Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking

Abstract The influence of Greenland blocking on continental cold anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere is examined. It is found that westward moving Greenland blocking (WGB) events in the recent decade are more strongly related to the sea ice decline over the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Labrador Se...

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Main Authors: Xiaodan Chen, Dehai Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-04-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072387
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author Xiaodan Chen
Dehai Luo
author_facet Xiaodan Chen
Dehai Luo
author_sort Xiaodan Chen
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The influence of Greenland blocking on continental cold anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere is examined. It is found that westward moving Greenland blocking (WGB) events in the recent decade are more strongly related to the sea ice decline over the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Labrador Sea (BDL), while the quasi‐stationary Greenland blocking (QGB) events are more strongly related to the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The frequency of WGB events is significantly increased owing to reduced mid‐high‐latitude westerly winds in the North Atlantic and its upstream region because of intensified Arctic warming related to the large BDL sea ice decline. It is further revealed that North American low temperatures are more sensitive to the WGB, while European low temperatures are more sensitive to the QGB. For the WGB, an intense cold anomaly is seen over the eastern North America. But for the QGB, strong cold anomalies appear over the North Europe and eastern Asia. Thus, it is concluded that more winter cold air outbreaks should occur over the eastern North America, if large BDL sea ice decline continues in the recent decade.
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spelling doaj-art-55e6dc9d267e4d8094de1aa046a650832025-08-20T03:10:24ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072017-04-014473411341910.1002/2016GL072387Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blockingXiaodan Chen0Dehai Luo1CAS Key Laboratory of Regional Climate‐Environment for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics Chinese Academy of Science Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Regional Climate‐Environment for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics Chinese Academy of Science Beijing ChinaAbstract The influence of Greenland blocking on continental cold anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere is examined. It is found that westward moving Greenland blocking (WGB) events in the recent decade are more strongly related to the sea ice decline over the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Labrador Sea (BDL), while the quasi‐stationary Greenland blocking (QGB) events are more strongly related to the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The frequency of WGB events is significantly increased owing to reduced mid‐high‐latitude westerly winds in the North Atlantic and its upstream region because of intensified Arctic warming related to the large BDL sea ice decline. It is further revealed that North American low temperatures are more sensitive to the WGB, while European low temperatures are more sensitive to the QGB. For the WGB, an intense cold anomaly is seen over the eastern North America. But for the QGB, strong cold anomalies appear over the North Europe and eastern Asia. Thus, it is concluded that more winter cold air outbreaks should occur over the eastern North America, if large BDL sea ice decline continues in the recent decade.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072387Arctic sea ice declinecold wintersGreenland blocking
spellingShingle Xiaodan Chen
Dehai Luo
Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking
Geophysical Research Letters
Arctic sea ice decline
cold winters
Greenland blocking
title Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking
title_full Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking
title_fullStr Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking
title_full_unstemmed Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking
title_short Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking
title_sort arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies upstream and downstream effects of greenland blocking
topic Arctic sea ice decline
cold winters
Greenland blocking
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072387
work_keys_str_mv AT xiaodanchen arcticseaicedeclineandcontinentalcoldanomaliesupstreamanddownstreameffectsofgreenlandblocking
AT dehailuo arcticseaicedeclineandcontinentalcoldanomaliesupstreamanddownstreameffectsofgreenlandblocking