Atmospheric forcing dominates winter Barents-Kara sea ice variability on interannual to decadal time scales

International audience The recent decline and variability in Arctic winter sea ice have been viewed as a combined response to oceanic and atmospheric processes. Disentangling the relative importance of these processes is challenging due to strong ocean-atmosphere coupling. Here, we demonstrate that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Liu, Zhongfang, Risi, Camille, Codron, Francis, Jian, Zhimin, Wei, Zhongwang, He, Xiaogang, Poulsen, Christopher J., Wang, Yue, Chen, Dong, Ma, Wentao, Cheng, Yanyan, Bowen, Gabriel J.
Other Authors: State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology Shanghai, Tongji University, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Océan et variabilité du climat (VARCLIM), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Singapore, National University of Singapore (NUS), Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of Michigan System-University of Michigan System, Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre, Institute of Atmospheric Physics Beijing (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (CAS)-Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (CAS), State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://insu.hal.science/insu-03846485
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2120770119
Description
Summary:International audience The recent decline and variability in Arctic winter sea ice have been viewed as a combined response to oceanic and atmospheric processes. Disentangling the relative importance of these processes is challenging due to strong ocean-atmosphere coupling. Here, we demonstrate that Barents-Kara Sea (BKS) winter sea ice variability is primarily driven by atmospheric, rather than oceanic, processes. Increased transport of atmospheric heat and moisture into the BKS region increases downward longwave radiation, contributing to warming and sea ice decline. Our results reinforce the importance of atmospheric processes for Arctic winter sea ice variability and changes and have potential implications for climate and environment in the Arctic and beyond.