Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones
Sea ice extent (SIE) in the Weddell Sea attained exceptionally low levels in April (1.97 million km2) and May (3.06 million km2) 2019, with the values being ~22% below the long-term mean. Using in-situ, satellite and atmospheric reanalysis data, we show the large negative SIE anomalies were driven b...
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:532293 2023-05-15T13:41:46+02:00 Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones Jena, B. Bajish, C. C. Turner, John Ravichandran, M. Anilkumar, N. Kshitija, S. 2022-03-18 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532293/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532293/1/s41612-022-00243-9.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9 en eng Nature Publishing https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532293/1/s41612-022-00243-9.pdf Jena, B.; Bajish, C. C.; Turner, John orcid:0000-0002-6111-5122 Ravichandran, M.; Anilkumar, N.; Kshitija, S. 2022 Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 5 (1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9 <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9 2023-02-04T19:53:07Z Sea ice extent (SIE) in the Weddell Sea attained exceptionally low levels in April (1.97 million km2) and May (3.06 million km2) 2019, with the values being ~22% below the long-term mean. Using in-situ, satellite and atmospheric reanalysis data, we show the large negative SIE anomalies were driven by the passage of a series of intense and explosive polar cyclones (with record low pressure), also known as atmospheric ‘bombs’, which had atmospheric rivers on their eastern flanks. These storms led to the poleward propagation of record-high swell and wind waves (~9.6 m), resulting in southward ice advection (~50 km). Thermodynamic processes also played a part, including record anomalous atmospheric heat (>138 W m−2) and moisture (>300 kg m−1s−1) fluxes from midlatitudes, along with ocean mixed-layer warming (>2 °C). The atmospheric circulation anomalies were associated with an amplified wave number three pattern leading to enhanced meridional flow between midlatitudes and the Antarctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 5 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Sea ice extent (SIE) in the Weddell Sea attained exceptionally low levels in April (1.97 million km2) and May (3.06 million km2) 2019, with the values being ~22% below the long-term mean. Using in-situ, satellite and atmospheric reanalysis data, we show the large negative SIE anomalies were driven by the passage of a series of intense and explosive polar cyclones (with record low pressure), also known as atmospheric ‘bombs’, which had atmospheric rivers on their eastern flanks. These storms led to the poleward propagation of record-high swell and wind waves (~9.6 m), resulting in southward ice advection (~50 km). Thermodynamic processes also played a part, including record anomalous atmospheric heat (>138 W m−2) and moisture (>300 kg m−1s−1) fluxes from midlatitudes, along with ocean mixed-layer warming (>2 °C). The atmospheric circulation anomalies were associated with an amplified wave number three pattern leading to enhanced meridional flow between midlatitudes and the Antarctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jena, B. Bajish, C. C. Turner, John Ravichandran, M. Anilkumar, N. Kshitija, S. |
spellingShingle |
Jena, B. Bajish, C. C. Turner, John Ravichandran, M. Anilkumar, N. Kshitija, S. Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
author_facet |
Jena, B. Bajish, C. C. Turner, John Ravichandran, M. Anilkumar, N. Kshitija, S. |
author_sort |
Jena, B. |
title |
Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
title_short |
Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
title_full |
Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
title_fullStr |
Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
title_full_unstemmed |
Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
title_sort |
record low sea ice extent in the weddell sea, antarctica in april/may 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones |
publisher |
Nature Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532293/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532293/1/s41612-022-00243-9.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Weddell Sea Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532293/1/s41612-022-00243-9.pdf Jena, B.; Bajish, C. C.; Turner, John orcid:0000-0002-6111-5122 Ravichandran, M.; Anilkumar, N.; Kshitija, S. 2022 Record low sea ice extent in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April/May 2019 driven by intense and explosive polar cyclones. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 5 (1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9 <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-022-00243-9 |
container_title |
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766157822805934080 |