The seasonal Antarctic sea ice concentration anomalies related to the Atlantic Niño index

Abstract

Antarctic sea ice concentration anomalies (ASICA) have been found to be linked to sea surface temperature anomalies in tropical oceans. However, it is not clear whether and how ASICA is linked to the Atlantic Niño mode (ANM). This study demonstrates a significant relationship between ASICA and ANM. The relationships vary by season, with a peak in austral winter and a secondary one in spring. Significant sea ice anomalies associated with a positive phase of ANM are mostly negative in austral winter and spring, and mostly positive in austral summer and autumn. This teleconnection is established by atmospheric wavetrains that are excited over the tropical southwestern Pacific and Indian Oceans and the southern Atlantic Oceans and propagate over the Southern Ocean. These wavetrains induce anomalous near-surface circulations, which generate dynamic and thermodynamic forcing on sea ice, resulting in the observed ASICA patterns. The absence of El Niño Southern Oscillation weakens the connection.