Jul 30, 2014 10:54 AM EDT
By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter (r.westerholm@universityherald.com)

Scientists Record 16-Foot Swells in Arctic Ocean, Quickening Ice Breakage

(Photo : Princeton University/McGill University) Ice breakage is creating more open water, which contributes to larger waves.In the Artic Ocean, just north of Alaska, researchers have measured swells of 16 feet, which they say can break up sea ice much faster than global warming.

According to the Washington Post, the team published a study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters based on data they recorded two years ago. Jim Thomson and W. Erick Rogers recorded the highly uncharacteristic waves in the Beaufort Sea.

An oceanographer at the University of Washington (UW), Thompson and Rogers, of the Naval Research Laboratory, relied on sensors anchored to the seafloor for their research. The sensors then relayed their data via satellite.

"As the Arctic is melting, it's a pretty simple prediction that the additional open water should make waves," Thompson, the study's lead author, told UW Today.

The waves were creating more broken ice, which led to open water, which allows for larger waves.

"Almost all of the casualties and losses at sea are because of stormy conditions, and breaking waves are often the culprit," Thomson said. "The melting has been going on for decades. What we're talking about with the waves is potentially a new process, a mechanical process, in which the waves can push and pull and crash to break up the ice."

The study also raised concerns about the Arctic's coastlines, already made more vulnerable to erosion due to permafrost melt. Waves breaking on the coastline will speed the melting process of the permafrost.

Thompson plans to repeat this process elsewhere in the Arctic Ocean this summer, as his study with Rogers only took place in the Beaufort Sea.

"There are several competing theories for what happens when the waves approach and get in to the ice," Thomson said. "A big part of what we're doing with this program is evaluating those models.

"It's going to be a quantum leap in terms of the number of observations, the level of detail and the level of precision."

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