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

• 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), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-École nationale des ponts et chaussées (ENPC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS-PSL, 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 (LOCEAN-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), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-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), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-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)), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-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 Center, 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: CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Arctic; Kara Sea; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-03846485; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2120770119

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.