The warming Arctic Ocean is bringing more snowfall to Siberia, shows study
- November 26, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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The warming Arctic Ocean is bringing more snowfall to Siberia, shows study
Subject: Environment
Context-
- Some parts of northern Eurasia have been witnessing increased snow cover over the past decades, even as rising air temperatures are already melting glaciers and polar ice caps in an interesting paradox.
Research analysis-
- The climate change-induced melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean could be responsible for an increase in snow cover in Siberia.
- Enhanced evaporation deposits more moisture in the Arctic atmosphere.
- The Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the rest of the world over the past 43 years.
- The most impacted were Barents, Kara, Chukchi and East Siberian Seas.
- These areas experienced sea ice loss in recent decades.
- The researchers recorded a high concentration of Arctic moisture, especially in August. This, according to them, corresponded with years of strong southward-moving moisture.
- These weather events pick up unusually large quantities of moisture south and transport them into Siberia.
Significance of the study-
- This study can help improve predictions of abnormal weather events such as heatwaves, which increase the risk of forest fires.
- Increased snow cover in western Russia increased the risk of summer heat waves in Europe and Northeast Asia.
Barent sea-
- The Barents Sea borders the Norwegian and Greenland Sea in the west, the Arctic Sea in the north and the Kara Sea in the east.
- The Barents Sea is divided between Russia and Norway as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
What is Atlantification?
- Scientists have discovered ‘hotspots’ where some parts of the Barents Sea have started to closely resemble the Atlantic. This phenomenon has been termed Atlantification.
- The north-flowing ocean currents transport the warm waters of the Atlantic into the Arctic Ocean through the Barents Sea.
- Unlike the Atlantic and Pacific, the upper waters of the Eurasian Arctic Ocean get warmer as they get deeper.
- The top of the ocean is typically covered by sea ice. Below this is a layer of cool freshwater, followed by a deeper layer of warmer, saltier water delivered to the Arctic from the Atlantic by ocean currents.
- According to NASA data, the total area covered by sea ice in this region has fallen by almost half since satellite records began in the early 1980s.
- One possible reason for this is that, when sea ice melts through the summer, it replenishes the freshwater layer that sits above the warmer Atlantic layer. With less sea ice around, the amount of freshwater dwindles, this, in turn, causes the ocean to mix together, drawing more Atlantic heat up towards the surface. This “Atlantification” can, in turn, cause more ice to melt from below.
- Human-caused global climate change has been accelerating the Atlantification process and this will in turn significantly affect the weather patterns, ocean circulations, and the entire Arctic ecosystem.
What will be the Consequences of the Warming?
- More extreme weather:
- Melting of More Ice:
- First Recorded Rainfall at Summit Station Greenland:
- Increase in Lightning strikes:
- Impact on Marine Ecosystem:
- Extreme Snowfall:
- Extreme Weather Events:
- Arctic jet stream becomes wavier and less impactful.