Antarctic sea-ice extent in global coupled climate models

Type of content
Theses / Dissertations
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Science
Degree name
Postgraduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies
Publisher
University of Canterbury
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
English
Date
2015
Authors
Schroeter, Serena
Abstract

Antarctic sea ice plays a key role in the global climate system, moderating heat and moisture exchange in the Southern Ocean, reflecting solar radiation, and maintaining global thermohaline circulation. However, the trend of increasing Antarctic seasonal sea ice extent observed during the past few decades is not currently reproduced by the majority of climate models. A key question has emerged: Is this disparity due to problems within the physics of the models, or due to drivers of sea ice extent that are not yet incorporated in the models? Accurate representation of sea ice dynamics and processes is vital to inform regional and global climate predictions, and a large body of publications investigating this disparity has developed in the past decade. This paper summarises academic literature on modelling sea ice extent, concluding that while the models contain biases and poorly represent some climate processes, particularly in ocean components, substantial uncertainty remains as to the processes driving sea ice extent increases, which could limit the capacity for accurate representation in models. Further research into the processes driving the increase in sea ice extent is therefore highly recommended.

Description
Citation
Keywords
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Rights
All Rights Reserved