Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades
A catastrophic heatwave struck North America (NA) in the summer of 2021, the underlying cause of which currently remains unclear. The reanalysis data (1980–2021) is analyzed to elucidate the mechanism modulating the summer heatwaves. We find the heatwaves over western NA tend to occur concurrently w...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a https://doaj.org/article/6b77cd2aeb614a90adbc87f8232efec9 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6b77cd2aeb614a90adbc87f8232efec9 2023-09-05T13:16:57+02:00 Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades Houwen Wang Yang Gao Yuhang Wang Lifang Sheng 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a https://doaj.org/article/6b77cd2aeb614a90adbc87f8232efec9 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/6b77cd2aeb614a90adbc87f8232efec9 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 17, Iss 7, p 074015 (2022) heatwaves sea ice teleconnection quasi-barotropic ridges Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a 2023-08-13T00:36:40Z A catastrophic heatwave struck North America (NA) in the summer of 2021, the underlying cause of which currently remains unclear. The reanalysis data (1980–2021) is analyzed to elucidate the mechanism modulating the summer heatwaves. We find the heatwaves over western NA tend to occur concurrently with quasi-barotropic ridges (QBTRs). The 2021 record-breaking heatwave, in particular, coincides with an extended eight-day QBTR event. The frequency of QBTRs is modulated by large-scale forcing. During the period of 1980–2000, it is correlated with the Arctic Oscillation. After 2000, however, the QBTR frequency is highly associated with sea ice variations. Specifically, the negative sea ice anomalies in the Chukchi Sea are usually associated with stronger net surface shortwave radiation and low cloud cover, triggering upward motion and a low-pressure center in the low- and mid-troposphere. The low pressure strengthens a stationary wave response, concomitant with two alternately high- and low-pressure centers, inducing more frequent QBTRs over western NA. These findings indicate that further Arctic sea ice loss under a warming climate will likely lead to more devastating heatwaves over western NA. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Chukchi Chukchi Sea Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Chukchi Sea Environmental Research Letters 17 7 074015 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
heatwaves sea ice teleconnection quasi-barotropic ridges Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
heatwaves sea ice teleconnection quasi-barotropic ridges Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Houwen Wang Yang Gao Yuhang Wang Lifang Sheng Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades |
topic_facet |
heatwaves sea ice teleconnection quasi-barotropic ridges Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
A catastrophic heatwave struck North America (NA) in the summer of 2021, the underlying cause of which currently remains unclear. The reanalysis data (1980–2021) is analyzed to elucidate the mechanism modulating the summer heatwaves. We find the heatwaves over western NA tend to occur concurrently with quasi-barotropic ridges (QBTRs). The 2021 record-breaking heatwave, in particular, coincides with an extended eight-day QBTR event. The frequency of QBTRs is modulated by large-scale forcing. During the period of 1980–2000, it is correlated with the Arctic Oscillation. After 2000, however, the QBTR frequency is highly associated with sea ice variations. Specifically, the negative sea ice anomalies in the Chukchi Sea are usually associated with stronger net surface shortwave radiation and low cloud cover, triggering upward motion and a low-pressure center in the low- and mid-troposphere. The low pressure strengthens a stationary wave response, concomitant with two alternately high- and low-pressure centers, inducing more frequent QBTRs over western NA. These findings indicate that further Arctic sea ice loss under a warming climate will likely lead to more devastating heatwaves over western NA. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Houwen Wang Yang Gao Yuhang Wang Lifang Sheng |
author_facet |
Houwen Wang Yang Gao Yuhang Wang Lifang Sheng |
author_sort |
Houwen Wang |
title |
Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades |
title_short |
Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades |
title_full |
Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades |
title_fullStr |
Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western North America in recent decades |
title_sort |
arctic sea ice modulation of summertime heatwaves over western north america in recent decades |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a https://doaj.org/article/6b77cd2aeb614a90adbc87f8232efec9 |
geographic |
Arctic Chukchi Sea |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Chukchi Sea |
genre |
Arctic Chukchi Chukchi Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Chukchi Chukchi Sea Sea ice |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 17, Iss 7, p 074015 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/6b77cd2aeb614a90adbc87f8232efec9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac765a |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
074015 |
_version_ |
1776198336945061888 |