A gap in clouds drifted long enough to reveal a huge area of sea water mixed with loose sea ice just South of the North Pole (about 100 nautical miles), NOAA HRPT. Of interest is the zone between this opening and Fram Strait, which has always been a fluid area of sea ice, usually slowed by traffic jams of ice coming from multiple directions. However, even in winter, this is an area rife with movement. It may not be strange that it looks more dense with sea ice, it all bunches up there, but it is not a static zone especially now:
Fram Strait is rapidly bulging Southwards with sea ice, this means that the Open Trans Polar Stream may reach the Strait, with 0 to +7 C sea surface temperatures. Notice Goodbye waves between Greenland and Spitsbergen Isles, they expanded from August 23 to 25 as well, a sure indication of rapid melting along with the arrival of new sea ice. If the Trans Polar Stream open zone reaches Fram Strait, it would mean a much more fluid flow of sea ice to the North Atlantic.
Note the zone of open water within the Trans Polar Stream appears far more ominous on Satellite pictures, this is due to AMSR2 15% minimum sea ice per grid rule. However, any increase in fluidity North of Greenland or Spitsbergen would accelerate the flushing of the real last remnant of dense sea ice North of Greenland as the mixing mashed up zone of subduction would have no pressure from the Trans Polar Stream furnishing usually thick ridged sea ice, this acceleration may have already started.. wd August 25, 2016
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