The Weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Diminishes Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss

6Citations
Citations of this article
16Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The Arctic sea ice has been rapidly dwindling over the past four decades, significantly impacting the Arctic region and beyond. During the same period, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) was also found in a declining trend. Here we investigate the role of the AMOC in the recent Arctic sea ice changes by comparing simulations from the Community Climate System Model version 4 with decelerated and stationary AMOCs under anthropogenic climate change. We find that the weakened AMOC can slow down the decline rates of Arctic sea ice area and volume by 36% and 22% between 1980 and 2020, respectively. The decelerated ocean circulation causes a reduction of northward Atlantic heat transport and hence a general interior ocean cooling in the Arctic Mediterranean, which helps alleviate the Arctic sea ice loss primarily through thermodynamic processes occurring at the base of the sea ice.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Lee, Y. C., & Liu, W. (2023). The Weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Diminishes Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(21). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105929

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free