The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology discovered a large ‘polynya’ in the outer Arctic Ocean in July.
Melting sea ice over a large area will cause abnormal climate
on the Korean Peninsula in winter. An unusually large polynya토토사이트 (ice hole) was discovered in an area away from the Arctic coast (open ocean). It is predicted that polynya will occur frequently in the Arctic in the future, which could cause a larger area of sea ice to melt, which could bring abnormal climate conditions such as cold waves in winter to the Korean Peninsula.
The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology ( KIOST ) announced on the 6th that an unusually large polynya occurred in the open sea north of Siberia in the eastern Arctic last July .
A polynya is an extensive ice hole surrounded by sea ice. Polynyas, which generally occur in the Arctic during the summer, are formed by melting from the coast due to strong winds and high temperatures. However, this polynya is noteworthy in that it occurred in the open sea away from the coast.
This phenomenon is believed to have occurred due to the effects of global warming, as the global sea surface temperature in July rose from 18.5 degrees Celsius the previous year to 18.8 degrees Celsius, causing warm seawater to flow in along ocean currents and melt sea ice.
In particular, as the thickness of sea ice around the Arctic is thinning to less than 1m in July, there are concerns that polynya may occur more frequently in the Arctic in the future if warm seawater flows in. If polynya persists for a long period of time, it may hinder the expansion of Arctic sea ice in winter and may cause a winter cold wave on the Korean Peninsula.
This result is based on the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology’s Marine Climate Prediction Center (OCPC ) analyzed monthly average sea ice data provided by the U.S. National Ice and Snow Data Center ( NSIDC ).