Climate changes and the importance of Sea Ice

Climate changes and the importance of Sea Ice

During the past decades the temperature has increased significantly in the Arctic. This has reduced the extent of the sea ice cover by approximately 29% since 1980. Greenhouse gases (e.g. CO2 and N2O) are known to affect the climate and these gasses have therefore received a lot of attention. Sea ice has turned out to be relevant for especially atmospheric CO2 concentration, as it has been shown to function as a pump for CO2 into the water. However, we still have limited basic understanding on gas dynamics in ice – dynamics governed by physical, chemical and biological processes - and more investigations are needed to understand the role of sea ice for global greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics.

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