Chinese Journal of Polar Research ›› 2021, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (1): 37-48.DOI: 10. 13679/j.jdyj.20200015

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Study of the spatiotemporal variations of summer sea ice thickness in the Pacific Arctic sector based on shipside images

Mei Hao1, Lu Peng1, Wang Qingkai1,2, Cao Xiaowei1, Li Zhijun1   

  1. 1State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China;
    2School of Naval Architecture Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
  • Received:2020-03-13 Revised:2020-05-19 Online:2021-03-31 Published:2021-03-26
  • Contact: Peng LU

Abstract: Using the shipside images obtained during the second to ninth Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions in summers of 2003–2018, the spatiotemporal variations of level sea ice thickness in the Pacific Arctic Sector were analyzed statistically. The results show that the sea ice thickness along the cruise tracks in the Pacific Sector during the summer melting period was mainly between 10 and 280 cm. Sea ice thickness distribution was approximately normal although there were differences between cruises. The average ice thickness has been decreasing each year between early and middle August at a rate of −2 cm·a−1. However, in the marginal seas such as the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and the central Arctic Ocean, no clear decline in ice thickness was identified. Sea ice thickness distributions at 2° latitude intervals were also approximately normal, although thickness ranges varied with latitude. The average ice thickness increased linearly with latitude by 2 cm·deg−1 in early August and 5 cm·deg−1 in late August. The largest increase in average ice thickness was in the central Arctic Ocean.