Fluctuating Atlantic inflows modulate Arctic atlantification

Enhanced warm, salty subarctic inflows drive high-latitude atlantification, which weakens oceanic stratification, amplifies heat fluxes, and reduces sea ice. In this work, we show that the atmospheric Arctic Dipole (AD) associated with anticyclonic winds over North America and cyclonic winds over Eu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Polyakov, Igor V., Ingvaldsen, Randi B., Pnyushkov, Andrey V., Bhatt, Uma S., Francis, Jennifer A., Janout, Markus, Kwok, Ronald, Skagseth, Øystein
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2023
Subjects:
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Barents Sea
Fram Strait
Nordic Seas
North Atlantic
Sea ice
Subarctic
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adh5158
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.adh5158
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Summary:Enhanced warm, salty subarctic inflows drive high-latitude atlantification, which weakens oceanic stratification, amplifies heat fluxes, and reduces sea ice. In this work, we show that the atmospheric Arctic Dipole (AD) associated with anticyclonic winds over North America and cyclonic winds over Eurasia modulates inflows from the North Atlantic across the Nordic Seas. The alternating AD phases create a “switchgear mechanism.” From 2007 to 2021, this switchgear mechanism weakened northward inflows and enhanced sea-ice export across Fram Strait and increased inflows throughout the Barents Sea. By favoring stronger Arctic Ocean circulation, transferring freshwater into the Amerasian Basin, boosting stratification, and lowering oceanic heat fluxes there after 2007, AD+ contributed to slowing sea-ice loss. A transition to an AD− phase may accelerate the Arctic sea-ice decline, which would further change the Arctic climate system.

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