2The Arctic region has long been expected to warm strongly as a result of anthropogenic climate change 1,2 , due to positive feedbacks in Arctic climate system. It is widely accepted that changes in the surface albedo associated with melting snow and ice enhance warming in the Arctic 3,15,16 , but other processes may well contribute. In some global climate models, changes in cloud cover and atmospheric water vapour content are more important for Arctic amplification than the surface albedo feedback 17-

An intercomparison experiment involving 15 commonly used detection and tracking algorithms for extratropical cyclones reveals those cyclone characteristics that are robust between different schemes and those that differ markedly.

No abstract

[1] Arctic surface temperatures have risen faster than the global average in recent decades, in part due to positive feedbacks associated with the rapidly diminishing sea ice cover. Counter-intuitively, the Arctic warming has been strongest in late fall and early winter whilst sea ice reductions and the direct ice-albedo feedback have been greatest in summer and early fall. To reconcile this, previous studies have hypothesized that fall/winter Arctic warming has been enhanced by increased oceanic heat loss but have not presented quantitative evidence. Here we show increases in heat transfer from the Arctic Ocean to the overlying atmosphere during October-January, 1989-2009. The trends in surface air temperature, sea ice concentration and the surface heat fluxes display remarkable spatial correspondence. The increased oceanic heat loss is likely a combination of the direct response to fall/winter sea ice loss, and the indirect response to summer sea ice loss and increased summer ocean heating. Citation: Screen, J. A., and I. Simmonds (2010), Increasing fall-winter energy loss from the Arctic Ocean and its role in Arctic temperature amplification, Geophys.

Arctic sea ice is declining at an increasing rate with potentially important repercussions. To understand better the atmospheric changes that may have occurred in response to Arctic sea ice loss, this study presents results from atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments in which the only time-varying forcings prescribed were observed variations in Arctic sea ice and accompanying changes in Arctic sea surface temperatures from 1979 to 2009. Two independent AGCMs are utilized in order to assess the robustness of the response across different models. The results suggest that the atmospheric impacts of Arctic sea ice loss have been manifested most strongly within the maritime and coastal Arctic and in the lowermost atmosphere. Sea ice loss has driven increased energy transfer from the ocean to the atmosphere, enhanced warming and moistening of the lower troposphere, decreased the strength of the surface temperature inversion, and increased lowertropospheric thickness; all of these changes are most pronounced in autumn and early winter (September-December). The early winter (November-December) atmospheric circulation response resembles the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO); however, the NAO-type response is quite weak and is often masked by intrinsic (unforced) atmospheric variability. Some evidence of a late winter (March-April) polar stratospheric cooling response to sea ice loss is also found, which may have important implications for polar stratospheric ozone concentrations. The attribution and quantification of other aspects of the possible atmospheric response are hindered by model sensitivities and large intrinsic variability. The potential remote responses to Arctic sea ice change are currently hard to confirm and remain uncertain.