Earthlabs: Cryosphere – Lab 3
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/cryosphere/lab3.html
Name _________________________
Sea Ice Dynamics
PART A: Dynamic Forces
1: What do you think causes the sea ice to behave this way? Explain.
2: Based on the circulation patterns you observed, how do you think sea ice moves
around in the Arctic? Be as descriptive as you can.
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Earthlabs: Cryosphere – Lab 3
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/cryosphere/lab3.html
3: Explain how you think the different geography of the north and south polar regions
affects the movement of sea ice.
4: Moving sea ice will interact with other sea ice, land, and open ocean water. Describe
how you think these interactions might affect sea ice thickness and distribution (where
sea ice is found) in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Explain your reasoning.
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Earthlabs: Cryosphere – Lab 3
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/cryosphere/lab3.html
PART B: The Arctic Oscillation
1: How do you think Arctic sea ice is affected during positive and negative phases of the
Arctic Oscillation? Does it get thicker or thinner? Does it stay in one particular area or
get pushed out to sea? Explain your answer. HINT: Think about the wind and water
currents and interactions between sea ice and ocean water.
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Earthlabs: Cryosphere – Lab 3
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/cryosphere/lab3.html
2: Wind patterns produced by the Arctic Oscillation affect how much thicker, older ice
there is in the Arctic. Based on the AO index values in the figure above, when do you
think the average age and thickness of Arctic sea ice was increasing and when was the
average age and thickness of ice decreasing? Explain.
3: What do you think would happen if the AO stayed in either a positive or negative
phase for an extended period of time (50 years or more)? Explain.
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