Winter North Atlantic low cloud anomalies associated with the northern hemisphere annular mode

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (20) ◽  
pp. 3357-3360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungsu Park ◽  
Conway B. Leovy
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Annular Mode ◽  
Low Cloud ◽  
Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode

scholarly journals Autumn Sea Ice Cover, Winter Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode, and Winter Precipitation in Eurasia

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 3968-3981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Li ◽  
Huijun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Winter Precipitation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
Laptev Sea ◽  
Annular Mode ◽  
Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode

Abstract This paper examines the impacts of the previous autumn sea ice cover (SIC) on the winter Northern Hemisphere annular mode (NAM) and winter precipitation in Eurasia. The coherent variations among the Kara–Laptev autumn SIC, winter NAM, and Eurasian winter precipitation appear after the year 1982, which may prove useful for seasonal prediction of winter precipitation. From a physical point of view, the Kara–Laptev SIC and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies develop in autumn and remain in winter. Given that winter NAM is characterized by an Arctic–midlatitude seesaw centered over the Barents Sea and Kara–Laptev Seas, it is closely linked to the Arctic forcing that corresponds to the Kara–Laptev sea ice increase (reduction) and the associated surface temperature cooling (warming). Moreover, based on both model simulations and observations, the diminishing Kara–Laptev sea ice does induce positive sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies over high-latitude Eurasia in winter, which is accompanied by a significant surface warming in northern Eurasia and cooling south of the Mediterranean. This surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly pattern facilitates increases of specific humidity in northern Eurasia with a major ridge extending southward along the East Asian coast. As a result, the anomalous Eurasian winter precipitation has a more zonal band structure.

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