scholarly journals Climate variability in subarctic area for the last two millennia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Nicolle ◽  
Maxime Debret ◽  
Nicolas Massei ◽  
Christophe Colin ◽  
Anne deVernal ◽  
...  

Abstract. To put in perspective the recent climate change, it is necessary to extend the instrumental climate records with proxy data from palaeoclimate archives. Arctic climate variability for the last two millennia has been investigated using statistical and signal analyses from three regionally averaged records from the North Atlantic, Siberia and Alaska based on many sort of proxy data archived in the Arctic 2k database. In the North Atlantic and Alaska areas, the major climatic trend is characterized by long-term cooling interrupted by the recent warming that started at the beginning of the 19th century. This cooling trend is not clearly visible in the Siberian region. The Little Ice Age (LIA) was identified from the individual series and is characterized by an important spatial and temporal expression of climate variability. It started at the earliest by around 1200 AD and ended at the latest in the middle of the 20th century. The large spread temporal coverage of LIA did not show regional consistency or particular spatial distribution and did not show relationship with archive/proxy type either. A focus on the last two centuries shows a recent warming characterized by a well-marked warming trend paralleling with increasing greenhouse gas emissions. It also shows a multi-decadal variability likely due to natural processes acting on the internal climate system variability at regional scale. A 16–30 years cycle is found in Alaska and seems to be linked to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) whereas ~ 20–30 and ~ 50–90 years periodicities characterize the North Atlantic climate regime, likely in relation with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). These regional features are apparently linked to the sea-ice cover fluctuations through ice-temperature positive feedback.

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Nicolle ◽  
Maxime Debret ◽  
Nicolas Massei ◽  
Christophe Colin ◽  
Anne deVernal ◽  
...  

Abstract. To put recent climate change in perspective, it is necessary to extend the instrumental climate records with proxy data from paleoclimate archives. Arctic climate variability for the last 2 millennia has been investigated using statistical and signal analyses from three regionally averaged records from the North Atlantic, Siberia and Alaska based on many types of proxy data archived in the Arctic 2k database v1.1.1. In the North Atlantic and Alaska, the major climatic trend is characterized by long-term cooling interrupted by recent warming that started at the beginning of the 19th century. This cooling is visible in the Siberian region at two sites, warming at the others. The cooling of the Little Ice Age (LIA) was identified from the individual series, but it is characterized by wide-range spatial and temporal expression of climate variability, in contrary to the Medieval Climate Anomaly. The LIA started at the earliest by around AD 1200 and ended at the latest in the middle of the 20th century. The widespread temporal coverage of the LIA did not show regional consistency or particular spatial distribution and did not show a relationship with archive or proxy type either. A focus on the last 2 centuries shows a recent warming characterized by a well-marked warming trend parallel with increasing greenhouse gas emissions. It also shows a multidecadal variability likely due to natural processes acting on the internal climate system on a regional scale. A ∼ 16–30-year cycle is found in Alaska and seems to be linked to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, whereas ∼ 20–30- and ∼ 50–90-year periodicities characterize the North Atlantic climate variability, likely in relation with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. These regional features are probably linked to the sea ice cover fluctuations through ice–temperature positive feedback.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (21) ◽  
pp. 5668-5677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir A. Semenov ◽  
Mojib Latif ◽  
Dietmar Dommenget ◽  
Noel S. Keenlyside ◽  
Alexander Strehz ◽  
...  

Abstract The twentieth-century Northern Hemisphere surface climate exhibits a long-term warming trend largely caused by anthropogenic forcing, with natural decadal climate variability superimposed on it. This study addresses the possible origin and strength of internal decadal climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere during the recent decades. The authors present results from a set of climate model simulations that suggest natural internal multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic–Arctic sector could have considerably contributed to the Northern Hemisphere surface warming since 1980. Although covering only a few percent of the earth’s surface, the Arctic may have provided the largest share in this. It is hypothesized that a stronger meridional overturning circulation in the Atlantic and the associated increase in northward heat transport enhanced the heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere in the North Atlantic region and especially in the North Atlantic portion of the Arctic because of anomalously strong sea ice melt. The model results stress the potential importance of natural internal multidecadal variability originating in the North Atlantic–Arctic sector in generating interdecadal climate changes, not only on a regional scale, but also possibly on a hemispheric and even a global scale.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-512
Author(s):  
A. N. Novigatsky ◽  
S. V. Gladyshev ◽  
A. A. Klyuvitkin ◽  
N. V. Kozina ◽  
V. A. Artemyev ◽  
...  

The article briefly shows the results of the expedition, expanding Russia’s contribution to the international program CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability), aimed at studying and predicting climate change. The geological part of the expedition is aimed at studying the sedimentary system of the North Atlantic and the Arctic. During the voyage, a unique material was received, requiring additional analysis and further publication.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-656
Author(s):  
K. Grosfeld ◽  
G. Lohmann ◽  
N. Rimbu ◽  
K. Fraedrich ◽  
F. Lunkeit

Abstract. We investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic realm, using observational data, proxy data and model results. The dominant pattern of multidecadal variability of SST depicts a monopolar structure in the North Atlantic during the instrumental period with cold (warm) phases during 1900–1925 and 1970–1990 (1870–1890 and 1940–1960). Two atmospheric general circulation models of different complexity forced with global SST over the last century show SLP anomaly patterns from the warm and cold phases of the North Atlantic similar to the corresponding observed patterns. The analysis of a sediment core from Cariaco Basin, a coral record from the northern Red Sea, and a long-term sea level pressure (SLP) reconstruction reveals that the multidecadal mode of the atmospheric circulation characterizes climate variability also in the pre-industrial era. The analyses of SLP reconstruction and proxy data depict a persistent atmospheric mode at least over the last 300 years, where SLP shows a dipolar structure in response to monopolar North Atlantic SST, in a similar way as the models' responses do. The combined analysis of observational and proxy data with model experiments provides an understanding of multidecadal climate modes during the late Holocene. The related patterns are useful for the interpretation of proxy data in the North Atlantic realm.


2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Grosfeld ◽  
G. Lohmann ◽  
N. Rimbu ◽  
K. Fraedrich ◽  
F. Lunkeit

Abstract. We investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic realm, using observational data, proxy data and model results. The dominant pattern of multidecadal variability of SST depicts a monopolar structure in the North Atlantic during the instrumental period with cold (warm) phases during 1900–1925 and 1970–1990 (1870–1890 and 1940–1960). Two atmospheric general circulation models of different complexity forced with global SST over the last century show SLP anomaly patterns from the warm and cold phases of the North Atlantic similar to the corresponding observed patterns. The analysis of a sediment core from Cariaco Basin, a coral record from the northern Red Sea, and a long-term sea level pressure (SLP) reconstruction reveals that the multidecadal mode of the atmospheric circulation characterizes climate variability also in the pre-industrial era. The analyses of SLP reconstruction and proxy data depict a persistent atmospheric mode at least over the last 300 years, where SLP shows a dipolar structure in response to monopolar North Atlantic SST, in a similar way as the models' responses do. The combined analysis of observational and proxy data with model experiments provides an understanding of multidecadal climate modes during the late Holocene. The related patterns are useful for the interpretation of proxy data in the North Atlantic realm.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Madonna ◽  
Gabriel Hes ◽  
Clio Michel ◽  
Camille Li ◽  
Peter Yu Feng Siew

<p>Extratropical cyclones are a key player for the global energy budget as they transport a large amount of moisture and heat from mid- to high-latitudes. One of the main corridors for cyclones entering the Arctic from the North Atlantic is the Barents Sea, a region that has experienced the largest decrease in winter sea ice during the past decades. On the one hand, some studies showed that moisture transported by cyclones to the Arctic can lead to drastic temperature increases and sea ice melt. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the location of the sea ice edge can influence the tracks of cyclones. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what controls cyclone tracks through the Barents Sea into the Arctic to explain and potentially predict climate variability at high latitudes.</p><p>To address this question, we track cyclones from 1979 to 2018 in the ERA-Interim data set, characterizing and quantifying them depending on their genesis location and path. The focus is on cyclones entering the Barents Sea from the North Atlantic as they carry the most moisture into the Arctic. Despite a clear declining trend in sea ice in the Barents Sea, our results show neither significant changes in cyclone frequency nor in their tracks. However, we find that the large-scale flow and in particular the presence or absence of blocking in the Barents Sea influence the cyclone frequency in this region, providing a potential mechanism that controls high latitude climate variability.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1639-1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria M. Martin-Garcia ◽  
Francisco J. Sierro ◽  
José A. Flores ◽  
Fátima Abrantes

Abstract. The southwestern Iberian margin is highly sensitive to changes in the distribution of North Atlantic currents and to the position of oceanic fronts. In this work, the evolution of oceanographic parameters from 812 to 530 ka (MIS20–MIS14) is studied based on the analysis of planktonic foraminifer assemblages from site IODP-U1385 (37∘34.285′ N, 10∘7.562′ W; 2585 m b.s.l.). By comparing the obtained results with published records from other North Atlantic sites between 41 and 55∘ N, basin-wide paleoceanographic conditions are reconstructed. Variations of assemblages dwelling in different water masses indicate a major change in the general North Atlantic circulation during MIS16, coinciding with the definite establishment of the 100 ky cyclicity associated with the mid-Pleistocene transition. At the surface, this change consisted in the redistribution of water masses, with the subsequent thermal variation, and occurred linked to the northwestward migration of the Arctic Front (AF), and the increase in the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation with respect to previous glacials. During glacials prior to MIS16, the NADW formation was very weak, which drastically slowed down the surface circulation; the AF was at a southerly position and the North Atlantic Current (NAC) diverted southeastwards, developing steep south–north, and east–west, thermal gradients and blocking the arrival of warm water, with associated moisture, to high latitudes. During MIS16, the increase in the meridional overturning circulation, in combination with the northwestward AF shift, allowed the arrival of the NAC to subpolar latitudes, multiplying the moisture availability for ice-sheet growth, which could have worked as a positive feedback to prolong the glacials towards 100 ky cycles.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard F. Borchert ◽  
Alexander J. Winkler

<p>Vegetation in the northern high latitudes shows a characteristic pattern of persistent changes as documented by multi-decadal satellite observations. The prevailing explanation that these mainly increasing trends (greening) are a consequence of external CO<sub>2</sub> forcing, i.e., due to the ubiquitous effect of CO2-induced fertilization and/or warming of temperature-limited ecosystems, however does not explain why some areas also show decreasing trends of vegetation cover (browning). We propose here to consider the dominant mode of multi-decadal internal climate variability in the north Atlantic region, the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV), as the missing link in the explanation of greening and browning trend patterns in the northern high latitudes. Such a link would also imply potential for decadal predictions of ecosystem changes in the northern high latitudes.</p><p>An analysis of observational and reanalysis data sets for the period 1979-2019 shows that locations characterized by greening trends largely coincide with warming summer temperature and increasing precipitation. Wherever either cooling or decreasing precipitation occurs, browning trends are observed over this period. These precipitation and temperature patterns are significantly correlated with a North Atlantic sea surface temperature index that represents the AMV signal, indicating its role in modulating greening/browning trend patterns in the northern high latitudes.</p><p>Using two large ensembles of coupled Earth system model simulations (100 members of MPI-ESM-LR Grand Ensemble and 32 members of the IPSL-CM6A-LR Large Ensemble), we separate the greening/browning pattern caused by external CO<sub>2</sub> forcing from that caused by internal climate variability associated with the AMV. These sets of model simulations enable a clean separation of the externally forced signal from internal variability. While the greening and browning patterns in the simulations do not agree with observations in terms of magnitude and location, we find consistent internally generated greening/browning patterns in both models caused by changes in temperature and precipitation linked to the AMV signal. These greening/browning trend patterns are of the same magnitude as those caused by the external forcing alone. Our work therefore shows that internally-generated changes of vegetation in the northern lands, driven by AMV, are potentially as large as those caused by external CO<sub>2</sub> forcing. We thus argue that the observed pattern of greening/browning in the northern high latitudes could originate from the combined effect of rising CO<sub>2</sub> as well as the AMV.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Liu ◽  
Jianhua Lu ◽  
Yimin Liu ◽  
Guoxiong Wu

AbstractWintertime precipitation is vital to the growth of glaciers in the northern hemisphere. We find a tripole mode of precipitation (PTM), with each pole of the mode extending zonally over the eastern hemisphere roughly between 30°W and 120°E, and the positive/negative/positive structure for its positive phase extending meridionally from the Arctic to the continental North Africa–Eurasia. The large-scale dynamics associated with the PTM is explored. The positive phase of the PTM is associated with the negative while eastward-shifted phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and a zonal band of positive SST anomaly in the tropics, together with a narrowed Hadley cell and weakened Ferrel cell. While being north-eastward tilted and separated from their North Africa-Eurasia counterpart in the climatological mean, the upper-tropospheric westerly jets over the east Pacific and north Atlantic become extending zonally and shifting southward and hence form a circumpolar subtropical jet as a whole by connecting with the westerly jets over the North Africa-Eurasia. The enhanced zonal winds over the north Atlantic promote more synoptic-scale transient eddies which are waveguided by the jet streams. The polar vortex weakens and cold air dips southward from the North Pole. Further diagnosis of the E-vectors suggests that transient eddies have a positive feedback on the weakening of Ferrel cell. Opposite features are associated with the negative phase of the PTM. The reconstructed time series using multiple linear regression on the NAO index and the tropical SST averaged over 20°S– 20°N, can explain 62.4% of the variance of the original the original precipitation time series.


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