Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks
The term ‘sea ice decline whiplash’ describes short-term abrupt sea ice decline, as determined falling below the 10th percentile of the probability density function of daily sea ice concentration (SIC) tendency. The leading SIC modes over pan-Arctic show significant locality and co-variability based...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Communications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/adf949 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849233276962603008 |
|---|---|
| author | Xia Hu Zhina Jiang Yao Yao Guokun Dai |
| author_facet | Xia Hu Zhina Jiang Yao Yao Guokun Dai |
| author_sort | Xia Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The term ‘sea ice decline whiplash’ describes short-term abrupt sea ice decline, as determined falling below the 10th percentile of the probability density function of daily sea ice concentration (SIC) tendency. The leading SIC modes over pan-Arctic show significant locality and co-variability based on empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of sea ice decline whiplash days during winters of 1979–2020. The first and third EOFs correspond to a seesaw and an in-phase anomalous SIC pattern over the Davis Strait/Labrador Sea and the Greenland-northern Barents Sea, respectively. The second EOF shows a dipole pattern, with opposing SIC centers of action in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. These leading EOF modes may occur individually or occasionally simultaneously, which partially explains the spatial heterogeneity of short-term Arctic sea ice retreat. Regression analysis shows that the abrupt sea ice decline associated with these three leading EOF modes is closely related to the enhanced downward longwave radiation over sea ice-covered region due to heat transport from midlatitudes and large-scale condensation heating, in addition to the moist effect produced by the increased evaporation after sea ice decline. The surface turbulent heat flux, however, may indirectly melt the sea ice by heating the surrounding ice-free region mainly through anomalous downward surface sensible heat flux. Conversely, the melting sea ice may have a feedback on the tropospheric atmosphere over mid-high latitudes via anomalous upward surface latent heat flux, which depends on the specific sea ice decline whiplash mode. Our work emphasizes the joint effects of external heat and moisture transportation associated with atmospheric circulation and local vertical feedback of the short-term sea ice decline whiplash. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b943c81bbb7d4b43b6038b0afa2ab8a6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2515-7620 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-b943c81bbb7d4b43b6038b0afa2ab8a62025-08-20T09:21:11ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Communications2515-76202025-01-017808501410.1088/2515-7620/adf949Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacksXia Hu0https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3477-4399Zhina Jiang1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7272-8821Yao Yao2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6425-7855Guokun Dai3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5303-2952State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather Meteorological Science and Technology and Institute of Global Change and Polar Meteorology, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences , Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China; Chizhou Meteorological Bureau, Anhui Chizhou 247000, People’s Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory of Severe Weather Meteorological Science and Technology and Institute of Global Change and Polar Meteorology, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences , Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Polar Atmosphere-ocean-ice System for Weather and Climate, Ministry of Education, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Earth System Numerical Modeling and Application, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China; College of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Polar Atmosphere-ocean-ice System for Weather and Climate, Ministry of Education, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of ChinaThe term ‘sea ice decline whiplash’ describes short-term abrupt sea ice decline, as determined falling below the 10th percentile of the probability density function of daily sea ice concentration (SIC) tendency. The leading SIC modes over pan-Arctic show significant locality and co-variability based on empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of sea ice decline whiplash days during winters of 1979–2020. The first and third EOFs correspond to a seesaw and an in-phase anomalous SIC pattern over the Davis Strait/Labrador Sea and the Greenland-northern Barents Sea, respectively. The second EOF shows a dipole pattern, with opposing SIC centers of action in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. These leading EOF modes may occur individually or occasionally simultaneously, which partially explains the spatial heterogeneity of short-term Arctic sea ice retreat. Regression analysis shows that the abrupt sea ice decline associated with these three leading EOF modes is closely related to the enhanced downward longwave radiation over sea ice-covered region due to heat transport from midlatitudes and large-scale condensation heating, in addition to the moist effect produced by the increased evaporation after sea ice decline. The surface turbulent heat flux, however, may indirectly melt the sea ice by heating the surrounding ice-free region mainly through anomalous downward surface sensible heat flux. Conversely, the melting sea ice may have a feedback on the tropospheric atmosphere over mid-high latitudes via anomalous upward surface latent heat flux, which depends on the specific sea ice decline whiplash mode. Our work emphasizes the joint effects of external heat and moisture transportation associated with atmospheric circulation and local vertical feedback of the short-term sea ice decline whiplash.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/adf949sea ice seesawlocal feedbackabrupt sea ice lossexternal transportation |
| spellingShingle | Xia Hu Zhina Jiang Yao Yao Guokun Dai Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks Environmental Research Communications sea ice seesaw local feedback abrupt sea ice loss external transportation |
| title | Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks |
| title_full | Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks |
| title_fullStr | Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks |
| title_short | Arctic Sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a Pan-Arctic viewpoint: atmospheric drivers and feedbacks |
| title_sort | arctic sea ice decline whiplash modes in winter investigated from a pan arctic viewpoint atmospheric drivers and feedbacks |
| topic | sea ice seesaw local feedback abrupt sea ice loss external transportation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/adf949 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xiahu arcticseaicedeclinewhiplashmodesinwinterinvestigatedfromapanarcticviewpointatmosphericdriversandfeedbacks AT zhinajiang arcticseaicedeclinewhiplashmodesinwinterinvestigatedfromapanarcticviewpointatmosphericdriversandfeedbacks AT yaoyao arcticseaicedeclinewhiplashmodesinwinterinvestigatedfromapanarcticviewpointatmosphericdriversandfeedbacks AT guokundai arcticseaicedeclinewhiplashmodesinwinterinvestigatedfromapanarcticviewpointatmosphericdriversandfeedbacks |