During the winter months, the Arctic region is cold and dark, with little to no sunlight or solar heat.
Sea ice grows during this time, reaching its largest extent sometime in March.
When something disrupts the cold, dry, winter Arctic atmosphere, sea ice can feel the effects,
and these effects may linger through the season.
At the end of December 2015, an extreme cyclone formed in the north Atlantic
and swept into the central Arctic.
North Atlantic cyclones, like this one, are low-pressure systems of strong, swirling winds
transporting unseasonal heat and moisture into the Arctic from lower latitudes,
disrupting sea ice growth.
Scientists used the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite
to study the atmospheric effects of this cyclone on the sea ice surface
in the Barents and Kara seas. They observed above freezing temperatures
that were up to 20 degrees warmer than normal in some places.
As a result of this cyclone, the concentration of sea ice in the Barents and Kara seas decreased by around 10 percent
and the sea ice edge moved northward.
The loss in sea ice area during this time was equivalent to the size of Florida.
Scientists think excess energy input into the surface
might have caused the sea ice to thin significantly,
although not enough to cause a complete melt out yet. After the storm, weather conditions returned to normal
but the sea ice extent stayed low throughout the month of January
with large parts of the Barents and Kara seas unseasonably ice-free.
NASA scientists say the effects of this storm on the sea ice could have been a tipping point,
leading to the record low Arctic sea ice maximum observed this past winter.
As we approach this winter season,
after the second-lowest summer sea ice extent on record,
NASA scientists wonder if cyclones like this one will have similar or worsened effects on the vulnerable sea ice.