Recent sea ice increase and temperature decrease in the Bering Sea area, Alaska

We analyzed the sea ice conditions in the Bering Sea for the time period 1979–2012, for which good data based on microwave satellite imagery, being able to look through clouds and darkness, are available. The Bering Sea, west of Alaska, is ice-free in summer, but each winter, an extensive sea ice cover is established, reaching its maximum normally in March. We found a slight increase in ice area over the time period, which is in stark contrast to the significant retreat observed in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean as a whole. Possible explanation might be found in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which went from dominantly positive values to more negative values in the last decade. The PDO is related to the sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific, negative values indicated cooler temperatures and cooler SST weakening the semipermanent Aleutian Low. When comparing the circulation pattern obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalyzed data set for years of heavy ice against light ice years, an additional vectorial northerly wind component could be deduced from the pressure data. Hence, less relatively warm air is advected into the Bering Sea, which becomes of special importance in winter, when solar radiation is at its minimum. Surface observations confirmed these findings. Atmospheric pressure increased in Cold Bay, located close to the center of the semi-permanent Aleutian Low, the N–S pressure gradient (Nome–Cold Bay) in the Bering Sea decreased, wind speeds of the coastal stations became weakened, and the temperature of coastal stations decreased.