The role of moisture transport for precipitation in the inter-annual and inter-daily fluctuations of the Arctic sea ice extension

Gimeno‐Sotelo, Luis; Nieto, Raquel; Vázquez, M.

doi:10.5194/esd-10-121-2019

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Together with horizontal moisture convergence, anomalous intrusions of moisture may lead to anomalous precipitation, especially if forcing conditions favor enhanced condensation. Likewise the greenhouse effect or even cloud formation, the relationship between precipitation and ice melting is still unclear, and the effects of Arctic precipitation depend on the type of the precipitation and the season (e.g., Gimeno‐Sotelo et al, , ; Vihma et al, and references therein). In general terms, major flooding will favor the formation of superimposed ice, which will result in a increased ice thickness over the sea.…”

Section: Effects Of Moisture Gain On the Arctic Ice Floementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, for example, some evidence is apparent of an increase in moisture transported from the extratropics to polar regions during the spring, with a consequent increase in the radiative forcing of water vapor contributing to melting (Kapsch, Graversen, & Tjernström, ); secondly, there has been an apparent increase in moisture transport in winter, related to an increase in precipitation in catchments that drain into the Arctic, which subsequently produces an increase in summer discharge and contributes to Arctic Ice Melting (Zhang et al, ). The implications of moisture transport for precipitation on the Arctic SIE are diverse and difficult to quantify, because the changes in precipitation are associated with opposing mechanisms, depending on the form of precipitation (rain or snow), as well as its intensity and seasonality (Gimeno‐Sotelo, Nieto, Vázquez, & Gimeno, , ; Vihma et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Atmospheric moisture transport and the decline in Arctic Sea ice

Gimeno

Vázquez

Eiras‐Barca

et al. 2019

WIREs Climate Change

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This article contains a review of the transport of moisture to the Arctic and its effect on Arctic Sea Ice Extent (SIE). The review includes a synthesis of our knowledge regarding the main sources supplying moisture to the Arctic, the changes experienced over the last few decades due to variations in the transport of moisture, the factors that control interannual variability, and the inherent contrast in the mechanisms related to the effect of changes in moisture transport on SIE in the Arctic. We note that the precise identification of the moisture sources for the Arctic depends both on the definition of the Arctic region itself and on the approach used to identify the sources, with the remote regions over the extratropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans being universally important, as are some continental areas over Siberia and North America. This review also reaffirms the absence of any clear agreement regarding the trends in atmospheric moisture transport to the Arctic, and highlights discrepancies between different data sets and approaches in the quantification of moisture transport, implying that its long‐term impact on the intensification of the hydrological cycle in the Arctic remains unclear. We confirm the influence of the major modes of climate variability, planetary circulation patterns, and the changes in cyclonic activity in the variability of moisture transport to the Arctic. We reaffirm that the effect of moisture transport on the Arctic SIE through changes in humidity, cloud cover, and precipitation over the Arctic is a complex scientific problem that requires further detailed study over the decades to come, and we propose some important challenges for future research. This article is categorized under: Paleoclimates and Current Trends > Modern Climate Change

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Section: Effects Of Moisture Gain On the Arctic Ice Floementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric moisture transport and the decline in Arctic Sea ice

Gimeno

Vázquez

Eiras‐Barca

et al. 2019

WIREs Climate Change

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“…By separating the planetary and synoptic-scale waves, Graversen and Burtu (2016) showed that latent heat transport, as a component of AMET, influences the Arctic warming with reanalysis data. Gimeno-Sotelo et al (2019) studied moisture transport with reanalysis data and observations, and showed that the moisture sources in the Arctic region are linked with interannual fluctuations of Arctic sea ice. Nummelin et al (2017) analyzed the linkages between OMET, ocean heat content (OHC) and AA through climate model simulations within the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis and evaluation of historical meridional heat transport from midlatitudes towards the Arctic

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Meridional energy transport (MET), both in the atmosphere (AMET) and ocean (OMET), has significant impact on the climate in the Arctic. In this study, we quantify AMET and OMET at subpolar latitudes from six reanalysis data sets. We investigate the differences between the data sets and we check the coherence between MET and the Arctic climate variability at interannual timescales. The results indicate that, although the mean transport in all data sets agrees well, the spatial distributions and temporal variations of AMET and OMET differ substantially among the reanalysis data sets. For the ocean, only after 2007, the low-frequency signals in all reanalysis products agree well. A further comparison with observed heat transport at 26.5∘ N and the subpolar Atlantic, and a high-resolution ocean model hindcast confirms that the OMET estimated from the reanalysis data sets are consistent with the observations. For the atmosphere, the differences between ERA-Interim and the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55) are small, while the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) differs from them. An extended analysis of linkages between Arctic climate variability and AMET shows that atmospheric reanalyses differ substantially from each other. Among the chosen atmospheric products, ERA-Interim and JRA-55 results are most consistent with those from coupled climate models. For the ocean, the Ocean Reanalysis System 4 (ORAS4) and Simple Ocean Data Assimilation version 3 (SODA3) agree well on the relation between OMET and sea ice concentration (SIC), while the GLobal Ocean reanalyses and Simulations version 3 (GLORYS2V3) deviates from those data sets. The regressions of multiple fields in the Arctic on both AMET and OMET suggest that the Arctic climate is sensitive to changes of meridional energy transport at subpolar latitudes in winter. Given the good agreement on the diagnostics among assessed reanalysis products, our study suggests that the reanalysis products are useful for the evaluation of energy transport. However, assessments of products with the AMET and OMET estimated from reanalysis data sets beyond interannual timescales should be conducted with great care and the robustness of results should be evaluated through intercomparison, especially when studying variability and interactions between the Arctic and midlatitudes.

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“…In the Arctic, precipitation is expected to increase by 50% by 2100, and most of the precipitation will then be in the form of rain (Kattsov et al, 2007;Perovich et al, 2009;Screen and Simmonds, 2012;Bintanja and Selten, 2014). The influence of moisture transport in the Arctic is variable because changes in precipitation are related to patterns in atmospheric circulation and depend on the moisture (Gimeno-Sotelo et al, 2018;Gimeno-Sotelo et al, 2019). The transfer of moisture from the temperate zone to the polar regions in spring is increasing, and the increase in radiation emitted by moisture contributes to the melting of the sea ice (Kapsch et al, 2013) Arctic precipitation has a significant effect on navigation monitoring, sea ice, and climate cycles, and can be used to analyze and forecast the environmental status of the Arctic (Francis et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of the characteristics of precipitation in the Northeast passage and its relationship with sea ice

Cheng

Qiu

Yang

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Precipitation is an important part of the atmospheric circulation in the Arctic and is of great significance to the energy budget and hydrological characteristics of the Arctic region. The distribution of precipitation affects the exchange of energy, which then affects the Arctic sea ice indirectly. Arctic precipitation impacts the sea surface albedo, which leads to changes in the sea ice concentration (SIC) and the energy exchange between the sea, ice, and air. In this study, GPM IMERG precipitation data, which have a spatial resolution of 0.1°, were used to analyze the characteristics of precipitation in the Northeast Passage (NEP) from May to December during the period 2011–2020. This analysis of the amount of precipitation and its distribution were performed for the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and East Siberian Sea. The relationship between precipitation and sea ice was also explored. The results show that, during the study period, the average precipitation over the Barents Sea from May to December was 57–561 mm/year and that this area had the highest precipitation in the NEP. For the Kara Sea, the average precipitation for May to December was 50–386 mm/year and for the East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea it was 48–303 mm/year and 53–177 mm/year, respectively. For the NEP as a whole, September was found to be the month with the highest average precipitation. An analysis of the correlation between the precipitation and the SIC gave a correlation coefficient of −0.792 for the study period and showed that there is a 15-day delay between the precipitation increase and the decrease in SIC. The analysis of the precipitation data in these areas thus showed that precipitation is related to SIC and is of great importance to understanding and predicting the navigable capacity of the NEP.

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The role of moisture transport for precipitation in the inter-annual and inter-daily fluctuations of the Arctic sea ice extension

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Atmospheric moisture transport and the decline in Arctic Sea ice

Atmospheric moisture transport and the decline in Arctic Sea ice

Synthesis and evaluation of historical meridional heat transport from midlatitudes towards the Arctic

An analysis of the characteristics of precipitation in the Northeast passage and its relationship with sea ice

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