Arctic amplification is caused by sea-ice loss under increasing CO2

Arctic amplification is caused by sea-ice loss under increasing CO2

Warming in the Arctic has been much faster than the rest of the world in both observations and model simulations, a phenomenon known as the Arctic amplification (AA) whose cause is still under debate. By analyzing data and model simulations, here we show that large AA occurs only from October to Apr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2019-01, Vol.10 (1), p.121-121, Article 121
Main Authors: Dai, Aiguo, Luo, Dehai, Song, Mirong, Liu, Jiping
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Amplification
Carbon dioxide
Computer simulation
Data processing
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Heat flux
Ice
Ice environments
Melts
Polar environments
Radiation
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Sea ice
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Summary:Warming in the Arctic has been much faster than the rest of the world in both observations and model simulations, a phenomenon known as the Arctic amplification (AA) whose cause is still under debate. By analyzing data and model simulations, here we show that large AA occurs only from October to April and only over areas with significant sea-ice loss. AA largely disappears when Arctic sea ice is fixed or melts away. Periods with larger AA are associated with larger sea-ice loss, and models with bigger sea-ice loss produce larger AA. Increased outgoing longwave radiation and heat fluxes from the newly opened waters cause AA, whereas all other processes can only indirectly contribute to AA by melting sea-ice. We conclude that sea-ice loss is necessary for the existence of large AA and that models need to simulate Arctic sea ice realistically in order to correctly simulate Arctic warming under increasing CO2.The cause of Arctic amplification is still heavily debated. Here the authors present climate change simulations to show that sea-ice loss is essential for the existence of Arctic amplification.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723