Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss
The satellite record since 1979 shows downward trends in Arctic sea ice extent in all months, which are smallest in winter and largest in September. Previous studies have linked changes in winter atmospheric circulation, anomalously cold extremes and large snowfalls in mid-latitudes to rapid decline...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014036 |
| _version_ | 1797748417835827200 |
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| author | Qiuhong Tang Xuejun Zhang Xiaohua Yang Jennifer A Francis |
| author_facet | Qiuhong Tang Xuejun Zhang Xiaohua Yang Jennifer A Francis |
| author_sort | Qiuhong Tang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The satellite record since 1979 shows downward trends in Arctic sea ice extent in all months, which are smallest in winter and largest in September. Previous studies have linked changes in winter atmospheric circulation, anomalously cold extremes and large snowfalls in mid-latitudes to rapid decline of Arctic sea ice in the preceding autumn. Using observational analyses, we show that the winter atmospheric circulation change and cold extremes are also associated with winter sea ice reduction through an apparently distinct mechanism from those related to autumn sea ice loss. Associated with winter sea ice reduction, a high-pressure anomaly prevails over the subarctic, which in part results from fewer cyclones owing to a weakened gradient in sea surface temperature and lower baroclinicity over sparse sea ice. The results suggest that the winter atmospheric circulation at high northern latitudes associated with Arctic sea ice loss, especially in the winter, favors the occurrence of cold winter extremes at middle latitudes of the northern continents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:04:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48918ab770fa43ef8b698a6813537a73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:04:28Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-48918ab770fa43ef8b698a6813537a732023-08-09T14:24:33ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262013-01-018101403610.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014036Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice lossQiuhong Tang0Xuejun Zhang1Xiaohua Yang2Jennifer A Francis3Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University , New Brunswick, NJ, USAThe satellite record since 1979 shows downward trends in Arctic sea ice extent in all months, which are smallest in winter and largest in September. Previous studies have linked changes in winter atmospheric circulation, anomalously cold extremes and large snowfalls in mid-latitudes to rapid decline of Arctic sea ice in the preceding autumn. Using observational analyses, we show that the winter atmospheric circulation change and cold extremes are also associated with winter sea ice reduction through an apparently distinct mechanism from those related to autumn sea ice loss. Associated with winter sea ice reduction, a high-pressure anomaly prevails over the subarctic, which in part results from fewer cyclones owing to a weakened gradient in sea surface temperature and lower baroclinicity over sparse sea ice. The results suggest that the winter atmospheric circulation at high northern latitudes associated with Arctic sea ice loss, especially in the winter, favors the occurrence of cold winter extremes at middle latitudes of the northern continents.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/01403686A1086A05Arcticsea icecold winter extremenorthern continents |
| spellingShingle | Qiuhong Tang Xuejun Zhang Xiaohua Yang Jennifer A Francis Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss Environmental Research Letters 86A10 86A05 Arctic sea ice cold winter extreme northern continents |
| title | Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss |
| title_full | Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss |
| title_fullStr | Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss |
| title_short | Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss |
| title_sort | cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to arctic sea ice loss |
| topic | 86A10 86A05 Arctic sea ice cold winter extreme northern continents |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014036 |
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