Record low Antarctic sea ice coverage indicates a new sea ice state

Ariaan Purich, Edward W. Doddridge

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

102 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In February 2023, Antarctic sea ice set a record minimum; there have now been three record-breaking low sea ice summers in seven years. Following the summer minimum, circumpolar Antarctic sea ice coverage remained exceptionally low during the autumn and winter advance, leading to the largest negative areal extent anomalies observed over the satellite era. Here, we show the confluence of Southern Ocean subsurface warming and record minima and suggest that ocean warming has played a role in pushing Antarctic sea ice into a new low-extent state. In addition, this new state exhibits different seasonal persistence characteristics, suggesting that the underlying processes controlling Antarctic sea ice coverage may have altered.

Original languageEnglish
Article number314
Number of pages9
JournalCommunications Earth and Environment
Volume4
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

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