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VanishingAntarcticsea ice could direct to more tempest in the Southern Ocean , new research shows .
Scientists feel that reducedAntarctic sea ice coverage in 2023caused the ocean to lose supererogatory heat to the atmosphere . That estrus loss could disrupt sea circulation currents and cause more frequent violent storm in area where sea ice reporting has declined .
Heat loss from the Southern Ocean to the atmosphere as a result of sea ice loss could contribute to stormier weather and changes in ocean circulation.
Last year , water ice coverage shed by nearly one-half liken with the average between 1990 and 2015 in four surface area : the Bellingshausen Sea and the outer Weddell and Ross sea , where ocean ice decreased by up to 80 % , and Enderby Land , which saw a drop cloth of up to 50 % . The full dataset from 2024 is n’t uncommitted yet , but continued low coverage indicate an ongoing trend .
" It is too early to state whether 2023 and its record - breaking sea - ice decline marks the onslaught of a fundamental shift in the amount of Antarctic sea ice , " study co - authorSimon Josey , an oceanographer at the National Oceanography Centre in the U.K. , say in astatement . " However , our study does unwrap the utmost conditions to be expected in future long time of low ice regrowth , with 2024 looking like it is continuing the sharp change visit in 2023 . "
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To understand the encroachment of this drastic sea ice loss , research worker analyzed heat flux between the air and sea , as well as change in ice coverage from Antarctica in 2023 . In the study , published Dec. 18 in the journalNature , the research worker ground that the newly break ocean surface lost heat nigh one and a half time faster than it had in former days .
This increase in estrus loss could have far - reaching consequence . For example , heating plant going cools piddle near the sea surface , causing it to become denser than in previous year . As this heavy airfoil water sinks , it could disrupt deeperocean currentsand circulation in the Southern Ocean .
" This cooling system and subsequent sinking of Ethel Waters previously covered by sea ice has the potential to loose deeper ardent waters that would normally be keep off from ice rink by an insulating aerofoil layer . In bend , this has the potency for increasing sea sparkler melt in next eld , " written report co - authorAndrew Meijers , an oceanographer with the British Antarctic Survey , order in the argument .
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Changes in heat magnetic field between the ocean and the atmospheric state could also contribute to more frequent storms over Antarctica as the air takes up more heat . By considering the number of years with high winds as a procurator for tempest relative frequency , the researchers found an average of 11.6 stormy day in June and July 2023 over a few different regions of ice loss , up from an average of 9.1 stormy day between 1990 and 2015 . Some areas , like the northerly Weddell Sea , saw up to seven extra tempestuous day per month .
Previous researchsuggests that Antarctic sea ice melting could also affect temperatures around the rest of the universe . " Our research highlights the need to keep studying the link between Antarctic ocean ice expiration , sea heat release , and change weather design , " Josey tell in the statement . " These changes could strike conditions and clime far beyond Antarctica . "
