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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-36
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-36
28 Mar 2022
 | 28 Mar 2022

Impact of Atmospheric Rivers on Arctic Sea Ice Variations

Linghan Li, Forest Cannon, Matthew R. Mazloff, Aneesh C. Subramanian, Anna M. Wilson, and F. Martin Ralph

Abstract. Arctic sea ice has been declining rapidly in recent decades. We investigate how poleward transport of moisture and heat from lower latitudes through atmospheric rivers (ARs) influences Arctic sea ice variations. We use ERA5 hourly reanalysis data for 1981–2020 at 0.25º x 0.25º resolution to examine meteorological conditions and sea ice changes associated with ARs in the Arctic. In years 2012 and 2020, which had extremely low summer Arctic sea ice extent, we show that individual AR events associated with large cyclones initiate rapid sea ice decrease through turbulent heat fluxes, longwave radiation, and winds. We further carry out statistical analysis of meteorological conditions and sea ice variations for 1981–2020 over the entire Arctic Ocean. We find that, on weather timescales, atmospheric moisture content anticorrelates significantly with sea ice concentration tendency almost everywhere in the Arctic Ocean, while dynamic sea ice motion driven by northward winds further reduces sea ice concentration.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

04 Jan 2024
Impact of atmospheric rivers on Arctic sea ice variations
Linghan Li, Forest Cannon, Matthew R. Mazloff, Aneesh C. Subramanian, Anna M. Wilson, and Fred Martin Ralph
The Cryosphere, 18, 121–137, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-121-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-121-2024, 2024
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

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We investigate how moisture transport through atmospheric rivers influences Arctic sea ice...
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