Atmospheric feedback explains disparate climate response to regional Arctic sea-ice loss

Arctic sea-ice loss is a consequence of anthropogenic global warming and can itself be a driver of climate change in the Arctic and at lower latitudes, with sea-ice minima likely favoring extreme events over Europe and North America. Yet the role that the sea-ice plays in ongoing climate change rema...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Levine, Xavier|||0000-0003-4970-7026, Cvijanovic, Ivana, Ortega Montilla, Pablo|||0000-0002-4135-9621, Donat, Markus|||0000-0002-0608-7288, Tourigny, Etienne|||0000-0003-4628-1461
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/345676
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/345676
https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41612-021-00183-w
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Climatic changes
Sea ice--Arctic regions
Global warming.
Arctic sea-ice loss
Global warming
Climate change
Canvis climàtics
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Ciències de la terra i de la vida
Descripción
Sumario:Arctic sea-ice loss is a consequence of anthropogenic global warming and can itself be a driver of climate change in the Arctic and at lower latitudes, with sea-ice minima likely favoring extreme events over Europe and North America. Yet the role that the sea-ice plays in ongoing climate change remains uncertain, partly due to a limited understanding of whether and how the exact geographical distribution of sea-ice loss impacts climate. Here we demonstrate that the climate response to sea-ice loss can vary widely depending on the pattern of sea-ice change, and show that this is due to the presence of an atmospheric feedback mechanism that amplifies the local and remote signals when broader scale sea-ice loss occurs. Our study thus highlights the need to better constrain the spatial pattern of future sea-ice when assessing its impacts on the climate in the Arctic and beyond.