Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting

Previous studies found that in Arctic regions with severe sea ice melting, summer ending (SE) variations are significantly larger than summer onset (SO) variations in the past few decades. Based on short-term observations, researchers preliminarily suggested that radiation variations caused by an ea...

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Main Authors: Xiaoye Yang, Gang Zeng, Wei-Chyung Wang, Vedaste Iyakaremye, Shiyue Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2022-01-01
Series:Environmental Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9dad
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author Xiaoye Yang
Gang Zeng
Wei-Chyung Wang
Vedaste Iyakaremye
Shiyue Zhang
author_facet Xiaoye Yang
Gang Zeng
Wei-Chyung Wang
Vedaste Iyakaremye
Shiyue Zhang
author_sort Xiaoye Yang
collection DOAJ
description Previous studies found that in Arctic regions with severe sea ice melting, summer ending (SE) variations are significantly larger than summer onset (SO) variations in the past few decades. Based on short-term observations, researchers preliminarily suggested that radiation variations caused by an earlier melting onset could be the possible reason for asymmetric Arctic SO/ending variations (AASV). Based on observations and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) Reanalysis I dataset, here we quantitatively characterize AASV by calculating the difference between the 11 year sliding trend of Arctic SO and SE. The results show that AASV positively correlates with sea ice melting in summer. The increased summer sea ice melting increases the area to absorb short-wave radiation in summer and then release more long-wave radiation to heat the lower atmosphere and delay the peak time of long-wave radiation releasing. The variations in radiation lead to a significant delay of the Arctic SE, with no significant variations in SO. We introduce CMIP6 historical and future simulations of 15 models to verify further the relationship between AASV and summer sea ice melting. Historical run reproduces the observed asymmetry, and future simulations under various warming levels show that AASV will vanish with disappeared melting variations or be strengthened with increased melting. The latter could delay freeze-up and further exacerbate the following years’ melting, which will enhance AASV. Furthermore, AASV will delay the onset and peak time of Arctic amplification.
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spelling doaj.art-75395be04bc249f7811c8182577500b92023-08-09T15:19:12ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-01171111403910.1088/1748-9326/ac9dadAsymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice meltingXiaoye Yang0Gang Zeng1Wei-Chyung Wang2Vedaste Iyakaremye3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6791-1464Shiyue Zhang4Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education (KLME), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology , Nanjing, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education (KLME), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology , Nanjing, People’s Republic of ChinaAtmospheric Sciences Research Center, University at Albany, State University of New York , Albany, NY, United States of AmericaKey Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education (KLME), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology , Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; Rwanda Meteorology Agency , Kigali, RwandaKey Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education (KLME), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology , Nanjing, People’s Republic of ChinaPrevious studies found that in Arctic regions with severe sea ice melting, summer ending (SE) variations are significantly larger than summer onset (SO) variations in the past few decades. Based on short-term observations, researchers preliminarily suggested that radiation variations caused by an earlier melting onset could be the possible reason for asymmetric Arctic SO/ending variations (AASV). Based on observations and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) Reanalysis I dataset, here we quantitatively characterize AASV by calculating the difference between the 11 year sliding trend of Arctic SO and SE. The results show that AASV positively correlates with sea ice melting in summer. The increased summer sea ice melting increases the area to absorb short-wave radiation in summer and then release more long-wave radiation to heat the lower atmosphere and delay the peak time of long-wave radiation releasing. The variations in radiation lead to a significant delay of the Arctic SE, with no significant variations in SO. We introduce CMIP6 historical and future simulations of 15 models to verify further the relationship between AASV and summer sea ice melting. Historical run reproduces the observed asymmetry, and future simulations under various warming levels show that AASV will vanish with disappeared melting variations or be strengthened with increased melting. The latter could delay freeze-up and further exacerbate the following years’ melting, which will enhance AASV. Furthermore, AASV will delay the onset and peak time of Arctic amplification.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9dadArcticsea icesummer onsetsummer endingasymmetry variations
spellingShingle Xiaoye Yang
Gang Zeng
Wei-Chyung Wang
Vedaste Iyakaremye
Shiyue Zhang
Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting
Environmental Research Letters
Arctic
sea ice
summer onset
summer ending
asymmetry variations
title Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting
title_full Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting
title_fullStr Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting
title_full_unstemmed Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting
title_short Asymmetry variations in Arctic summer onset and ending: Role of sea-ice melting
title_sort asymmetry variations in arctic summer onset and ending role of sea ice melting
topic Arctic
sea ice
summer onset
summer ending
asymmetry variations
url https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9dad
work_keys_str_mv AT xiaoyeyang asymmetryvariationsinarcticsummeronsetandendingroleofseaicemelting
AT gangzeng asymmetryvariationsinarcticsummeronsetandendingroleofseaicemelting
AT weichyungwang asymmetryvariationsinarcticsummeronsetandendingroleofseaicemelting
AT vedasteiyakaremye asymmetryvariationsinarcticsummeronsetandendingroleofseaicemelting
AT shiyuezhang asymmetryvariationsinarcticsummeronsetandendingroleofseaicemelting