Arctic Oscillation
The AO air circulation moves in a counterclockwise direction, circulating around the Arctic at 55 degrees North latitude (NOAA, 2016a). NOAA (2016a) further explains, the positive AO phase produces strong winds, which rotate around the North Pole to restrict cold air from exiting these northern Polar Regions. This positive phase produces warmer winters for the United States and northern Europe. High pressure at the pole …show more content…
Conversely, what survives continues to accumulate more ice, referred to as multiyear ice. As the National Snow & Ice Data Center (2013) reports, multiyear ice covers only 30 percent of the Arctic Ocean, as opposed to the historic 60 percent. The oldest ice was reported at 5 percent in 2013, which has dramatically reduced from the 25 percent recorded in the 1980’s (National Snow & Ice Data Center, 2013). The National Snow & Ice Data Center (2013) also reports that the thickest Arctic ice along the coast of Greenland has thinned due to warming trends with extended periods of the AO negative