Stratospheric response to Arctic sea ice retreat and associated planetary wave propagation changes

Ralf Jaiser; Klaus Dethloff; Dörthe Handorf

doi:10.3402/tellusa.v65i0.19375

Stratospheric response to Arctic sea ice retreat and associated planetary wave propagation changes

Tellus

Volume 65 (2013): Issue 1

By: Ralf Jaiser, Klaus Dethloff and Dörthe Handorf

Open Access

|Dec 2013

Abstract

The stratospheric response to the observed Arctic sea ice retreat is analysed based on European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Re-Analysis Interim (ERA-Interim) atmospheric data from 1979–2012. It is shown that changes in August/September sea ice concentration impact on tropospheric and stratospheric geopotential heights in the following winter. During low ice phases a negative tropospheric Arctic Oscillation pattern is found, which is connected to a weakened stratospheric polar vortex and warmer stratospheric temperatures. Furthermore, the analysis reveals enhanced upward EP fluxes due to planetary waves for low ice conditions. Strong stratospheric anomalies in the Atlantic/European region are associated with a weaker polar vortex. Low ice periods are connected with additional tropospheric wave energy excitation in the Pacific/North America region and influence the stratosphere through three-dimensional planetary wave propagation.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v65i0.19375 | Journal eISSN: 3035-9554

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Language: English

Page range: 19375 - 19375

Submitted on: Aug 10, 2012

Accepted on: May 29, 2013

Published on: Dec 1, 2013

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

Arctic sea ice retreat,

planetary wave propagation,

polar vortex,

Arctic oscillation

© 2013 Ralf Jaiser, Klaus Dethloff, Dörthe Handorf, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 65 (2013): Issue 1