Tropical Forcing of Barents‐Kara Sea Ice During Autumn
Abstract The causality of the link between Autumn Barents‐Kara (BK) sea ice and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is uncertain, given teleconnections stemming from the tropics may influence both the extra‐tropics and the Arctic. We explore the relationship between tropical rainfall and BK...
| Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL102768 https://doaj.org/article/420e7c3ecfb544929970e754990e9d3b |
| Summary: | Abstract The causality of the link between Autumn Barents‐Kara (BK) sea ice and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is uncertain, given teleconnections stemming from the tropics may influence both the extra‐tropics and the Arctic. We explore the relationship between tropical rainfall and BK sea ice in autumn, by nudging the tropics to follow observed variability in otherwise free running ensemble simulations. Tropical forcing alone can skillfully reproduce a significant fraction of observed interannual NAO variability in late autumn. We also show that interannual variability in the NAO is strongly related to simulated BK sea ice. As a result, we are able to reproduce some of the observed link between tropical rainfall and autumn BK sea ice. However, only during the strong 1997 El Niño are clear tropical influences at high latitudes found. Large ensembles and strong tropical forcing are required to detect tropical forced variability in models at high latitudes. |
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