ADVANCES IN POLAR SCIENCE ›› 2013, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (3): 226-233.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.2013.00226

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THE MAIN MODES OF ARCTIC SEA ICE AND ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

Zhang Tao1, Liu Xiying1, Hu Xiaoming2   

  1.  
    1 College of Meteorology and Oceanography, PLA university of Science and Technology, Nanjing 211101, China;
    2College of Physical and Environmental Oceanography, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  • Received:2012-12-14 Revised:2013-04-12 Online:2013-09-30 Published:2013-09-30
  • Contact: ZHANG Tao

Abstract: Thirty-one years of monthly mean CFSR(The Climate Forecast System Reanalysis)  SIC (sea ice concentration) and SLP (sea level pressure) data and multivariate experience orthogonal function (MV-EOF) analysis are used to document the coupled main modes of sea ice and atmospheric circulation, And the temperature, geopotential height and wind field in regression analysis to further explore the relationship between sea ice and atmospheric circulation. The first mode of SLP resembles the structure of AO (Arctic oscillation), and the SIC show a dipolar structure between the American part and the Eurasia part of Arctic. When AO in its positive phase, there is negative sea ice anomaly in kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea and Sea of Okhotsk, and positive sea ice anomaly in Baffin Bay, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea. And the polar vortex at 500pha, meridional circulation and jet stream at 200hpa are enhanced, on the contrary, when AO in is negative phase, the west Arctic sea ice increase and the east Arctic sea ice decrease, and the polar vortex at 500hpa, meridional circulation and jet stream and 200hpa are weakened. The second mode indicates the long-term trend of sea ice and atmospheric circulation. And in 90’s there was a abrupt change, after this time, the sea ice Continuing decline, SLP depress. 500hpa East Asian trough weakened North American trough increase. The third mode of SLP is a dipolar structure and sea ice has seesaw structure between Barents Sea, GIN (Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian) sea, Fram Strait and Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Beaufort Sea and sea of Okhotsk. The main coupled period of sea ice and atmospheric is a interdecadal period about 10 to 20 years. And AO mostly influence the sea ice though dynamics, but the dipolar has both dynamic and thermodynamic influence on sea ice.

Key words: Arctic sea ice, SLP, MV-EOF, AO