The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification
Copyright © 2010 Nature Publishing Group The rise in Arctic near-surface air temperatures has been almost twice as large as the global average in recent decades-a feature known as 'Arctic amplification'. Increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have driven Arctic and global...
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ftunivexeter:oai:ore.exeter.ac.uk:10871/10463 2023-05-15T14:32:56+02:00 The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification Screen, James A. Simmonds, Ian 2010 http://hdl.handle.net/10871/10463 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09051 en eng Nature Publishing Group http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20428168 Vol. 464 (7293), pp. 1334 - 1337 doi:10.1038/nature09051 http://hdl.handle.net/10871/10463 0028-0836 1476-4687 Nature Article 2010 ftunivexeter https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09051 2023-02-17T00:03:54Z Copyright © 2010 Nature Publishing Group The rise in Arctic near-surface air temperatures has been almost twice as large as the global average in recent decades-a feature known as 'Arctic amplification'. Increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have driven Arctic and global average warming; however, the underlying causes of Arctic amplification remain uncertain. The roles of reductions in snow and sea ice cover and changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation, cloud cover and water vapour are still matters of debate. A better understanding of the processes responsible for the recent amplified warming is essential for assessing the likelihood, and impacts, of future rapid Arctic warming and sea ice loss. Here we show that the Arctic warming is strongest at the surface during most of the year and is primarily consistent with reductions in sea ice cover. Changes in cloud cover, in contrast, have not contributed strongly to recent warming. Increases in atmospheric water vapour content, partly in response to reduced sea ice cover, may have enhanced warming in the lower part of the atmosphere during summer and early autumn. We conclude that diminishing sea ice has had a leading role in recent Arctic temperature amplification. The findings reinforce suggestions that strong positive ice-temperature feedbacks have emerged in the Arctic, increasing the chances of further rapid warming and sea ice loss, and will probably affect polar ecosystems, ice-sheet mass balance and human activities in the Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice Sheet Sea ice University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) Arctic Nature 464 7293 1334 1337 |
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Copyright © 2010 Nature Publishing Group The rise in Arctic near-surface air temperatures has been almost twice as large as the global average in recent decades-a feature known as 'Arctic amplification'. Increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have driven Arctic and global average warming; however, the underlying causes of Arctic amplification remain uncertain. The roles of reductions in snow and sea ice cover and changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation, cloud cover and water vapour are still matters of debate. A better understanding of the processes responsible for the recent amplified warming is essential for assessing the likelihood, and impacts, of future rapid Arctic warming and sea ice loss. Here we show that the Arctic warming is strongest at the surface during most of the year and is primarily consistent with reductions in sea ice cover. Changes in cloud cover, in contrast, have not contributed strongly to recent warming. Increases in atmospheric water vapour content, partly in response to reduced sea ice cover, may have enhanced warming in the lower part of the atmosphere during summer and early autumn. We conclude that diminishing sea ice has had a leading role in recent Arctic temperature amplification. The findings reinforce suggestions that strong positive ice-temperature feedbacks have emerged in the Arctic, increasing the chances of further rapid warming and sea ice loss, and will probably affect polar ecosystems, ice-sheet mass balance and human activities in the Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Screen, James A. Simmonds, Ian |
spellingShingle |
Screen, James A. Simmonds, Ian The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification |
author_facet |
Screen, James A. Simmonds, Ian |
author_sort |
Screen, James A. |
title |
The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification |
title_short |
The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification |
title_full |
The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification |
title_fullStr |
The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification |
title_full_unstemmed |
The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification |
title_sort |
central role of diminishing sea ice in recent arctic temperature amplification |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10871/10463 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09051 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Ice Sheet Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice Sheet Sea ice |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20428168 Vol. 464 (7293), pp. 1334 - 1337 doi:10.1038/nature09051 http://hdl.handle.net/10871/10463 0028-0836 1476-4687 Nature |
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https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09051 |
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Nature |
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464 |
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7293 |
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1334 |
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