Preprints
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.

Linghan Li et al.

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-36', Marte Hofsteenge, 28 Apr 2022
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-36', Pengfei Zhang, 28 Apr 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Linghan Li, 04 Jul 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-36', Anonymous Referee #2, 16 May 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Linghan Li, 04 Jul 2022

Linghan Li et al.

Linghan Li et al.

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Short summary
We investigate how moisture transport through atmospheric rivers influences Arctic sea ice variations, using ERA5 hourly atmospheric reanalysis for 1981–2020 at 0.25º x 0.25º resolution. We show that individual atmospheric rivers initiate rapid sea ice decrease through surface heat flux and winds. We find that rate of change of sea ice concentration has significant anticorrelation with moisture, northward wind, and turbulent heat flux on weather timescales almost everywhere in the Arctic Ocean.