Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Climate Change Impacts on Solar Light Reflection and Transmission into the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Temperature Amplification Feedbacks are greatly accelerating climate change and extreme weather events around our planet, and similar things are happening even faster now in Antarctica.
What happens to incoming sunlight in the Arctic is vital to understanding the massive warming and associated impacts on ecosystems in the far northern oceans.
In this video, I chat about the various impacts of the ocean light and how it is rapidly changing, and the cascading consequences of these changes.
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
References:
New peer-reviewed research in scientific journal Nature Communications:
Climate change impacts on ocean light in Arctic ecosystems
Abstract
Climate change is causing major sea ice losses, leading to increased light availability across polar marine ecosystems, however the consequences are largely unknown. We quantify how future conditions for sea ice and snow, storm-driven waves, clouds, ozone, air and ocean temperature, and chlorophyll-a will affect seasonal absorption and reflection of light in Arctic seas, alongside growth and survival of fish. Using four CMIP6 model inputs and a spectral radiative transfer model, we predict a 75–160% increase in visible light by 2100 in the Northern Bering, Chukchi, and Barents Seas. We predict increased sunlight and warmer summer waters, with reduced phytoplankton levels, will negatively impact cold-water fish species growth and survival during summer, demonstrated here for polar cod. Asynchrony in prey and light availability, with prolonged periods of warmer waters, will reduce polar cod survival in the fall and restrict habitats in these regions after 2060. Warmer-water species like walleye pollock and Atlantic cod will be less impacted but may struggle at high latitudes during the polar night. Ocean warming coupled with increased light availability will accelerate changes in Arctic ecosystems, compromising the growth and survival of Arctic species in transitional zones and facilitating the northward expansion of boreal species.
Link to open source paper: nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64790-4
Optical properties of water:
Reflectance spectra of water bodies depend on their dominant optical constituents: Implications for satellite sensing of water quality constituents
https://water.rs.umn.edu/spectra
Wikipedia: Electromagnetic absorption by water
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_absorption_by_water
How SCUBA divers see various colors with depth underwater:
marinedynamics.org/academy/2018/11/05/looking-into-the-underwater-world-how-colour-is-perceived-beneath-the-waves
Reflectance of smooth water with angle of incidence:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflectance#/media/File:Water_reflectivity.jpg
Wikipedia: Brewster's Angle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster%27s_angle
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
Climate Change Impacts on Solar Light Reflection and Transmission into the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Temperature Amplification Feedbacks are greatly accelerating climate change and extreme weather events around our planet, and similar things are happening even faster now in Antarctica.
What happens to incoming sunlight in the Arctic is vital to understanding the massive warming and associated impacts on ecosystems in the far northern oceans.
In this video, I chat about the various impacts of the ocean light and how it is rapidly changing, and the cascading consequences of these changes.
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
References:
New peer-reviewed research in scientific journal Nature Communications:
Climate change impacts on ocean light in Arctic ecosystems
Abstract
Climate change is causing major sea ice losses, leading to increased light availability across polar marine ecosystems, however the consequences are largely unknown. We quantify how future conditions for sea ice and snow, storm-driven waves, clouds, ozone, air and ocean temperature, and chlorophyll-a will affect seasonal absorption and reflection of light in Arctic seas, alongside growth and survival of fish. Using four CMIP6 model inputs and a spectral radiative transfer model, we predict a 75–160% increase in visible light by 2100 in the Northern Bering, Chukchi, and Barents Seas. We predict increased sunlight and warmer summer waters, with reduced phytoplankton levels, will negatively impact cold-water fish species growth and survival during summer, demonstrated here for polar cod. Asynchrony in prey and light availability, with prolonged periods of warmer waters, will reduce polar cod survival in the fall and restrict habitats in these regions after 2060. Warmer-water species like walleye pollock and Atlantic cod will be less impacted but may struggle at high latitudes during the polar night. Ocean warming coupled with increased light availability will accelerate changes in Arctic ecosystems, compromising the growth and survival of Arctic species in transitional zones and facilitating the northward expansion of boreal species.
Link to open source paper: nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64790-4
Optical properties of water:
Reflectance spectra of water bodies depend on their dominant optical constituents: Implications for satellite sensing of water quality constituents
https://water.rs.umn.edu/spectra
Wikipedia: Electromagnetic absorption by water
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_absorption_by_water
How SCUBA divers see various colors with depth underwater:
marinedynamics.org/academy/2018/11/05/looking-into-the-underwater-world-how-colour-is-perceived-beneath-the-waves
Reflectance of smooth water with angle of incidence:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflectance#/media/File:Water_reflectivity.jpg
Wikipedia: Brewster's Angle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster%27s_angle
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
