2018, underpinning the second lowest Antarctic summer minimum sea ice extent on record. Despite conducive conditions for its formation, the ozone hole at its maximum extent in September was near the 2000-18 mean, likely due to an ongoing slow decline in stratospheric chlorine monoxide concentration. Across the oceans, globally averaged SST decreased slightly since the record El Niño year of 2016 but was still far above the climatological mean. On average, SST is increasing at a rate of 0.10° ± 0.01°C decade−1 since 1950. The warming appeared largest in the tropical Indian Ocean and smallest in the North Pacific. The deeper ocean continues to warm year after year. For the seventh consecutive year, global annual mean sea level became the highest in the 26-year record, rising to 81 mm above the 1993 average. As anticipated in a warming climate, the hydrological cycle over the ocean is accelerating: dry regions are becoming drier and wet regions rainier. Closer to the equator, 95 named tropical storms were observed during 2018, well above the 1981-2010 average of 82. Eleven tropical cyclones reached Saffir-Simpson scale Category 5 intensity. North Atlantic Major Hurricane Michael's landfall intensity of 140 kt was the fourth strongest for any continental U.S. hurricane landfall in the 168-year record. Michael caused more than 30 fatalities and $25 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages. In the western North Pacific, Super Typhoon Mangkhut led to 160 fatalities and $6 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Son-Tinh was responsible for 170 fatalities in Vietnam and Laos. Nearly all the islands of Micronesia experienced at least moderate impacts from various tropical cyclones. Across land, many areas around the globe received copious precipitation, notable at different time scales. Rodrigues and Réunion Island near southern Africa each reported their third wettest year on record. In Hawaii, 1262 mm precipitation at Waipā Gardens (Kauai) on 14-15 April set a new U.S. record for 24-h precipitation. In Brazil, the city of Belo Horizonte received nearly 75 mm of rain in just 20 minutes, nearly half its monthly average. Globally, fire activity during 2018 was the lowest since the start of the record in 1997, with a combined burned area of about 500 million hectares. This reinforced the long-term downward trend in fire emissions driven by changes in land use in frequently burning savannas. However, wildfires burned 3.5 million hectares across the United States, well above the 2000-10 average of 2.7 million hectares. Combined, U.S. wildfire damages for the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons exceeded $40 billion (U.S. dollars).

Published
2019
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99. State of the climate in 2017

Author

Abernethy, R., Ackerman, Steven A., Adler, R., Albanil Encarnación, Adelina, Aldeco, Laura S., Alfaro, Eric J., Aliaga-Nestares, Vannia, Allan, Richard P., Allan, Rob, Alves, Lincoln M., Amador, Jorge A., Anderson, John, Andreassen, L. M., Argüez, Anthony, Armitage, C., Arndt, Derek S., Avalos, Grinia, Azorin-Molina, César, Báez, Julián, Bardin, M. Yu, Barichivich, Jonathan, Baringer, Molly O., Barreira, Sandra, Baxter, Stephen, Beck, H. E., Becker, Andreas, Bedka, Kristopher M., Behe, Carolina, Bell, Gerald D., Bellouin, Nicolas, Belmont, M., Benedetti, Angela, Bernhard, G. H., Berrisford, Paul, Berry, David I., Bhatt, U. S., Bissolli, Peter, Bjerke, J., Blake, Eric S., Blenkinsop, Stephen, Blunden, Jessica, Bolmgren, K., Bosilovich, Michael G., Boucher, Olivier, Bouchon, Marilú, Box, J. E., Boyer, Tim, Braathen, Geir O., Bromwich, David H., Brown, R., Buehler, S., Bulygina, Olga N., Burgess, D., Calderón, Blanca, Camargo, Suzana J., Campbell, Ethan C., Campbell, Jayaka D., Cappelen, J., Carrea, Laura, Carter, Brendan R., Castro, Anabel, Chambers, Don P., Cheng, Lijing, Christiansen, Hanne H., Christy, John R., Chung, E. S., Clem, Kyle R., Coelho, Caio A.S., Coldewey-Egbers, Melanie, Colwell, Steve, Cooper, Owen R., Copland, L., Costanza, Carol, Covey, Curt, Coy, Lawrence, Cronin, T., Crouch, Jake, Cruzado, Luis, Daniel, Raychelle, Davis, Sean M., Davletshin, S. G., De Eyto, Elvira, De Jeu, Richard A.M., De La Cour, Jacqueline L., De Laat, Jos, De Gasperi, Curtis L., Degenstein, Doug, Deline, P., Demircan, Mesut, Derksen, C., Dewitte, Boris, Dhurmea, R., Di Girolamo, Larry, Diamond, Howard J., Dickerson, C., Dlugokencky, Ed J., Dohan, Kathleen, Dokulil, Martin T., Dolman, A. Johannes, Domingues, Catia M., Domingues, Ricardo, Donat, Markus G., Dong, Shenfu, Dorigo, Wouter A., Drozdov, D. S., Dunn, Robert J.H., Durre, Imke, Dutton, Geoff S., Eakin, C. Mark, El Kharrim, M., Elkins, James W., Epstein, H. E., Espinoza, Jhan C., Famiglietti, James S., Farmer, J., Farrell, S., Fauchald, P., Fausto, R. S., Feely, Richard A., Feng, Z., Fenimore, Chris, Fettweis, X., Fioletov, Vitali E., Flemming, Johannes, Fogt, Ryan L., Folland, Chris, Forbes, B. C., Foster, Michael J., Francis, S. D., Franz, Bryan A., Frey, Richard A., Frith, Stacey M., Froidevaux, Lucien, Ganter, Catherine, Geiger, Erick F., Gerland, S., Gilson, John, Gobron, Nadine, Goldenberg, Stanley B., Gomez, Andrea M., Goni, Gustavo, Grooß, Jens Uwe, Gruber, Alexander, Guard, Charles P., Gugliemin, Mario, Gupta, S. K., Gutiérrez, Dimitri, Haas, C., Hagos, S., Hahn, Sebastian, Haimberger, Leo, Hall, Brad D., Halpert, Michael S., Hamlington, Benjamin D., Hanna, E., Hansen, K., Hanssen-Bauer, L., Harris, Ian, Hartfield, Gail, Heidinger, Andrew K., Heim, Richard R., Helfrich, S., Hemming, D. L., Hendricks, S., Hernández, Rafael, Hernández, Sosa Marieta, Heron, Scott F., Heuzé, C., Hidalgo, Hugo G., Ho, Shu Peng, Hobbs, William R., Horstkotte, T., Huang, Boyin, Hubert, Daan, Hueuzé, Céline, Hurst, Dale F., Ialongo, Iolanda, Ibrahim, M. M., Ijampy, J. A., Inness, Antje, Isaac, Victor, Isaksen, K., Ishii, Masayoshi, Jacobs, Stephanie J., Jeffries, Martin O., Jevrejeva, Svetlana, Jiménez, C., Jin, Xiangze, John, Viju, Johns, William E., Johnsen, Bjørn, Johnson, Bryan, Johnson, Gregory C., Johnson, Kenneth S., Jones, Philip D., Jumaux, Guillaume, Kabidi, Khadija, Kaiser, J. W., Karaköylü, Erdem M., Kato, Seiji, Kazemi, A., Keller, Linda M., Kennedy, John, Kerr, Kenneth, Khan, M. S., Kholodov, A. L., Khoshkam, Mahbobeh, Killick, Rachel, Kim, Hyungjun, Kim, S. J., Klotzbach, Philip J., Knaff, John A., Kohler, J., Korhonen, Johanna, Korshunova, Natalia N., Kramarova, Natalya, Kratz, D. P., Kruger, Andries, Kruk, Michael C., Krumpen, T., Ladd, C., Lakatos, Mónika, Lakkala, Kaisa, Lander, Mark A., Landschützer, Peter, Landsea, Chris W., Lankhorst, Matthias, Lavado-Casimiro, Waldo, Lazzara, Matthew A., Lee, S. E., Lee, T. C., Leuliette, Eric, L'Heureux, Michelle, Li, Tim, Lieser, Jan L., Lin, I. I., Mears, Carl A., Liu, Gang, Li, Bailing, Liu, Hongxing, Locarnini, Ricardo, Loeb, Norman G., Long, Craig S., López, Luis A., Lorrey, Andrew M., Loyola, Diego, Lumpkin, Rick, Luo, Jing Jia, Luojus, K., Luthcke, S., Macias-Fauria, M., Malkova, G. V., Manney, Gloria L., Marcellin, Vernie, Marchenko, S. S., Marengo, José A., Marín, Dora, Marra, John J., Marszelewski, Wlodzimierz, Martens, B., Martin, A., Martínez, Alejandra G., Martínez-Güingla, Rodney, Martínez-Sánchez, Odalys, Marsh, Benjamin L., Lyman, John M., Massom, Robert A., May, Linda, Mayer, Michael, Mazloff, Matthew, McBride, Charlotte, McCabe, M. F., McCarthy, Mark, Meier, W., Meijers, Andrew J.S., Mekonnen, Ademe, Mengistu Tsidu, G., Menzel, W. Paul, Merchant, Christopher J., Meredith, Michael P., Merrifield, Mark A., Miller, Ben, Miralles, Diego G., Mitchum, Gary T., Mitro, Sukarni, Moat, Ben, Mochizuki, Y., Monselesan, Didier, Montzka, Stephen A., Mora, Natalie, Morice, Colin, Mosquera-Vásquez, Kobi, Mostafa, Awatif E., Mote, T., Mudryk, L., Mühle, Jens, Mullan, A. Brett, Müller, Rolf, Myneni, R., Nash, Eric R., Nerem, R. Steven, Newman, L., Newman, Paul A., Nielsen-Gammon, John W., Nieto, Juan José, Noetzli, Jeannette, Noll, Ben E., O'Neel, S., Osborn, Tim J., Osborne, Emily, Overland, J., Oyunjargal, Lamjav, Park, T., Pasch, Richard J., Pascual-Ramírez, Reynaldo, Pastor Saavedra, Maria Asuncion, Paterson, Andrew M., Paulik, Christoph, Pearce, Petra R., Peltier, Alexandre, Pelto, Mauri S., Peng, Liang, Perkins-Kirkpatrick, Sarah E., Perovich, Don, Petropavlovskikh, Irina, Pezza, Alexandre B., Phillips, C., Phillips, David, Phoenix, G., Pinty, Bernard, Pinzon, J., Po-Chedley, S., Polashenski, C., Purkey, Sarah G., Quispe, Nelson, Rajeevan, Madhavan, Rakotoarimalala, C., Rayner, Darren, Raynolds, M. K., Reagan, James, Reid, Phillip, Reimer, Christoph, Rémy, Samuel, Revadekar, Jayashree V., Richardson, A. D., Richter-Menge, Jacqueline, Ricker, R., Rimmer, Alon, Robinson, David A., Rodell, Matthew, Rodriguez Camino, Ernesto, Romanovsky, Vladimir E., Ronchail, Josyane, Rosenlof, Karen H., Rösner, Benjamin, Roth, Chris, Roth, David Mark, Rusak, James A., Rutishäuser, T., Sallée, Jean Bapiste, Sánchez-Lugo, Ahira, Santee, Michelle L., Sasgen, L., Sawaengphokhai, P., Sayad, T. A., Sayouri, Amal, Scambos, Ted A., Scanlon, T., Schenzinger, Verena, Schladow, S. Geoffrey, Schmid, Claudia, Schmid, Martin, Schreck, Carl J., Selkirk, H. B., Send, Uwe, Sensoy, Serhat, Sharp, M., Shi, Lei, Shiklomanov, Nikolai I., Shimaraeva, Svetlana V., Siegel, David A., Silow, Eugene, Sima, Fatou, Simmons, Adrian J., Skirving, William J., Smeed, David A., Smeets, C. J.P.P., Smith, Adam, Smith, Sharon L., Soden, B., Sofieva, Viktoria, Sparks, T. H., Spence, Jacqueline M., Spillane, Sandra, Srivastava, A. K., Stackhouse, Paul W., Stammerjohn, Sharon, Stanitski, Diane M., Steinbrecht, Wolfgang, Stella, José L., Stengel, M., Stephenson, Kimberly, Stephenson, Tannecia S., Strahan, Susan, Streletskiy, Dimitri A., Strong, Alan E., Sun-Mack, Sunny, Sutton, Adrienne J., Swart, Sebastiaan, Sweet, William, Takahashi, Kenneth S., Tamar, Gerard, Taylor, Michael A., Tedesco, M., Thackeray, S. J., Thoman, R. L., Thompson, Philip, Thomson, L., Thorsteinsson, T., Timbal, Bertrand, Timmermans, M. L., TImofeyev, Maxim A., Tirak, Kyle V., Tobin, Skie, Togawa, H., Tømmervik, H., Tourpali, Kleareti, Trachte, Katja, Trewin, Blair C., Triñanes, Joaquin A., Trotman, Adrian R., Tschudi, M., Tucker, C. J., Tye, Mari R., Van As, D., Van De Wal, R. S.W., Van Der Ronald, J. A., Van Der Schalie, Robin, Van Der Schrier, Gerard, Van Der Werf, Guido R., Van Meerbeeck, Cedric J., Velden, Christopher S., Velicogna, I., Verburg, Piet, Vickers, H., Vincent, Lucie A., Vömel, Holger, Vose, Russell S., Wagner, Wolfgang, Walker, D. A., Walsh, J., Wang, Bin, Wang, Junhong, Wang, Lei, Wang, M., Wang, Ray, Wang, Sheng Hung, Wanninkhof, Rik, Watanabe, Shohei, Weber, Mark, Webster, M., Weller, Robert A., Westberry, Toby K., Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A., Whitewood, Robert, Widlansky, Matthew J., Wiese, David N., Wijffels, Susan E., Wilber, Anne C., Wild, Jeanette D., Willett, Kate M., Willis, Josh K., Wolken, G., Wong, Takmeng, Wood, E. F., Wood, K., Woolway, R. Iestyn, Wouters, B., Xue, Yan, Yin, Xungang, Yoon, Huang, York, A., Yu, Lisan, Zambrano, Eduardo, Zhang, Huai Min, Zhang, Peiqun, Zhao, Guanguo, Zhao, Lin, Zhu, Zhiwei, Ziel, R., Ziemke, Jerry R., Ziese, Markus G., Griffin, Jessicca, Hammer, Gregory, Love-Brotak, S. Elizabeth, Misch, Deborah J., Riddle, Deborah B., Slagle, Mary, Sprain, Mara, Veasey, Sara W., McVicar, Tim R., Sub Dynamics Meteorology, Sub Soft Condensed Matter, LS Religiewetenschap, Sub Atmospheric physics and chemistry, Zonder bezoldiging NED, LS Taalverwerving, Leerstoel Tubergen, Afd Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Hafd Faculteitsbureau GW, Afd Pharmacology, Dep IRAS, Marine and Atmospheric Research, and OFR - Religious Studies

Subjects
Atmospheric Science
Abstract

In 2017, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-reached new record highs. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface for 2017 was 405.0 ± 0.1 ppm, 2.2 ppm greater than for 2016 and the highest in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800 000 years. The global growth rate of CO2 has nearly quadrupled since the early 1960s. With ENSO-neutral conditions present in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean during most of the year and weak La Niña conditions notable at the start and end, the global temperature across land and ocean surfaces ranked as the second or third highest, depending on the dataset, since records began in the mid-to-late 1800s. Notably, it was the warmest non-El Niño year in the instrumental record. Above Earth's surface, the annual lower tropospheric temperature was also either second or third highest according to all datasets analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was about 0.2°C higher than the record cold temperature of 2016 according to most of the in situ and satellite datasets. Several countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, and Bulgaria, reported record high annual temperatures. Mexico broke its annual record for the fourth consecutive year. On 27 January, the temperature reached 43.4°C at Puerto Madryn, Argentina-the highest temperature recorded so far south (43°S) anywhere in the world. On 28 May in Turbat, western Pakistan, the high of 53.5°C tied Pakistan's all-time highest temperature and became the world-record highest temperature for May. In the Arctic, the 2017 land surface temperature was 1.6°C above the 1981-2010 average, the second highest since the record began in 1900, behind only 2016. The five highest annual Arctic temperatures have all occurred since 2007. Exceptionally high temperatures were observed in the permafrost across the Arctic, with record values reported in much of Alaska and northwestern Canada. In August, high sea surface temperature (SST) records were broken for the Chukchi Sea, with some regions as warm as +11°C, or 3° to 4°C warmer than the longterm mean (1982-present). According to paleoclimate studies, today's abnormally warm Arctic air and SSTs have not been observed in the last 2000 years. The increasing temperatures have led to decreasing Arctic sea ice extent and thickness. On 7 March, sea ice extent at the end of the growth season saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record, covering 8% less area than the 1981-2010 average. The Arctic sea ice minimum on 13 September was the eighth lowest on record and covered 25% less area than the long-term mean. Preliminary data indicate that glaciers across the world lost mass for the 38th consecutive year on record; the declines are remarkably consistent from region to region. Cumulatively since 1980, this loss is equivalent to slicing 22 meters off the top of the average glacier. Antarctic sea ice extent remained below average for all of 2017, with record lows during the first four months. Over the continent, the austral summer seasonal melt extent and melt index were the second highest since 2005, mostly due to strong positive anomalies of air temperature over most of the West Antarctic coast. In contrast, the East Antarctic Plateau saw record low mean temperatures in March. The year was also distinguished by the second smallest Antarctic ozone hole observed since 1988. Across the global oceans, the overall long-term SST warming trend remained strong. Although SST cooled slightly from 2016 to 2017, the last three years produced the three highest annual values observed; these high anomalies have been associated with widespread coral bleaching. The most recent global coral bleaching lasted three full years, June 2014 to May 2017, and was the longest, most widespread, and almost certainly most destructive such event on record. Global integrals of 0-700-m and 0-2000-m ocean heat content reached record highs in 2017, and global mean sea level during the year became the highest annual average in the 25-year satellite altimetry record, rising to 77 mm above the 1993 average. In the tropics, 2017 saw 85 named tropical storms, slightly above the 1981-2010 average of 82. The North Atlantic basin was the only basin that featured an above-normal season, its seventh most active in the 164-year record. Three hurricanes in the basin were especially notable. Harvey produced record rainfall totals in areas of Texas and Louisiana, including a storm total of 1538.7 mm near Beaumont, Texas, which far exceeds the previous known U.S. tropical cyclone record of 1320.8 mm. Irma was the strongest tropical cyclone globally in 2017 and the strongest Atlantic hurricane outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean on record with maximum winds of 295 km h-1. Maria caused catastrophic destruction across the Caribbean Islands, including devastating wind damage and flooding across Puerto Rico. Elsewhere, the western North Pacific, South Indian, and Australian basins were all particularly quiet. Precipitation over global land areas in 2017 was clearly above the long-term average. Among noteworthy regional precipitation records in 2017, Russia reported its second wettest year on record (after 2013) and Norway experienced its sixth wettest year since records began in 1900. Across India, heavy rain and flood-related incidents during the monsoon season claimed around 800 lives. In August and September, above-normal precipitation triggered the most devastating floods in more than a decade in the Venezuelan states of Bolívar and Delta Amacuro. In Nigeria, heavy rain during August and September caused the Niger and Benue Rivers to overflow, bringing floods that displaced more than 100 000 people. Global fire activity was the lowest since at least 2003; however, high activity occurred in parts of North America, South America, and Europe, with an unusually long season in Spain and Portugal, which had their second and third driest years on record, respectively. Devastating fires impacted British Columbia, destroying 1.2 million hectares of timber, bush, and grassland, due in part to the region's driest summer on record. In the United States, an extreme western wildfire season burned over 4 million hectares; the total costs of $18 billion tripled the previous U.S. annual wildfire cost record set in 1991.

Published
2018

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