Wb. Tucker et al., Evidence for rapid thinning of sea ice in the western Arctic Ocean at the end of the 1980s, GEOPHYS R L, 28(14), 2001, pp. 2851-2854
Examination of springtime ice drafts obtained from submarine profiles in a
narrow band of the western Arctic Ocean from offshore Alaska to 89 degreesN
indicates that the mean ice draft decreased 1.5 m between the mid-1980s an
d early 1990s. No similar trend was evident in ice drafts near the North Po
le. The 1980s drafts were composed largely of ice exceeding 3.5 m, while th
e early 1990s drafts contained more ice in thinner categories. The differen
ces in drafts between the two periods appear to be related largely to ice d
ynamics effects associated with the presence and strength of the Beaufort G
yre, which weakened considerably in the early 1990s.