Influence of Sea Surface Temperature on Sea Ice and Polar Climate Change

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Oceanography".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 7598

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: arctic climate; arctic ocean; sea ice; ocean–atmosphere interaction; arctic amplification; effect of tropical sea surface temperature (SST) on arctic climate

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: climate change and variability modeling; ocean and atmospheric dynamics; dynamical systems; artificial intelligence; sensitivity analysis; adaptive and optimal control
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the manifestations of global warming is the increase in sea surface temperature (SST), which serves as a prominent indicator of climate change and the presence of sea ice. The climatic maximum of SST occurs at low latitudes, where the Earth receives the most solar radiation. The tropic areas of ocean also absorb the bulk of the additional heat flux due to the anthropogenic heating of the planet. Intensification of the ocean circulation under global warming contributes to the transport of warm ocean water from the tropics to the poles, thereby leading to the formation of positive anomalies in SST at high latitudes. Specific patterns are forming in SST fields, the changes in which represent the climatic fluctuations known as the Atlantic Oscillation, PDO, and El Nino/La Nino. These cause disturbances in the atmospheric circulation that are responsible for the occurrence of anomalies in the heat and water vapor transport from tropical areas to high latitudes, thus affecting the formation of sea ice cover. In winter, an increase in SST in areas near the edge of sea ice constrains its spread, contributes to an earlier onset of melting, and leads to an increase in the transport of heat and water vapor that increases the temperature at the ice surface and slows down the growth of ice thickness. All of these allow us to consider SST to be an important link in the evolution of the sea ice cover and an indicator of the influence of the ocean on climate warming and reduction of sea ice at high latitudes. The results of research in these areas will constitute the main content of this Special Issue. We welcome too studies that address gaps in our current knowledge, including those that are related to the ability of global climate models to reproduce anomalies of SST and their impact on high-latitude climates. We also welcome studies on the influence of SST climatic phenomena on sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic and on the difference between them, and the development of methods for predicting the state of sea ice with adjustment for SST.

Prof. Genrikh Alekseev
Dr. Sergei Soldatenko
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • sea surface temperature
  • sea ice
  • Arctic
  • Antarctic
  • Atlantic Oscillation
  • Pacific Decadal Oscillation
  • El Niño/La Niño
  • climate models
  • climate change and projection

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4508 KiB  
Article
Influence of SST in Low Latitudes on the Arctic Warming and Sea Ice
by Genrikh V. Alekseev, Natalia I. Glok, Anastasia E. Vyazilova, Natalia E. Kharlanenkova and Mikhail Yu. Kulakov
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(10), 1145; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9101145 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2425
Abstract
Global climate models, focused on projecting anthropogenic warming, have not detected an increase in sea surface temperature (SST) at low latitudes comparable to the observed one. This appears to be one reason for the discrepancy between the model estimates of warming and reduction [...] Read more.
Global climate models, focused on projecting anthropogenic warming, have not detected an increase in sea surface temperature (SST) at low latitudes comparable to the observed one. This appears to be one reason for the discrepancy between the model estimates of warming and reduction of the sea ice extent in the Arctic and the observed changes in the climate system. In previous studies, it was shown that short-term manifestations of the impact of low latitudes on the Arctic climate were identified in 2–3 weeks as a result of strengthening of atmospheric circulation patterns. In this paper, for the first time, a climatic relationship was established among an increase in SST, air temperature, and water vapor content at low latitudes, and a decrease in sea ice extent in the Arctic. ECMWF Re-Analysis data (ERA-Interim, ERA5), Hadley Centre Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature data set (HadISST), sea ice archives of the World Centers NSIDC (USA), and Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (Russia), observations of water temperature in the Kola section (33°30’ E), calculated sea ice parameters using the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute coupled ice-ocean circulation model (AARI–IOCM). Methods of multivariate correlation analysis, calculating spectra and coherence, and creating correlation graphs were used to obtain the results. For the first time, estimates of the effect of heat transport from low to high latitudes on climate change and sea ice extent in the Arctic over the past 40 years have been obtained, explaining a significant part of their variability. The increase in heat transport is affected by an increase in SST at low latitudes, where a significant part of the solar heat is accumulated. Due to the increase in SST, the amount of heat transported by the ocean and the atmosphere from low latitudes to the Arctic increases, leading to an increase in the air temperature, water vapor content, downward longwave radiation at high latitudes, and a decrease in the thickness and extent of winter sea ice. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: the role of heat and moisture transport in the Arctic warming, effect of SST at low latitudes on transports, linkage of warming in low latitudes and in shrinking of the Arctic sea ice. Full article
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11 pages, 1587 KiB  
Article
CICE-LETKF Ensemble Analysis System with Application to Arctic Sea Ice Initialization
by Xiying Liu, Zicheng Sha and Chenchen Lu
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(9), 920; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9090920 - 24 Aug 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1690
Abstract
To study the effectiveness of methods to reduce errors for Arctic Sea ice initialization due to underestimation of background error covariance, an advanced ensemble analysis system has been developed. The system integrates the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) with the community ice [...] Read more.
To study the effectiveness of methods to reduce errors for Arctic Sea ice initialization due to underestimation of background error covariance, an advanced ensemble analysis system has been developed. The system integrates the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) with the community ice code (CICE). With a mixed layer ocean model used to compute the sea surface temperature (SST), the experiments on assimilation of observations of sea ice concentration (SIC) have been carried out. Assimilation experiments were performed over a 3-month period from January to March in 1997. The model was sequentially constrained with daily observation data. The effects of observation density, amplification factor for analysis error covariance, and relaxation of disturbance and spread on the results of SIC initialization were studied. It is shown that doubling the density of observation of SIC does not bring significant further improvement on the analysis result; when the ensemble size is doubled, most severe SIC biases in the Labrador, Greenland, Norwegian, and Barents seas are reduced; amplifying the analysis error covariance, relaxing disturbance, and relaxing spread all contribute to improving the reproduction of SIC with amplifying covariance with the largest magnitude. Full article
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18 pages, 2041 KiB  
Article
Effects of Global Warming on the Poleward Heat Transport by Non-Stationary Large-Scale Atmospheric Eddies, and Feedbacks Affecting the Formation of the Arctic Climate
by Sergei Soldatenko
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(8), 867; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9080867 - 12 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2796
Abstract
It is a well-known fact that the observed rise in the Arctic near-surface temperature is more than double the increase in global mean temperature. However, the entire scientific picture of the formation of the Arctic amplification has not yet taken final shape and [...] Read more.
It is a well-known fact that the observed rise in the Arctic near-surface temperature is more than double the increase in global mean temperature. However, the entire scientific picture of the formation of the Arctic amplification has not yet taken final shape and the causes of this phenomenon are still being discussed within the scientific community. Some recent studies suggest that the atmospheric equator-to-pole transport of heat and moisture, and also radiative feedbacks, are among the possible reasons for the Arctic amplification. In this paper, we highlight and summarize some of our research related to assessing the response of climate in the Arctic to global warming and vice versa. Since extratropical transient eddies dominate the meridional transport of sensible and latent heat from low to high latitudes, we estimated the effect of climate change on meridional heat transport by means of the β-plane model of baroclinic instability. It has been shown that the heat transport from low and middle latitudes to the Arctic by large scale transient eddies increases by about 9% due to global warming, contributing to the polar amplification and thereby a decrease in the extent of the Arctic sea, which, in turn, is an important factor in the formation of the Arctic climate. The main radiative feedback mechanisms affecting the formation of the Arctic climate are also considered and discussed. It was emphasized that the influence of feedbacks depends on a season since the total feedback in the winter season is negative, while in the summer season, it is positive. Thus, further research is required to diminish the uncertainty regarding the character of various feedback mechanisms in the shaping of the Artic climate and, through that, in predicting the extent of Arctic sea ice. Full article
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