Influence of tropical Atlantic meridional dipole of sea surface temperature anomalies on Antarctic autumn sea ice

Antarctic sea ice plays an important role in polar ecosystems and global climate, while its variability is affected by many factors. Teleconnections between the tropical and high latitudes have profound impacts on Antarctic climate changes through the stationary Rossby wave mechanism. Recent studies...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Research Letters
Main Authors: Xuya Ren, Li Zhang, Wenju Cai, Xichen Li, Chuan-Yang Wang, Yishuai Jin, Lixin Wu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2022
Subjects:
atmospheric teleconnection
Antarctic sea ice
tropical Atlantic
interannual variability
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
TD1-1066
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Science
Q
Physics
QC1-999
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Austral
Pacific
Ross Sea
The Antarctic
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8f5b
https://doaj.org/article/cba63ed323df4942a9372d10d9b5b3c7
Description
Summary:Antarctic sea ice plays an important role in polar ecosystems and global climate, while its variability is affected by many factors. Teleconnections between the tropical and high latitudes have profound impacts on Antarctic climate changes through the stationary Rossby wave mechanism. Recent studies have connected long-term Antarctic sea ice changes to multidecadal variabilities of the tropical ocean, including the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation. On interannual timescales, whether an impact exists from teleconnection of the tropical Atlantic is not clear. Here we find an impact of sea surface temperature (SST) variability of the tropical Atlantic meridional dipole mode on Antarctic sea ice that is most prominent in austral autumn. The meridional dipole SST anomalies in the tropical Atlantic force deep convection anomalies locally and over the tropical Pacific, generating stationary Rossby wave trains propagating eastward and poleward, which induce atmospheric circulation anomalies affecting sea ice. Specifically, convective anomalies over the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific are opposite-signed, accompanied by anomalous wave sources over the subtropical Southern Hemisphere. The planetary-scale atmospheric response has significant impacts on sea ice concentration anomalies in the Ross Sea, near the Antarctic Peninsula, and east of the Weddell Sea.

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