Investigating the impact of atmospheric parameters on sea ice variability in and around Svalbard

Recent research has shown that winter warmings are phenomenally high compared to summer warmings over the poles,especially over the Arctic.Taking the current scenario into account,this paper attempts to understand the atmospheric variables causing sea ice variability over and around the region of Svalbard for seasons;winter,spring,summer and autumn for the span of 42 years (1979–2021).The variability in atmospheric and oceanic parameters namely temperature,precipitation,wind speed,and sea surface salinity are analysed over inter-spatial,inter-seasonal and inter-annual domains.Winters are characterized by inter-annual increasing trend in temperature.During 1981–1990 the rise from the decadal mean is found to be0.39 K·a–1,during 1991–2000 it is 0.20 K·a–1,during 2001–2010 it is 0.04 K·a–1and during 2011–2020 it is 0.23 K·a–1.Interestingly while considering inter-spatial domains,the region southwest to Svalbard seems to be wetter (0.05 mm·(10 a)–1)compared to its northeast (–0.03 mm·(10 a)–1).Across all the three domains,wind speeds are highest during autumn and then decrease subsequently through summer,spring and are least during winter.Wind is predominantly from the south,and hence it is suspected to carry hot Atlantic air.Additionally,the significant role of salinity in the ocean also plays a key role in governing the fate of sea ice conditions.The long-term forecasts of temperature over sea ice of Svalbard are alarming especially for the winter ice (r=–0.84).Correlation matrices between atmospheric and sea ice parameters are shown to gain a better understanding on their inter relation.