Warming in the Arctic has been much faster than the rest of the world in both observations and model simulations, a phenomenon known as the Arctic amplification (AA) whose cause is still under debate. By analyzing data and model simulations, here we show that large AA occurs only from October to April and only over areas with significant sea-ice loss. AA largely disappears when Arctic sea ice is fixed or melts away. Periods with larger AA are associated with larger sea-ice loss, and models with bigger sea-ice loss produce larger AA. Increased outgoing longwave radiation and heat fluxes from the newly opened waters cause AA, whereas all other processes can only indirectly contribute to AA by melting sea-ice. We conclude that sea-ice loss is necessary for the existence of large AA and that models need to simulate Arctic sea ice realistically in order to correctly simulate Arctic warming under increasing CO2.
This paper addresses the specter of a September ice-free Arctic in the 21st century using newly available simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). We find that large spread in the projected timing of the September ice-free Arctic in 30 CMIP5 models is associated at least as much with different atmospheric model components as with initial conditions. Here we reduce the spread in the timing of an ice-free state using two different approaches for the 30 CMIP5 models: (i) model selection based on the ability to reproduce the observed sea ice climatology and variability since 1979 and (ii) constrained estimation based on the strong and persistent relationship between present and future sea ice conditions. Results from the two approaches show good agreement. Under a high-emission scenario both approaches project that September ice extent will drop to ∼1.7 million km 2 in the mid 2040s and reach the ice-free state (defined as 1 million km 2 ) in 2054-2058. Under a medium-mitigation scenario, both approaches project a decrease to ∼1.7 million km 2 in the early 2060s, followed by a leveling off in the ice extent.A rctic sea ice has undergone dramatic decline in recent years (1). The minimum sea ice extent set on September 16, 2012 (3.41 million km 2 , ref.2) was 48.5% below the long-term mean and broke the previous record minimum set on September 18, 2007. The last six years (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) have featured the lowest September ice extents during the satellite era. This decline raises the specter of a September ice-free Arctic in the coming decades, which would have significant impacts on Arctic maritime activities and ecosystems, biogeochemical feedbacks, and extreme weather and climate in mid and high latitudes (3, 4).The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) concluded that "Arctic sea ice responds sensitively to warming, . . . late-summer sea ice is projected to disappear almost completely towards the end of the 21st century under the A2 scenario in some models" (5). Subsequent research suggested the ice-free Arctic might occur from as early as the late 2030s to the end of the 21st century under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B and A2 scenarios based on the IPCC AR4 model simulations (also referred to as the CMIP3). An abrupt reduction in sea ice cover (i.e., 2-6 million km 2 within a decade) during the 21st century seems to be a common feature in a number of climate projections by the IPCC AR4 models. This could result in ice-free September conditions (less than ∼1.5 million km 2 ) by 2040 according to one simulation from the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) (6). Using the observed September sea ice extent in 2007 as a starting point, together with the projections of a subset of the IPCC AR4 models that better reproduce the observed climatological September ice extent, one study suggested the Arctic could be ice-free in September (less than 1 million km 2 ) in the late 2030s (with a large uncertainty...
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