Global Gravitational-Resonant Waves in the Arctic Basin: Visualizing Hidden Ocean Macrodynamics using 22-Year Passive Microwave Radiometry Data

Elena Sapershtein , Evgeniy Makarov, Igor Sapershtein

The dynamics of the Arctic Ocean's sea ice cover are traditionally viewed through the lens of atmospheric forcing, ocean currents, and thermodynamic processes. In this paper, we propose a fundamentally new paradigm: the sea ice cover acts not as an elastic membrane transmitting mechanical stress, but as a passive two-dimensional indicator (analogous to Chladni figures) that visualizes a macroscopic network of gravitational standing waves in the hydrosphere. Using a 22-year archive (2002–2025) of AMSR-E/AMSR2 passive microwave sea ice concentration data, we developed a novel spatial analysis methodology based on the Radon transform to extract low-frequency kinematic structures from high-frequency radiometric fluctuations. Traditionally discarded as noise, >100% ice concentration anomalies were reinterpreted as volumetric compaction and thickening in convergence zones.

The analysis reveals the existence of five strictly stable transarctic wave axes (0°, 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°) rigidly anchored to the basin's bathymetry (e.g., the Lomonosov Ridge). Spectral and circular variance analyses demonstrate that the wavelengths are highly clustered, proving that the Arctic Basin operates as a closed hydrodynamic resonator. Tracking the spatial phase of these waves over two decades revealed a non-linear, sawtooth kinematic evolution. Cross-correlation with astronomical ephemerides demonstrated that abrupt phase shifts (structural breakdowns of the ice cover) are strictly synchronized with syzygies (46.7% correlation), lunar perigee, and planetary alignments. Our findings challenge the wind-driven paradigm of large-scale sea ice mechanics and offer a new geodynamic framework with profound implications for long-term meteorological and oceanographic forecasting.