DOE OSTI · 2572203
Arctic sea-ice loss drives a strong regional atmospheric response over the North Pacific and North Atlantic on decadal scales
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that Arctic sea-ice loss can have a profound influence on atmospheric circulation far away from the Arctic. However, there is little scientific consensus on the features of these remote responses, with the opposite impacts reported. Here we present a multi-model analysis of the decadal climate response to Arctic sea-ice loss using state-of-the-art energy conserving methodologies to isolate the impacts of sea-ice decline. We observe weakening of the Aleutian Low and development of a geopotential ridge in the North Pacific, associated with drier winter conditions over the southwest United States. Over the Atlantic, a negative NAO-like response drives wetter winter conditions across the western Mediterranean. These decadal-scale impacts substantially differ from reported centennial-scale responses to Arctic sea-ice loss simulated using non-energy conserving methodologies. Factors such as the timescale of the response and methodologies used to isolate the impacts of disappearing sea-ice cover should be carefully considered when consolidating scientific understanding on the future impacts of changing Arctic.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Cvijanovic, Ivana [Barcelona Institute for Global Health (Spain); ESPACE-DEV (France)] (ORCID:0000000217387745), Simon, Amelie [Univ. of Brest (France); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) (France)], Levine, Xavier [Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE) (Norway)], White, Rachel [Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada)], Ortega, Pablo [Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) (Spain)], Donat, Markus [Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) (Spain); Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000206087288), Lucas, Donald D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000246496967), Chiang, John C. H. [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000177239544), Seidenglanz, Anne [Unaffiliated], Bojovic, Dragana [Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) (Spain)], Amaral, Arthur Ramos [European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), Reading (United Kingdom)], Lapin, Vladimir [Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000173028539), Doblas-Reyes, Francisco [Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) (Spain); Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona (Spain)], Petrova, Desislava [Barcelona Institute for Global Health (Spain)]. 2025-03-11. Arctic sea-ice loss drives a strong regional atmospheric response over the North Pacific and North Atlantic on decadal scales. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02059-w
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.