The Arctic Water Cycle Mount Holyoke College北极水循环霍山学院.pptVIP

The Arctic Water Cycle Emma Rebecca Hale 1 March 2005 The Game Plan Global and Arctic Water Cycles Ice Sheets Primary controls on the water cycle – global and Arctic Field Methods and Modeling: how we figure it all out “In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments, there are consequences.” – Robert Green Ingersoll Discussion The Global Water Cycle The Global Water Cycle Global and Arctic Water Cycles Arctic Ice Sheets Arctic Ice Sheets What Drives the Water Cycle? Precipitation ? solar radiation, Hadley cells, wind patterns, all those good things we talked about with Laura and Julie. Ice ? wind! air temperature, ocean temperature, ocean currents, pressure oscillations Ocean currents ? salinity, river discharge, temperature River discharge ? temperature, arctic ice/glaciers, human modifications Some Really Cool Big Patterns Arctic Oscillation – atmospheric pressure see-saw between upper and middle northern (~45N) latitudes North Atlantic Oscillation – related to the AO, similar seesaw of pressure between Iceland and subtropical Atlantic Debate whether these are part of the same mode or whether they are different. Time scales of these are debatable –paleoclimate studies show that neither seem to have had set schedules in the past, but they change about every 10 to 40 years Right now both are in positive phases Arctic Ice Sheets Pacific Decadal Oscillation – major source of variability in sea surface temperature lasting 20-30 years. Since 1990s has begun to go back into cool phase. These Pressure and Temperature Oscillations… Control currents of air ? positive AO creates strong wind current circling the Arctic Effects on ice affect the heating and cooling of the ocean and therefore… Thermohaline Circulation! Circulation of ocean water based on temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) Temperature and salinity determine density of sea water and cause sinking and upwelling Arctic Ice Sheets Arctic Ice Sheets Changes in the Arctic Cycle AO and NAO ha