Sea Ice Variability in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas: Processes and Prediction

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This project will analyze the sea-ice distributions in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Over the last decade, the summer-time edge of the Arctic pack ice found off of Alaska has retreated dramatically northward for reasons that are not clear. To better understand this trend, the climatic conditions associated with recent dramatic reductions in sea-ice extent will be evaluated. In addition, the research will examine whether the recent years' trend relates to a broad-scale climatic change. This work will involve both the analysis of sea-ice observations as well as modeling the movement as well as the formation and melting of the Arctic ice pack. The results of this analysis will improve the predictive capability for extreme sea-ice events.