On the link between Barents‐Kara sea ice variability and European blocking

Ruggieri, Paolo; Buizza, Roberto; Visconti, Guido

doi:10.1002/2015jd024021

Cited by 34 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…These features have been identified by authors who have studied the links between Arctic warming and midlatitude weather (e.g. Outten and Esau, 2012; Nakamura et al , 2015; Jaiser et al , 2016; Ruggieri et al , 2016). Anomalous zonal wind and Z projecting onto the pattern found in Figure are detectable up to day 60, though varying significantly in magnitude (not shown).…”

Section: Results From the Sensitivity Experimentssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The reduction of sea ice induces an increase of the surface temperature (Figure ) and a subsequent modification of the surface heat fluxes. Positive values of these heat fluxes cover the area where sea ice has been removed, while smaller negative values are found in the surroundings (Figure S3(c)), and this pattern has been found also by previous studies (Ruggieri et al , 2016; Sorokina et al , 2016). The net effect is a warming from the surface to the atmosphere, by both latent and sensible heat fluxes (not shown).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Ruggieri et al (2016) discussed the changes of the upper‐tropospheric wave pattern associated with low sea ice and linked them with the intensity of the polar vortex 1 month ahead. The modification of the upper‐tropospheric wavelike pattern is attributable to the barotropic stage of the local response over B‐K.…”

Section: Results From the Sensitivity Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main feature detected in Figure (b) is the ridge over North Atlantic and Scandinavia, which is consistent with the intrinsically tropospheric response that has been associated with sea‐ice reduction by previous studies (e.g. Kug et al , 2015; Nakamura et al , 2015; King et al , 2016; Ruggieri et al , 2016). Figure (c) shows a rather different pattern, with a negative NAO signal.…”

Section: Results From the Sensitivity Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These results show that a similar response can be obtained by removing sea ice only over the B-K Seas, suggesting that a non-local mechanism propagates the signal upstream. Ruggieri et al (2016) discussed the changes of the uppertropospheric wave pattern associated with low sea ice and linked them with the intensity of the polar vortex 1 month ahead. The modification of the upper-tropospheric wavelike pattern is attributable to the barotropic stage of the local response over B-K.…”

Section: Regimes Of Tropospheric Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

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The transient atmospheric response to a reduction of sea‐ice cover in the Barents and Kara Seas

Ruggieri

Kucharski

Buizza

et al. 2017

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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The observed reduction of Arctic sea-ice has drawn a lot of interest for its potential impact on mid-latitude weather variability. One of the outstanding challenges is to achieve a deeper understanding of the dynamical processes involved in this mechanism.To progress in this area, we have designed and performed an experiment with an intermediate complexity atmospheric model. The experiment shows a transient atmospheric response to a surface diabatic heating in the Barents and Kara seas leading to an anomalous circulation first locally, then over the polar region and finally over the Euro-Atlantic sector. A hypothesis that explains the mechanisms for the propagation of the signal is put forward. The discussion of this hypothesis provides an insight into the nature of the link between sea-ice forcing and the modes of internal variability of the atmosphere. We demonstrate that after removal of sea ice in the Barents and Kara seas, first the linear atmospheric response dominates and is confined in the proximity of the heating area, then a large-scale response, associated also to eddy-feedback, is found and finally anomalies reach the lower-stratosphere and show a hemispheric pattern in the troposphere. These results identify the drivers of the tropospheric connection between sea-ice variability and the North Atlantic Oscillation and highlight the role of the lower stratosphere.

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Section: Results From the Sensitivity Experimentssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Results From the Sensitivity Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Results From the Sensitivity Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regimes Of Tropospheric Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

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The transient atmospheric response to a reduction of sea‐ice cover in the Barents and Kara Seas

Ruggieri

Kucharski

Buizza

et al. 2017

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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Atmospheric heat advection in the Kara Sea region under main synoptic processes

Yurova

Bobylev

Zhu³

et al. 2018

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Atmospheric studies document both a periodic variability in the winter temperatures in the Kara Sea region related to internal Arctic climate variability and a recent trend of winter warming—one of the strongest warming trends in the whole Arctic. This study aims to analyse side by side with other energy budget terms the contribution of horizontal heat and moisture advection to the observed recent warming. The atmospheric energy budget terms vertically integrated from the surface up to 500 hPa are estimated using the ERA‐Interim reanalysis for the period 1979–2014. The core of this study is to relate variability and changes in heat fluxes in the Kara Sea region to synoptic‐scale processes using the Russian weather‐type classification system. Singular spectrum analysis is applied to the heat flux data which were previously stratified into changes due to changes in frequency and due to changes in amplitude. We have shown that the multi‐decadal variations in the horizontal heat advection (now on a rising phase) are comparable to the positive trend in the turbulent heat fluxes due to sea ice reduction, although relatively weaker. We have also found that the changes in sensible heat flux (a constant increase in the first principal component since 1999) is a general regional feature and not related to any weather pattern, while the changes in horizontal heat advection are clearly related to the changes in frequency of the weather type A (characterized by a low‐pressure system in the central Arctic surrounded by high pressure in the continents, winds of S, S‐W direction and a positive horizontal heat advection and surface temperature anomaly over the Kara Sea) which are periodic in nature with a period of about 22 years. In recent years (at least until 2012) not only is warm air advection, associated with A type, more frequent, but it also brings much more energy from the continent to the Kara Sea compared to the reference period (1980–1990). This is most probably related to the increase in the radiatively forced surface air temperature at the source.

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The possible links between the Barents–Kara sea‐ice area, Ural blocking, and the North Atlantic Oscillation

Ahmadi,

Alizadeh

2023

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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We investigated the possible links between the Barents‐Kara sea ice area (SIA), Ural blocking, and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in December‐January (DJ) and February‐March (FM) using the ERA5 data from December 1979 to March 2022. The Barents‐Kara SIA loss in December is correlated with an increase in geopotential height at 500 hPa (Z500), mean sea level pressure (MSLP), and the frequency and intensity of blocking over the Ural in DJ. The Barents‐Kara SIA loss in December is also associated with the weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex in FM (particularly in mid‐February) and the negative NAO index. However, our results show that persistent Ural blocking occurs during the transition from the neutral or positive NAO index to its negative phase. Indeed, a significant decrease in the NAO index leads to the development of the area of instantaneous blocking (IB) and positive Z500 anomalies over the Ural. Persistent Ural blocking significantly contributes to the Barents‐Kara SIA loss, with a peak decline about 7 days after the onset of Ural blocking. The onset of persistent Ural blocking also precedes the weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex by about one month. This implies that the negative correlation between the Barents‐Kara SIA loss in December and the NAO index in FM might be caused by the weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex, which itself is induced by persistent Ural blocking. We conclude that the Barents‐Kara SIA loss in December can be viewed as a sign rather than the cause of changes in atmospheric circulation over the high‐latitude North Atlantic in succeeding months because the Barents‐Kara SIA also largely responds to Ural blocking and the NAO.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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On the link between Barents‐Kara sea ice variability and European blocking

Cited by 34 publications

References 50 publications

The transient atmospheric response to a reduction of sea‐ice cover in the Barents and Kara Seas

The transient atmospheric response to a reduction of sea‐ice cover in the Barents and Kara Seas

Atmospheric heat advection in the Kara Sea region under main synoptic processes

The possible links between the Barents–Kara sea‐ice area, Ural blocking, and the North Atlantic Oscillation

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