Arctic sea ice concentration （ASIC） in boreal autumn exhibits prominent interannual variability since 1979. The physical mechanism responsible for the year-to-year variation of ASIC is investigated through observati...Arctic sea ice concentration （ASIC） in boreal autumn exhibits prominent interannual variability since 1979. The physical mechanism responsible for the year-to-year variation of ASIC is investigated through observational data analyses and idealized numerical modeling. It is found that the ASIC interannual variability is closely associated with the anomalous meridional circulations over the Northern Hemisphere, which is further linked with the tropical sea surface temperature （SST） forcing. A tropics-wide SST cooling anomaly leads to an enhanced meridional SST gradi- ent to the north of the equator in boreal summer, generating strengthened and northward shifting Hadley circulation over the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, the meridional circulations are enhanced and pushed poleward, lead- ing to an enhanced descending motion at the North Pole, surrounded by an ascending motion anomaly; the surface outflow turns into easterly anomalies, opposing the mean-state winds. As a result, positive cloudiness and weakened surface wind speed emerge, which reduce ASIC through changes in the surface latent heat flux and the downward longwave radiation.展开更多
基金Supported by National(Key)Basic Research and Development(973)Program of China(2015CB453200)National Natural Science Foundation of China(41630423 and 41475084)+3 种基金US Office of Naval Research(N00014-16-12260)US Navy Resarch Laboratory(N00173-16-1-G906)Jiangsu Province Natural Science Foundation Key Project(BK20150062)Jiangsu Shuang-Chuang Team Fund(R2014SCT001)
文摘Arctic sea ice concentration （ASIC） in boreal autumn exhibits prominent interannual variability since 1979. The physical mechanism responsible for the year-to-year variation of ASIC is investigated through observational data analyses and idealized numerical modeling. It is found that the ASIC interannual variability is closely associated with the anomalous meridional circulations over the Northern Hemisphere, which is further linked with the tropical sea surface temperature （SST） forcing. A tropics-wide SST cooling anomaly leads to an enhanced meridional SST gradi- ent to the north of the equator in boreal summer, generating strengthened and northward shifting Hadley circulation over the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, the meridional circulations are enhanced and pushed poleward, lead- ing to an enhanced descending motion at the North Pole, surrounded by an ascending motion anomaly; the surface outflow turns into easterly anomalies, opposing the mean-state winds. As a result, positive cloudiness and weakened surface wind speed emerge, which reduce ASIC through changes in the surface latent heat flux and the downward longwave radiation.
