Call for Abstracts
Session C 17: Rapid Transition From Perennial to Seasonal Arctic Sea Ice
American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2006 Fall Meeting
11-15 December 2006
San Francisco, California
Abstract Submission Deadlines:
Friday, 1 September 2006 (mail)
Thursday, 7 September 2006 (online)
Abstracts can be submitted online at:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm06/
You are invited to submit an abstract to the following special session
at this year's American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting:
C 17: Rapid Transition From Perennial to Seasonal Arctic Sea Ice
Session Description:
In recent times more than half the Arctic Ocean has been covered
year-round by sea ice, but the Arctic is now moving rapidly towards
ice-free summers. In rough agreement with observations, some--but not
all--climate models predict that the transition from perennial to
seasonal sea ice will occur over the entire Arctic in this century.
There is also speculation that abrupt sea ice transitions played an
essential role in the rapid climate changes recorded in the Greenland
ice cores. Beyond its climatic impact, a rapid change from perennial to
seasonal sea ice will have dramatic societal and ecological effects, and
the severity of these effects will depend in part on the abruptness of
the change.
While the basic feedback mechanisms are known, our understanding of the
climate sensitivity of sea ice is relatively primitive. We lack an
understanding of the key determinants of the speed with which the
transition from perennial to seasonal ice will occur. A better
understanding is needed to evaluate the disparate results of climate
model simulations and to assess the extent to which sea ice change in
past climates can serve as a meaningful proxy for the present
transition.
Thus, organizers invite papers which examine the transition to an
ice-free arctic summer based on theory, models of varying degrees of
complexity, and observations from the instrumented record. Papers are
also sought that investigate rapid transitions in arctic sea ice in the
paleoclimate record and/or comparable sea ice behavior in the Antarctic.
In addition, papers are welcome which consider the interannual and
decadal variability of sea ice, as well as those addressing the
far-field effects of sea ice change. To complement purely scientific
studies of the sea ice transition, organizers further solicit papers on
the policy implications of the transition, particularly those which
focus on the implications of a rapid or abrupt transition.
Conveners:
Eric DeWeaver
AOS Deptartment
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1225 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-265-5438
E-mail: deweaver [at] aos.wisc.edu
Cecilia Bitz
Atmospheric Sciences Department
University of Washington
408 Atmospheric Sciences Building
Seattle, WA 98195-1640
Phone: 206-543-1339
E-mail: bitz [at] atmos.washington.edu