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Tropical Decadal Variability and the Rate of Arctic Sea Ice Decrease

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl079989· OSTI ID:1609284
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne (Australia)
  3. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Monash Univ., Melbourne, VIC (Australia)
  4. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  5. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
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The trend for cold-season (November-December-January-February, NDJF) decreases in Arctic sea ice extent from 2000 to 2014 was about a factor of two larger than the 1979–2000 trend, and the warm-season (June-July-August-September, JJAS) trend was about a factor of three larger. Sensitivity experiments with an atmospheric model show that a negative convective heating anomaly in the tropical Pacific, associated with the negative Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation phase after 2000, produces an atmospheric teleconnection pattern over the Arctic comparable to the observations in NDJF but not JJAS. A positive convective heating anomaly over the tropical Atlantic, associated with warming sea surface temperatures there in the 2000–2014 period, produces a teleconnection pattern over the Arctic comparable to the observations in JJAS but not NDJF. Thus, we surmise the observed anomalously strong Arctic surface winds and sea ice drifts after 2000, which produced accelerated decreases in sea ice extent, likely had contributions from decadal-time scale variability in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic.
Research Organization:
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
FC02-97ER62402
OSTI ID:
1609284
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1478428
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 20 Vol. 45; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (3)

Pacific Ocean Variability Influences the Time of Emergence of a Seasonally Ice‐Free Arctic Ocean journal February 2019
Nonstationary Teleconnection Between the Pacific Ocean and Arctic Sea Ice journal January 2020
Arctic–Eurasian climate linkage induced by tropical ocean variability journal August 2019

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58 GEOSCIENCES
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