Return of ‘ocean chimney’ the size of Tasmania puzzles Antarctic scientists

A rare hole the size of Tasmania has opened up in the sea ice off Antarctica, enthralling scientists keen to understand its cause and the possible role of climate change in its formation.

Known as the Weddell Sea or Maud Rise Polynya, the ice-free zone appeared in September and has grown to as large as 80,000 square kilometres, according to the University of Toronto.

more…

Now you’re talking my language.

This is certainly very early in the year to be seeing polynyas in Antarctic waters. The melt has barely begun.

It’s also been a very low ice year at the bottom. Going by NSIDC, this is the second lowest maximum Antarctic Sea Ice Extent on record (which basically means since 1979).

dv said:

Now you’re talking my language.

This is certainly very early in the year to be seeing polynyas in Antarctic waters. The melt has barely begun.

It’s also been a very low ice year at the bottom. Going by NSIDC, this is the second lowest maximum Antarctic Sea Ice Extent on record (which basically means since 1979).

Yeah. It is like there were no records before the internet.

roughbarked said:

dv said:

Now you’re talking my language.

This is certainly very early in the year to be seeing polynyas in Antarctic waters. The melt has barely begun.

It’s also been a very low ice year at the bottom. Going by NSIDC, this is the second lowest maximum Antarctic Sea Ice Extent on record (which basically means since 1979).

Yeah. It is like there were no records before the internet.

More relevantly, there were no continuous polar imaging satellites until 1979.

dv said:

roughbarked said:

dv said:

Now you’re talking my language.

This is certainly very early in the year to be seeing polynyas in Antarctic waters. The melt has barely begun.

It’s also been a very low ice year at the bottom. Going by NSIDC, this is the second lowest maximum Antarctic Sea Ice Extent on record (which basically means since 1979).

Yeah. It is like there were no records before the internet.

More relevantly, there were no continuous polar imaging satellites until 1979.

Wwell, that too. ;)

Tau.Neutrino said:

Return of ‘ocean chimney’ the size of Tasmania puzzles Antarctic scientists

A rare hole the size of Tasmania has opened up in the sea ice off Antarctica, enthralling scientists keen to understand its cause and the possible role of climate change in its formation.

Known as the Weddell Sea or Maud Rise Polynya, the ice-free zone appeared in September and has grown to as large as 80,000 square kilometres, according to the University of Toronto.

more…

This bit’s interesting:

“Once opened, the polynya works like a chimney from the ocean through the sea ice, transferring huge amounts of energy to the atmosphere, The polynya was releasing about 800 watts of energy per square metre. The Maud Rise provides an ideal location for the start of a mid-sea polynya. The rise is a mountain that climbs about 4000 metres to within 1200 m of the surface, providing a ramp for relatively warm water flowing along the sea floor.”

I don’t know why the thread title mentions “arctic polynyas”, these are extremely valuable as winter habitats for Eider Ducks.

What’s “SCAR Atlas”?
Perhaps http://www.add.scar.org/ antarctic digital database map viewer.
The photographs of sea ice are from the “LIMA mosaic” from Landsat. https://lima.usgs.gov/

eg. for SCAR

The re-use of acronyms is getting to be annoying.