Dr. Walt Meier, NSIDC
Interview with Dr. Walt Meier, Research Scientist at NSIDC, June of 2008
CA-CP: What is the focus of your research?
Dr. Meier: I am a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), University of Colorado, Boulder. I study sea ice, primarily using data acquired from satellite sensors. The sea ice data comprise one of the longest and most complete climate records, providing a nearly complete daily record of sea ice conditions since late 1978. This makes sea ice an important long-term indicator of climate change. Besides the length of the record, sea ice is an important component of climate because it is a cap between the ocean below and the atmosphere above. Thus, sea ice significantly affects the surface energy balance.
CA-CP: What have you discovered through your research?
Dr. Meier: My colleagues and I have been examining these satellite records and have found significant downward trends in Arctic sea ice, particularly during summer. It is during summer that such decreases are most crucial because the more reflective sea ice absorbs far less energy from the 24-hour summer sunlight than the darker, more absorptive ocean. Thus sea ice is an amplifying factor of the initial atmospheric warming, resulting in greater warming in the Arctic than the rest of the planet. The declining sea ice also impacts wildlife (such as polar bears), native peoples living in the area, as well as commercial and military interests in the region.
My colleagues and I at NSIDC have been tracking the declining Arctic sea ice, examining the causes of the decline and investigate current and future impacts of the decline.
CA-CP: What are the implications of the decreasing Arctic sea ice you have been studying to people living in lower latitudes like the United States?
Dr. Meier: At this point it's hard to say exactly what the effects of decreasing sea ice mean to people living in the U.S., but there are sure to be some significant impacts. If the Arctic becomes sea ice free during the summer, which is likely in the 2-3 decades (if not sooner), this will substantially affect wind and ocean current circulation patterns. The large-scale circulations, things like the jet stream, are at least partly due to the difference in heating between the lower latitudes and higher latitudes. Without sea ice, which keeps the Arctic cooler than it normally would be, the Arctic will be warmer and the temperature difference between lower latitudes and higher latitudes will be less.
This will surely alter things like the jet stream and this will change weather patterns. Climate models are not yet good enough to say exactly how things will change, but one thing likely impacted will be precipitation. Some preliminary model studies suggest this - for example, the American southwest, already a dry region with water resource issues, may become even drier in the future without Arctic sea ice during summer.
More information on the retreating Arctic sea ice, with regular updates through the year, can be found at the NSIDC Sea Ice News and Analysis web page. Further information on my research can be found at here.
For more general information on sea ice, see NSIDC’s “All About Sea Ice”. For regular updates of sea ice conditions, trends, variability, and browse imagery, see the NSIDC Sea Ice Index page.
Images:
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center
CA-CP: What is the focus of your research?
Dr. Meier: I am a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), University of Colorado, Boulder. I study sea ice, primarily using data acquired from satellite sensors. The sea ice data comprise one of the longest and most complete climate records, providing a nearly complete daily record of sea ice conditions since late 1978. This makes sea ice an important long-term indicator of climate change. Besides the length of the record, sea ice is an important component of climate because it is a cap between the ocean below and the atmosphere above. Thus, sea ice significantly affects the surface energy balance.
CA-CP: What have you discovered through your research?
Dr. Meier: My colleagues and I have been examining these satellite records and have found significant downward trends in Arctic sea ice, particularly during summer. It is during summer that such decreases are most crucial because the more reflective sea ice absorbs far less energy from the 24-hour summer sunlight than the darker, more absorptive ocean. Thus sea ice is an amplifying factor of the initial atmospheric warming, resulting in greater warming in the Arctic than the rest of the planet. The declining sea ice also impacts wildlife (such as polar bears), native peoples living in the area, as well as commercial and military interests in the region.
My colleagues and I at NSIDC have been tracking the declining Arctic sea ice, examining the causes of the decline and investigate current and future impacts of the decline.
CA-CP: What are the implications of the decreasing Arctic sea ice you have been studying to people living in lower latitudes like the United States?
Dr. Meier: At this point it's hard to say exactly what the effects of decreasing sea ice mean to people living in the U.S., but there are sure to be some significant impacts. If the Arctic becomes sea ice free during the summer, which is likely in the 2-3 decades (if not sooner), this will substantially affect wind and ocean current circulation patterns. The large-scale circulations, things like the jet stream, are at least partly due to the difference in heating between the lower latitudes and higher latitudes. Without sea ice, which keeps the Arctic cooler than it normally would be, the Arctic will be warmer and the temperature difference between lower latitudes and higher latitudes will be less.
This will surely alter things like the jet stream and this will change weather patterns. Climate models are not yet good enough to say exactly how things will change, but one thing likely impacted will be precipitation. Some preliminary model studies suggest this - for example, the American southwest, already a dry region with water resource issues, may become even drier in the future without Arctic sea ice during summer.
More information on the retreating Arctic sea ice, with regular updates through the year, can be found at the NSIDC Sea Ice News and Analysis web page. Further information on my research can be found at here.
For more general information on sea ice, see NSIDC’s “All About Sea Ice”. For regular updates of sea ice conditions, trends, variability, and browse imagery, see the NSIDC Sea Ice Index page.
Images:
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center