Title: Sea ice change — Australian Antarctic Program
Headings: Sea ice change
Sea ice change
Sea ice breakout. Photo: ACECRC
How is sea ice extent changing?
What are the projections for the future?
What is driving the changes in sea ice?
Does the ozone hole have an effect on sea ice?
How are we monitoring sea ice change?
Photo gallery

Content: In the western Antarctic Peninsula, intense northerly winds during autumn-spring have led to wind-induced ice compaction. The average air temperature in winter has also increased by 5.8 °C between 1950 and 2005. This is attributed to climate change. These factors have led to sea ice decline in the region. In the western Ross Sea region the increase in sea ice has been attributed to both a strengthening of westerly winds and a more frequent southerly outflow of winds from the continent, associated with the persistence of a deep low-pressure anomaly in the Amundsen Sea. Does the ozone hole have an effect on sea ice? Research published by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey suggests that the ozone hole is delaying the impact of greenhouse gas increases on the climate of Antarctica and contributing to the increase in Antarctic sea ice. As ozone levels recover towards the end of the century, sea ice is expected to decline. How are we monitoring sea ice change? We have used satellites to monitor sea ice cover since the late 1970s.