EGU21-9312
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9312
EGU General Assembly 2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Record high Pacific Arctic seawater temperatures and delayed sea ice advance in response to episodic atmospheric blocking

Tsubasa Kodaira1, Takuji Waseda1, Takehiko Nose1, and Jun Inoue2
Tsubasa Kodaira et al.
  • 1University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Frotier Sciences, Ocean Technology, Policy, and Environment, Japan (kodaira@edu.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp)
  • 2Arctic Environment Research Center, National Institute of Polar Research

Arctic sea ice is rapidly decreasing during the recent period of global warming. One of the significant factors of the Arctic sea ice loss is oceanic heat transport from lower latitudes. For months of sea ice formation, the variations in the sea surface temperature over the Pacific Arctic region were highly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). However, the seasonal sea surface temperatures recorded their highest values in autumn 2018 when the PDO index was neutral. It is shown that the anomalous warm seawater was a rapid ocean response to the southerly winds associated with episodic atmospheric blocking over the Bering Sea in September 2018. This warm seawater was directly observed by the R/V Mirai Arctic Expedition in November 2018 to significantly delay the southward sea ice advance. If the atmospheric blocking forms during the PDO positive phase in the future, the annual maximum Arctic sea ice extent could be dramatically reduced.

How to cite: Kodaira, T., Waseda, T., Nose, T., and Inoue, J.: Record high Pacific Arctic seawater temperatures and delayed sea ice advance in response to episodic atmospheric blocking, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-9312, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9312, 2021.

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