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The Cryosphere
A sea ice free summer Arctic within 30 years?
Article first published online: 3 APR 2009
DOI: 10.1029/2009GL037820
Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.
Additional Information
How to Cite
, and (2009), A sea ice free summer Arctic within 30 years? Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L07502, doi:10.1029/2009GL037820.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 3 APR 2009
- Article first published online: 3 APR 2009
- Manuscript Accepted: 5 MAR 2009
- Manuscript Revised: 19 FEB 2009
- Manuscript Received: 6 FEB 2009
Keywords:
- sea ice;
- Arctic;
- climate models
[1] September 2008 followed 2007 as the second sequential year with an extreme summer Arctic sea ice extent minimum. Although such a sea ice loss was not indicated until much later in the century in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report, many models show an accelerating decline in the summer minimum sea ice extent during the 21st century. Using the observed 2007/2008 September sea ice extents as a starting point, we predict an expected value for a nearly sea ice free Arctic in September by the year 2037. The first quartile of the distribution for the timing of September sea ice loss will be reached by 2028. Our analysis is based on projections from six IPCC models, selected subject to an observational constraints. Uncertainty in the timing of a sea ice free Arctic in September is determined based on both within-model contributions from natural variability and between-model differences.