The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss
Antarctic sea ice is projected to decrease in response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Limited studies so far have examined the coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss. Here, we isolate the response to Antarctic sea-ice loss in the atmosphere and ocean using bespoke...
Published in: | Journal of Climate |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Meteorological Society
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/1/%5B15200442%20-%20Journal%20of%20Climate%5D%20The%20coupled%20atmosphere-ocean%20response%20to%20Antarctic%20sea-ice%20loss.pdf https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/aop/JCLI-D-21-0918.1/JCLI-D-21-0918.1.xml |
id |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:532577 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:532577 2023-05-15T13:11:57+02:00 The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss Ayres, Holly C. Screen, James A. Blockley, Edward W. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. 2022-06-15 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/1/%5B15200442%20-%20Journal%20of%20Climate%5D%20The%20coupled%20atmosphere-ocean%20response%20to%20Antarctic%20sea-ice%20loss.pdf https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/aop/JCLI-D-21-0918.1/JCLI-D-21-0918.1.xml en eng American Meteorological Society https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/1/%5B15200442%20-%20Journal%20of%20Climate%5D%20The%20coupled%20atmosphere-ocean%20response%20to%20Antarctic%20sea-ice%20loss.pdf Ayres, Holly C.; Screen, James A.; Blockley, Edward W.; Bracegirdle, Thomas J. orcid:0000-0002-8868-4739 . 2022 The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss. Journal of Climate, 35 (14). 4665-4685. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0918.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0918.1> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0918.1 2023-02-04T19:53:14Z Antarctic sea ice is projected to decrease in response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Limited studies so far have examined the coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss. Here, we isolate the response to Antarctic sea-ice loss in the atmosphere and ocean using bespoke sea-ice albedo perturbation experiments with HadGEM3-GC31-LL, provide the first detailed examination of the global ocean response, and quantify the importance of atmosphere-ocean coupling, through comparison to uncoupled experiments with prescribed Antarctic sea-ice loss. Lower tropospheric warming and moistening over regions of sea-ice loss and the nearby Southern Ocean are simulated in both coupled and uncoupled configurations but are of greater magnitude in the coupled model. A weakening and equatorward shift of the tropospheric westerly jet are simulated in both configurations, but are also larger in the coupled model. Ocean coupling allows the warming response to spread northward, and by poleward atmospheric energy transport, back to the Antarctic interior. Warmer tropical sea surface temperatures enhance atmospheric convection, driving upper-tropospheric warming and triggering atmospheric teleconnections to the extratropics, including a weakened Aleutian Low. A 20% reduction in Antarctic Circumpolar Current transport and a weakening of the shallow tropical convergence cell are simulated. Surface waters warm and freshen globally, becoming more stratified and stable in the Southern Ocean, with similar changes, but of lesser magnitude, in the Arctic Ocean, where sea ice declines. Our results suggest that the climate effects of Antarctic sea-ice loss stretch from pole-to-pole and from the heights of the tropical troposphere to the depths of the Southern Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo aleutian low Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Arctic Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Arctic Ocean Journal of Climate 35 14 4665 4685 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Antarctic sea ice is projected to decrease in response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Limited studies so far have examined the coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss. Here, we isolate the response to Antarctic sea-ice loss in the atmosphere and ocean using bespoke sea-ice albedo perturbation experiments with HadGEM3-GC31-LL, provide the first detailed examination of the global ocean response, and quantify the importance of atmosphere-ocean coupling, through comparison to uncoupled experiments with prescribed Antarctic sea-ice loss. Lower tropospheric warming and moistening over regions of sea-ice loss and the nearby Southern Ocean are simulated in both coupled and uncoupled configurations but are of greater magnitude in the coupled model. A weakening and equatorward shift of the tropospheric westerly jet are simulated in both configurations, but are also larger in the coupled model. Ocean coupling allows the warming response to spread northward, and by poleward atmospheric energy transport, back to the Antarctic interior. Warmer tropical sea surface temperatures enhance atmospheric convection, driving upper-tropospheric warming and triggering atmospheric teleconnections to the extratropics, including a weakened Aleutian Low. A 20% reduction in Antarctic Circumpolar Current transport and a weakening of the shallow tropical convergence cell are simulated. Surface waters warm and freshen globally, becoming more stratified and stable in the Southern Ocean, with similar changes, but of lesser magnitude, in the Arctic Ocean, where sea ice declines. Our results suggest that the climate effects of Antarctic sea-ice loss stretch from pole-to-pole and from the heights of the tropical troposphere to the depths of the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ayres, Holly C. Screen, James A. Blockley, Edward W. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. |
spellingShingle |
Ayres, Holly C. Screen, James A. Blockley, Edward W. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss |
author_facet |
Ayres, Holly C. Screen, James A. Blockley, Edward W. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. |
author_sort |
Ayres, Holly C. |
title |
The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss |
title_short |
The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss |
title_full |
The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss |
title_fullStr |
The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss |
title_full_unstemmed |
The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss |
title_sort |
coupled atmosphere-ocean response to antarctic sea-ice loss |
publisher |
American Meteorological Society |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/1/%5B15200442%20-%20Journal%20of%20Climate%5D%20The%20coupled%20atmosphere-ocean%20response%20to%20Antarctic%20sea-ice%20loss.pdf https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/aop/JCLI-D-21-0918.1/JCLI-D-21-0918.1.xml |
geographic |
Arctic Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
albedo aleutian low Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
albedo aleutian low Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532577/1/%5B15200442%20-%20Journal%20of%20Climate%5D%20The%20coupled%20atmosphere-ocean%20response%20to%20Antarctic%20sea-ice%20loss.pdf Ayres, Holly C.; Screen, James A.; Blockley, Edward W.; Bracegirdle, Thomas J. orcid:0000-0002-8868-4739 . 2022 The coupled atmosphere-ocean response to Antarctic sea-ice loss. Journal of Climate, 35 (14). 4665-4685. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0918.1 <https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0918.1> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0918.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Climate |
container_volume |
35 |
container_issue |
14 |
container_start_page |
4665 |
op_container_end_page |
4685 |
_version_ |
1766249684845723648 |