A recent weakening of winter temperature association between Arctic and Asia

Arctic warming and its association with the mid-latitudes has been a hot topic over the past two decades. Although many studies have explored these issues, it is not clear how their linkage has changed over time. The results show that winter low tropospheric temperatures in Asia experienced two phas...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Research Letters
Main Authors: Bingyi Wu, Zhenkun Li, Jennifer A Francis, Shuoyi Ding
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2022
Subjects:
Asian winter temperature
phasic variation
Arctic–Asia linkage
Arctic sea ice loss
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
TD1-1066
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Science
Q
Physics
QC1-999
Arctic
North Atlantic
North Atlantic oscillation
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4b51
https://doaj.org/article/52b49c71ca974d3abb4662c7217493f2
Description
Summary:Arctic warming and its association with the mid-latitudes has been a hot topic over the past two decades. Although many studies have explored these issues, it is not clear how their linkage has changed over time. The results show that winter low tropospheric temperatures in Asia experienced two phases over the past two decades. Phase I (2007/2008–2012/2013) was characterized by a warm Arctic and cold Eurasia, and phase II by a warm Arctic and warm Eurasia (2013/2014–2018/2019). A strengthened association in winter temperature between the Arctic and Asia occurred during phase I, followed by a weakened linkage during phase II. Simulation experiments forced by observed Arctic sea ice variability largely reproduce observed patterns, suggesting that Arctic sea ice loss contributes to phasic (or low-frequency) variations in winter atmosphere and makes the Arctic–Asia temperature association fluctuate over time. The weakening of the Arctic–Asia linkage post-2012/2013 was associated with amplified and expanded Arctic warming. The corresponding anomalies in sea level pressure resembled a positive-phase North Atlantic Oscillation during phase II. This study implies that the phasic warm Arctic—cold Eurasia and warm Arctic—warm Eurasia patterns would alternately happen in the context of Arctic sea ice loss, which increases the difficulty in correctly predicting Asian winter temperature.

Similar Items