Sea Ice
Its Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology and Societal Importance
4th Edition
Published on 9. October 2025
Book
Hardback
960 pages
978-1-394-21373-3 (ISBN)
Description
New edition of the leading resource on the Arctic and Southern Oceans with contributions from the world's experts on sea ice
Sea Ice delivers insights into the very latest understanding of sea ice dynamics, how we measure (and model) its extent, the ecosystems that depend on sea ice, and the effect of climate change on its distribution. The book also discusses how sea ice influences the oceanography of underlying waters and the influence that sea ice has on the world's climate.
This newly revised and updated Fourth Edition looks at ice-based food webs and the impact on global geopolitics as well as changes in human activity in the Arctic.
Written by a team of more than 80 of the world's leading experts from 13 countries, Sea Ice includes information on:
Sea ice thickness distribution and snow and surface processes on sea ice
The short-term and long-term dynamics of Arctic versus Antarctic Sea ice
Current methods of satellite remote sensing of sea ice
The ecology of sea ice, from microbes to mammals to marine birds
The cycling of contaminants across the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interface
In its new edition, Sea Ice remains the leading multidisciplinary resource on the subject for all policy makers, researchers, and students with an interest in the polar regions and their role in the world's oceanic systems.
Sea Ice delivers insights into the very latest understanding of sea ice dynamics, how we measure (and model) its extent, the ecosystems that depend on sea ice, and the effect of climate change on its distribution. The book also discusses how sea ice influences the oceanography of underlying waters and the influence that sea ice has on the world's climate.
This newly revised and updated Fourth Edition looks at ice-based food webs and the impact on global geopolitics as well as changes in human activity in the Arctic.
Written by a team of more than 80 of the world's leading experts from 13 countries, Sea Ice includes information on:
Sea ice thickness distribution and snow and surface processes on sea ice
The short-term and long-term dynamics of Arctic versus Antarctic Sea ice
Current methods of satellite remote sensing of sea ice
The ecology of sea ice, from microbes to mammals to marine birds
The cycling of contaminants across the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interface
In its new edition, Sea Ice remains the leading multidisciplinary resource on the subject for all policy makers, researchers, and students with an interest in the polar regions and their role in the world's oceanic systems.
More details
Edition
4th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 267 mm
Width: 186 mm
Thickness: 55 mm
Weight
2156 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-394-21373-3 (9781394213733)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2025
4th Edition
Wiley
€210.99
Available for download
E-Book
08/2025
4th Edition
Wiley
€210.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Person
David N. Thomas is based at the University of Helsinki where he is the Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences. Previously (1996 to 2020) he was at Bangor University, U.K., where from 2006 he held the Chair of Marine Biology in the School of Ocean Sciences. From 2009 to 2013 he also held an Academy of Finland Distinguished Professorship at the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
Content
Contributors vii
Preface xiii
1 Sea ice thickness distribution 1
Robert Ricker, Luisa von Albedyll and Christian Haas
2 Snow on sea ice and how it varies through the seasons 41
Stefanie Arndt, Melinda Webster, Matthew Sturm and Robert A. Massom
3 Sunlight and sea ice - optical properties 113
Don Perovich, Bonnie Light and Marcel Nicolaus
4 Sea ice from an engineer's perspective 157
Arttu Polojaervi, Jukka Tuhkuri and Hayo Hendrikse
5 Methods of satellite remote sensing of sea ice 177
Gunnar Spreen, Polona Itkin and Stefan Kern
6 The rise and fall of Antarctic sea ice: Large-scale variability 215
Ted Maksym and Sharon Stammerjohn
7 The fitful decline of Arctic sea ice 261
Walter N. Meier and Angela C. Bliss
8 Sea ice and Arctic Ocean oceanography 283
Camille Lique, Yueng-Djern Lenn, Benjamin Rabe and Finlo Cottier
9 Oceanography and sea ice in the Southern Ocean 309
F. Alexander Haumann and Michael P. Meredith
10 Sea ice in Earth System Models 347
Zachary Espinosa, Lettie Roach, Cecilia M. Bitz and Dirk Notz
11 Phyloecology of sea ice bacteria and archaea 379
Josephine Z. Rapp, Eeva Eronen-Rasimus, Jody W. Deming and R. Eric Collins
12 Primary production associated with sea ice 433
Stephanie M. Lim, Karley Campbell and Kevin R. Arrigo Copyrighted Material
13 Sea ice food webs in transition 475
Erin H. Kunisch, Malin Daase and Kerrie M. Swadling
14 Marine mammals and sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic 515
Mia Wege, Kristin L. Laidre, Els Vermeulen and Elisa Seyboth
15 Sea ice: A seabird world of its own 549
David Ainley, Nina Karnovsky and George Divoky
16 Nutrients and organic matter dynamics in sea ice 575
Klaus M. Meiners, Delphine Lannuzel, Eva Leu and Kristina A. Brown
17 Gas dynamics in sea ice 623
Odile Crabeck, Bruno Delille, Sebastien Moreau and Francois Fripiat
18 Sea ice, aerosols and clouds 671
Jean-Christophe Raut, Jennie L. Thomas, Louis Marelle and Remy Lapere
19 Cycling of contaminants across the ocean-sea ice-snow-atmosphere interface 721
Zhiyuan Gao, Katarzyna Polcwiartek, Kedong Zhang and Feiyue Wang
20 Numerical models of sea ice biogeochemistry 765
Giulia Castellani, Letizia Tedesco, Nadja Steiner and Martin Vancoppenolle
21 Paleo sea ice reconstruction in the Southern Ocean: Ancient warm periods 805
Amy Leventer and Jennifer Pike
22 Sea ice in Arctic marginal seas 835
Hermanni Kaartokallio, C.J. Mundy, Daiki Nomura, Takenobu Toyota, Alex Crawford and Jouni Vainio
23 It's all about the happy people: A tale of joy and life around the sea ice 873
Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok, Henry P. Huntington, Craig George, Alex Kaleak Sr., Diedre Kaleak, Joe Mello Leavitt, Donna D.W. Hauser and Courtney Carothers
24 Geopolitics of sea ice 895
Klaus Dodds, Pauline Pic, Liling Xu and Yelena Yermakova
Index 919
Preface xiii
1 Sea ice thickness distribution 1
Robert Ricker, Luisa von Albedyll and Christian Haas
2 Snow on sea ice and how it varies through the seasons 41
Stefanie Arndt, Melinda Webster, Matthew Sturm and Robert A. Massom
3 Sunlight and sea ice - optical properties 113
Don Perovich, Bonnie Light and Marcel Nicolaus
4 Sea ice from an engineer's perspective 157
Arttu Polojaervi, Jukka Tuhkuri and Hayo Hendrikse
5 Methods of satellite remote sensing of sea ice 177
Gunnar Spreen, Polona Itkin and Stefan Kern
6 The rise and fall of Antarctic sea ice: Large-scale variability 215
Ted Maksym and Sharon Stammerjohn
7 The fitful decline of Arctic sea ice 261
Walter N. Meier and Angela C. Bliss
8 Sea ice and Arctic Ocean oceanography 283
Camille Lique, Yueng-Djern Lenn, Benjamin Rabe and Finlo Cottier
9 Oceanography and sea ice in the Southern Ocean 309
F. Alexander Haumann and Michael P. Meredith
10 Sea ice in Earth System Models 347
Zachary Espinosa, Lettie Roach, Cecilia M. Bitz and Dirk Notz
11 Phyloecology of sea ice bacteria and archaea 379
Josephine Z. Rapp, Eeva Eronen-Rasimus, Jody W. Deming and R. Eric Collins
12 Primary production associated with sea ice 433
Stephanie M. Lim, Karley Campbell and Kevin R. Arrigo Copyrighted Material
13 Sea ice food webs in transition 475
Erin H. Kunisch, Malin Daase and Kerrie M. Swadling
14 Marine mammals and sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic 515
Mia Wege, Kristin L. Laidre, Els Vermeulen and Elisa Seyboth
15 Sea ice: A seabird world of its own 549
David Ainley, Nina Karnovsky and George Divoky
16 Nutrients and organic matter dynamics in sea ice 575
Klaus M. Meiners, Delphine Lannuzel, Eva Leu and Kristina A. Brown
17 Gas dynamics in sea ice 623
Odile Crabeck, Bruno Delille, Sebastien Moreau and Francois Fripiat
18 Sea ice, aerosols and clouds 671
Jean-Christophe Raut, Jennie L. Thomas, Louis Marelle and Remy Lapere
19 Cycling of contaminants across the ocean-sea ice-snow-atmosphere interface 721
Zhiyuan Gao, Katarzyna Polcwiartek, Kedong Zhang and Feiyue Wang
20 Numerical models of sea ice biogeochemistry 765
Giulia Castellani, Letizia Tedesco, Nadja Steiner and Martin Vancoppenolle
21 Paleo sea ice reconstruction in the Southern Ocean: Ancient warm periods 805
Amy Leventer and Jennifer Pike
22 Sea ice in Arctic marginal seas 835
Hermanni Kaartokallio, C.J. Mundy, Daiki Nomura, Takenobu Toyota, Alex Crawford and Jouni Vainio
23 It's all about the happy people: A tale of joy and life around the sea ice 873
Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok, Henry P. Huntington, Craig George, Alex Kaleak Sr., Diedre Kaleak, Joe Mello Leavitt, Donna D.W. Hauser and Courtney Carothers
24 Geopolitics of sea ice 895
Klaus Dodds, Pauline Pic, Liling Xu and Yelena Yermakova
Index 919