Role of radiative forcing on the sea ice melt-growth cycle in a changing Arctic marine environment - Northern Research Supplement

由于全球变暖，北冰洋海冰覆盖率正在迅速下降，2012年又创下了新的纪录低点。不断减少的冰盖正在对极地海洋环境产生明显的影响。然而，这种对气候、碳循环和生态系统未来变化的影响程度仍不确定。根本是表面辐射强迫如何影响海冰性质的变化，以及这些变化如何反过来调节强迫。这种相互作用构成了北极复杂气候反馈的基础。考虑到每年形成并随后融化的海冰面积(约1000万平方公里或大致相当于加拿大的大小)的辽阔，全面了解推动这一周期的过程的重要性怎么强调都不为过。

The Arctic sea ice cover is in rapid decline due to global warming with yet another new record low reached in 2012. The diminishing ice cover is having a discernible impact on the polar marine environment. However, the extent of this impact on future changes to climate, carbon cycling and ecosystems remains uncertain. At the root is how surface radiative forcing affects changes in sea ice properties, and how these changes in turn modulate the forcing. Such interactions form the base of complex climate feedbacks operating in the Arctic. Considering the vastness of the area of sea ice (~10 million km2 or roughly the size of Canada) that forms and then melts each year, the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the processes driving this cycle cannot be overstated.