The Relationship Between Sea Ice Variability and Arctic Tundra on the Pan-Arctic, Regional and Site Scales

Recent dramatic reductions in sea ice and changes in Arctic vegetation are well documented and there is growing concern for how these changes will impact the high latitude ecosystem. We hypothesize that reduced sea ice cover during spring/summer leads to a lengthened growing season and the greening of tundra vegetation.

To investigate this question, climate analysis techniques are applied to high-resolution passive microwave sea ice concentration and AVHRR land surface temperatures to evaluate the direct relationship between coastal ice and the adjacent land. NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis provides information on the atmospheric circulation, which plays a key role in the local effects of increased open water. The relationship between sea ice and land surface temperature is found to vary with spatial scale and season. Large-scale as well as local circulations play a role in determining the influence of sea ice on the tundra vegetation.