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NORKLIMA-Klimaendringer og konsekvenser for Norge

Northeast Greenland "Mare Incognitum"

Awarded: NOK 0.55 mill.

Project Number:

178315

Application Type:

Project Period:

2007 - 2010

The proposed two-year research project on the North-East Greenland 'Mare Incognitum' (NØ-GRØN) is a targeted observational study of the apparently extraordinary changes observed off north-eastern and eastern Greenland in recentmost summers. The research will contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of polar ocean-ice-climate variability in a key region through which the East Greenland Current transports sea ice and freshwater from the Arctic to the subarctic seas. The scientific questions to be ad dressed include: Are the ice-free conditions observed in east of Greenland in the early 2000s unprecedented in the observational record, e.g., were there comparable reductions in ice conditions in 1920s and 1930s, i.e., the early 20th century warming even t? To what degree are the conditions in the early 2000s occurring at present or rather "one-off" events resulting from circulation anomalies? The project will combine modern satellite sensor data and historical observations to place the recent and present conditions in a longer-term, century-scale perspective.

Funding scheme:

NORKLIMA-Klimaendringer og konsekvenser for Norge