Expected change of hydrologic cycle in Northern Eurasia due to disappearance of multiyear sea ice in the Arctic Ocean

Abstract

The effects are considered that global warming and rapid sea ice decline in the Arctic (up to the formation of ice-free conditions in the Arctic Ocean in summer) made on the hydrological regime of Northern Eurasia. Ensemble computations of climate are provided and changes in the atmospheric water cycle and in water balance in large catchment areas after the loss of multiyear sea ice in the Arctic are estimated. Considerable changes in the hydrological regime are demonstrated on the example of the large catchments of the Siberian rivers; the changes are especially manifested in the period of intense snow melting, i.e., in spring and in early summer. It is revealed that the increase in the frequency of spring floods is expected in the river catchments adjoining the Arctic Ocean. It is demonstrated that the Arctic Ocean ice reduction does not exert as significant influence on variations in the water cycle in Northern Eurasia as the global warming does.