Robust Asymmetry of the Future Arctic Polar Vortex Is Driven by Tropical Pacific Warming

The future stratosphere is globally dominated by a strong radiative cooling due to the increase in greenhouse gases. However, we find that over North America, the Arctic stratospheric cooling is suppressed or rather warming occurs, whereas over Eurasia stratospheric cooling is most pronounced, leadi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Matsumura, Shinji, Yamazaki, Koji, Horinouchi, Takeshi
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union
Subjects:
stratospheric polar vortex
climate change
North American stratospheric warming
Tropical Pacific warming
451
Arctic
Pacific
aleutian low
Climate change
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/83557
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093440
Description
Summary:The future stratosphere is globally dominated by a strong radiative cooling due to the increase in greenhouse gases. However, we find that over North America, the Arctic stratospheric cooling is suppressed or rather warming occurs, whereas over Eurasia stratospheric cooling is most pronounced, leading to an asymmetric polar vortex, based on 21st century climate model simulations. There are many causes that drive polar vortex variability, which make future projections highly uncertain. Our model simulations demonstrate that tropical warming induces the asymmetric polar vortex. The eastern equatorial Pacific warming causes eastward-shifted teleconnection with a deepened Aleutian low, which strengthens the polar vortex over Eurasia and weakens over North America by enhancing the vertical wave propagation into the stratosphere. The asymmetric polar vortex is projected to markedly develop in the 2030s, and so could affect winter surface climate over mid- to high-latitudes of Eurasia in the near future.

Similar Items