Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: . The East Siberian Sea has the broadest continental shelf on Earth and nearly 80 % of the subsea permafrost worldwide. There exists a cold layer with the temperature at freezing points around −1.5 ºC above the sea floor of the shelf, preventing the heat transport from above to melt the permafrost and release the methane from sediments. However, we observed a worrying warming trend at the seafloor caused by enhanced vertical mixing in the shelf of the East Siberian Sea. In an ice-reduced Arctic continental shelf, even a moderate cyclone can result in the rapid growth of high wave to stir the marginal sea uniformly, which is not observed before. The intensified mixing can transport enormous heat downward, leading to a remarkable warming of more than 3 °C at the bottom. As the Arctic is experiencing accelerated warming and the sea ice is rapidly retreating, the East Siberian Sea will undoubtedly suffer more extreme heatwaves, which might cause unpredictable climate impacts on the Arctic biochemical processes and greenhouse gas emission.
Source: Ocean science
Authors: Xiaoyu Wang, Longjiang Mu, Xianyao Chen
Institutions: Laoshan Laboratory, Ocean University of China
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,412
Awards: G3297058386, G668476508, G7967668910
OpenAlex ID: W4408418368