scholarly journals Arctic-Mid-Latitude Linkages in a Nonlinear Quasi-Geostrophic Atmospheric Model

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dörthe Handorf ◽  
Klaus Dethloff ◽  
Sabine Erxleben ◽  
Ralf Jaiser ◽  
Michael V. Kurgansky
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Model ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation ◽  
The Impact

A quasi-geostrophic three-level T63 model of the wintertime atmospheric circulation of the Northern Hemisphere has been applied to investigate the impact of Arctic amplification (increase in surface air temperatures and loss of Arctic sea ice during the last 15 years) on the mid-latitude large-scale atmospheric circulation. The model demonstrates a mid-latitude response to an Arctic diabatic heating anomaly. A clear shift towards a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO−) during low sea-ice-cover conditions occurs, connected with weakening of mid-latitude westerlies over the Atlantic and colder winters over Northern Eurasia. Compared to reanalysis data, there is no clear model response with respect to the Pacific Ocean and North America.

scholarly journals Cryospheric Impacts of Soviet River Diversion Schemes

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Holt ◽  
P. M. Kelly ◽  
B. S. G. Cherry
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Ice Concentration ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Impact

Soviet plans to divert water from rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean have led to research into the impact of a reduction in discharge on Arctic sea ice. We consider the mechanisms by which discharge reductions might affect sea-ice cover and then test various hypotheses related to these mechanisms. We find several large areas over which sea-ice concentration correlates significantly with variations in river discharge, supporting two particular hypotheses. The first hypothesis concerns the area where the initial impacts are likely to which is the Kara Sea. Reduced riverflow is associated occur, with decreased sea-ice concentration in October, at the time of ice formation. This is believed to be the result of decreased freshening of the surface layer. The second hypothesis concerns possible effects on the large-scale current system of the Arctic Ocean and, in particular, on the inflow of Atlantic and Pacific water. These effects occur as a result of changes in the strength of northward-flowing gradient currents associated with variations in river discharge. Although it is still not certain that substantial transfers of riverflow will take place, it is concluded that the possibility of significant cryospheric effects and, hence, large-scale climate impact should not be neglected.

scholarly journals The Impact of Regional Arctic Sea Ice Loss on Atmospheric Circulation and the NAO

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 889-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus A. Pedersen ◽  
Ivana Cvijanovic ◽  
Peter L. Langen ◽  
Bo M. Vinther
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sea Ice Reduction

Abstract Reduction of the Arctic sea ice cover can affect the atmospheric circulation and thus impact the climate beyond the Arctic. The atmospheric response may, however, vary with the geographical location of sea ice loss. The atmospheric sensitivity to the location of sea ice loss is studied using a general circulation model in a configuration that allows combination of a prescribed sea ice cover and an active mixed layer ocean. This hybrid setup makes it possible to simulate the isolated impact of sea ice loss and provides a more complete response compared to experiments with fixed sea surface temperatures. Three investigated sea ice scenarios with ice loss in different regions all exhibit substantial near-surface warming, which peaks over the area of ice loss. The maximum warming is found during winter, delayed compared to the maximum sea ice reduction. The wintertime response of the midlatitude atmospheric circulation shows a nonuniform sensitivity to the location of sea ice reduction. While all three scenarios exhibit decreased zonal winds related to high-latitude geopotential height increases, the magnitudes and locations of the anomalies vary between the simulations. Investigation of the North Atlantic Oscillation reveals a high sensitivity to the location of the ice loss. The northern center of action exhibits clear shifts in response to the different sea ice reductions. Sea ice loss in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Arctic cause westward and eastward shifts, respectively.

scholarly journals The GFDL CM3 Coupled Climate Model: Characteristics of the Ocean and Sea Ice Simulations

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (13) ◽  
pp. 3520-3544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Griffies ◽  
Michael Winton ◽  
Leo J. Donner ◽  
Larry W. Horowitz ◽  
Stephanie M. Downes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Atmospheric Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climate Simulation ◽  
Climate Indices ◽  
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ◽  
Coupled Climate Model

Abstract This paper documents time mean simulation characteristics from the ocean and sea ice components in a new coupled climate model developed at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). The GFDL Climate Model version 3 (CM3) is formulated with effectively the same ocean and sea ice components as the earlier CM2.1 yet with extensive developments made to the atmosphere and land model components. Both CM2.1 and CM3 show stable mean climate indices, such as large-scale circulation and sea surface temperatures (SSTs). There are notable improvements in the CM3 climate simulation relative to CM2.1, including a modified SST bias pattern and reduced biases in the Arctic sea ice cover. The authors anticipate SST differences between CM2.1 and CM3 in lower latitudes through analysis of the atmospheric fluxes at the ocean surface in corresponding Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations. In contrast, SST changes in the high latitudes are dominated by ocean and sea ice effects absent in AMIP simulations. The ocean interior simulation in CM3 is generally warmer than in CM2.1, which adversely impacts the interior biases.

scholarly journals Internal Variability in Projections of Twenty-First-Century Arctic Sea Ice Loss: Role of the Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin J. Wettstein ◽  
Clara Deser
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Internal Variability ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Rossby Wave Train ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice Loss

Abstract Internal variability in twenty-first-century summer Arctic sea ice loss and its relationship to the large-scale atmospheric circulation is investigated in a 39-member Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) ensemble for the period 2000–61. Each member is subject to an identical greenhouse gas emissions scenario and differs only in the atmospheric model component's initial condition. September Arctic sea ice extent trends during 2020–59 range from −2.0 × 106 to −5.7 × 106 km2 across the 39 ensemble members, indicating a substantial role for internal variability in future Arctic sea ice loss projections. A similar nearly threefold range (from −7.0 × 103 to −19 × 103 km3) is found for summer sea ice volume trends. Higher rates of summer Arctic sea ice loss in CCSM3 are associated with enhanced transpolar drift and Fram Strait ice export driven by surface wind and sea level pressure patterns. Over the Arctic, the covarying atmospheric circulation patterns resemble the so-called Arctic dipole, with maximum amplitude between April and July. Outside the Arctic, an atmospheric Rossby wave train over the Pacific sector is associated with internal ice loss variability. Interannual covariability patterns between sea ice and atmospheric circulation are similar to those based on trends, suggesting that similar processes govern internal variability over a broad range of time scales. Interannual patterns of CCSM3 ice–atmosphere covariability compare well with those in nature and in the newer CCSM4 version of the model, lending confidence to the results. Atmospheric teleconnection patterns in CCSM3 suggest that the tropical Pacific modulates Arctic sea ice variability via the aforementioned Rossby wave train. Large ensembles with other coupled models are needed to corroborate these CCSM3-based findings.

scholarly journals Evidence for an increasing role of ocean heat in Arctic winter sea ice growth

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Robert Ricker ◽  
Frank Kauker ◽  
Axel Schweiger ◽  
Stefan Hendricks ◽  
Jinlun Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Growth ◽  
Marginal Seas ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Barents And Kara Seas ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWe investigate how sea ice decline in summer and warmer ocean and surface temperatures in winter affect sea ice growth in the Arctic. Sea ice volume changes are estimated from satellite observations during winter from 2002 to 2019 and partitioned into thermodynamic growth and dynamic volume change. Both components are compared to validated sea ice-ocean models forced by reanalysis data to extend observations back to 1980 and to understand the mechanisms that cause the observed trends and variability. We find that a negative feedback driven by the increasing sea ice retreat in summer yields increasing thermodynamic ice growth during winter in the Arctic marginal seas eastward from the Laptev Sea to the Beaufort Sea. However, in the Barents and Kara Seas, this feedback seems to be overpowered by the impact of increasing oceanic heat flux and air temperatures, resulting in negative trends in thermodynamic ice growth of -2 km3month-1yr-1 on average over 2002-2019 derived from satellite observations.

scholarly journals Summer Arctic sea ice albedo in CMIP5 models

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1987-1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Koenigk ◽  
A. Devasthale ◽  
K.-G. Karlsson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Spatial and temporal variations of summer sea ice albedo over the Arctic are analyzed using an ensemble of historical CMIP5 model simulations. The results are compared to the CLARA-SAL product that is based on long-term satellite observations. The summer sea ice albedo varies substantially among CMIP5 models, and many models show large biases compared to the CLARA-SAL product. Single summer months show an extreme spread of ice albedo among models; July values vary between 0.3 and 0.7 for individual models. The CMIP5 ensemble mean, however, agrees relatively well in the central Arctic but shows too high ice albedo near the ice edges and coasts. In most models, the ice albedo is spatially too uniformly distributed. The summer-to-summer variations seem to be underestimated in many global models, and almost no model is able to reproduce the temporal evolution of ice albedo throughout the summer fully. While the satellite observations indicate the lowest ice albedos during August, the models show minimum values in July and substantially higher values in August. Instead, the June values are often lower in the models than in the satellite observations. This is probably due to too high surface temperatures in June, leading to an early start of the melt season and too cold temperatures in August causing an earlier refreezing in the models. The summer sea ice albedo in the CMIP5 models is strongly governed by surface temperature and snow conditions, particularly during the period of melt onset in early summer and refreezing in late summer. The summer surface net solar radiation of the ice-covered Arctic areas is highly related to the ice albedo in the CMIP5 models. However, the impact of the ice albedo on the sea ice conditions in the CMIP5 models is not clearly visible. This indicates the importance of other Arctic and large-scale processes for the sea ice conditions.

scholarly journals Changes in sea-surface temperature and atmospheric circulation patterns associated with reductions in Arctic sea ice cover in recent decades

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 14149-14159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lejiang Yu ◽  
Shiyuan Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation Patterns ◽  
Arctic Sea

Abstract. In recent decades, the Arctic sea ice has been declining at a rapid pace as the Arctic warms at a rate of twice the global average. The underlying physical mechanisms for the Arctic warming and accelerated sea ice retreat are not fully understood. In this study, we apply a relatively novel statistical method called self-organizing maps (SOM) along with composite analysis to examine the trend and variability of autumn Arctic sea ice in the past three decades and their relationships to large-scale atmospheric circulation changes. Our statistical results show that the anomalous autumn Arctic dipole (AD) (Node 1) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) (Node 9) could explain in a statistical sense as much as 50 % of autumn sea ice decline between 1979 and 2016. The Arctic atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with anomalous sea-surface temperature (SST) patterns over the North Pacific and North Atlantic influence Arctic sea ice primarily through anomalous temperature and water vapor advection and associated radiative feedback.

scholarly journals Contributions from intrinsic low-frequency climate variability to the accelerated decline in Arctic sea ice in recent decades

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lejiang Yu ◽  
Shiyuan Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Self Organizing Maps ◽  
The North ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation Anomalies

Abstract. In recent decades, the Arctic sea ice has been declining at a rapid pace as the Arctic is warmed at a rate of twice the global average. The underlying physical mechanisms for the Arctic warming and accelerated sea ice retreat are not fully understood. In this study, we apply a relatively novel statistical method called Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) to examine the trend and variability of autumn Arctic sea ice in the past four decades and their relationships to large-scale atmospheric circulation changes. Our results show a large portion of the autumn Arctic sea ice decline between 1979 and 2016 may be associated with anomalous autumn Arctic intrinsic atmospheric modes. The Arctic atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with anomalous sea surface temperature patterns over the North Pacific and North Atlantic influence Arctic sea ice primarily through anomalous temperature and water vapor advection and associated radiative feedback.

scholarly journals Cryospheric Impacts of Soviet River Diversion Schemes

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Holt ◽  
P. M. Kelly ◽  
B. S. G. Cherry
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Ice Concentration ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Impact

Soviet plans to divert water from rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean have led to research into the impact of a reduction in discharge on Arctic sea ice. We consider the mechanisms by which discharge reductions might affect sea-ice cover and then test various hypotheses related to these mechanisms. We find several large areas over which sea-ice concentration correlates significantly with variations in river discharge, supporting two particular hypotheses. The first hypothesis concerns the area where the initial impacts are likely to which is the Kara Sea. Reduced riverflow is associated occur, with decreased sea-ice concentration in October, at the time of ice formation. This is believed to be the result of decreased freshening of the surface layer. The second hypothesis concerns possible effects on the large-scale current system of the Arctic Ocean and, in particular, on the inflow of Atlantic and Pacific water. These effects occur as a result of changes in the strength of northward-flowing gradient currents associated with variations in river discharge. Although it is still not certain that substantial transfers of riverflow will take place, it is concluded that the possibility of significant cryospheric effects and, hence, large-scale climate impact should not be neglected.

scholarly journals Dynamical Link between the Barents–Kara Sea Ice and the Arctic Oscillation

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (14) ◽  
pp. 5103-5122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Yi Yang ◽  
Xiaojun Yuan ◽  
Mingfang Ting
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Arctic Oscillation ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Stratospheric Polar Vortex ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Barents And Kara Seas ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation

Abstract The recent accelerated Arctic sea ice decline has been proposed as a possible forcing factor for midlatitude circulation changes, which can be projected onto the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and/or North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) mode. However, the timing and physical mechanisms linking AO responses to the Arctic sea ice forcing are not entirely understood. In this study, the authors suggest a connection between November sea ice extent in the Barents and Kara Seas and the following winter’s atmospheric circulation in terms of the fast sea ice retreat and the subsequent modification of local air–sea heat fluxes. In particular, the dynamical processes that link November sea ice in the Barents and Kara Seas with the development of AO anomalies in February is explored. In response to the lower-tropospheric warming associated with the initial thermal effect of the sea ice loss, the large-scale atmospheric circulation goes through a series of dynamical adjustment processes: The decelerated zonal-mean zonal wind anomalies propagate gradually from the subarctic to midlatitudes in about one month. The equivalent barotropic AO dipole pattern develops in January because of wave–mean flow interaction and firmly establishes itself in February following the weakening and warming of the stratospheric polar vortex. This connection between sea ice loss and the AO mode is robust on time scales ranging from interannual to decadal. Therefore, the recent winter AO weakening and the corresponding midlatitude climate change may be partly associated with the early winter sea ice loss in the Barents and Kara Seas.

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