• \
    Start Submission Become a Reviewer

    Reading: Sea-ice anomalies in the Sea of Okhotsk and the relationship with storm tracks in the Northe...

    Download

     A- A+
    Alt. Display

    Original Research Papers

    Sea-ice anomalies in the Sea of Okhotsk and the relationship with storm tracks in the Northern Hemisphere during winter

    Authors:

    Michel D. S. Mesquita ,

    Uni Bjerknes Centre, Allegaten 55, NO-5007, Bergen; Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allegaten 55, NO-5007, Bergen, NO; Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, International Arctic Research Center, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, US
    X close

    Kevin I. Hodges,

    National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 238, Reading, RG6 6AL, GB
    X close

    David E. Atkinson,

    Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, International Arctic Research Center, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, US
    X close

    Jürgen Bader

    Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allegaten 55, NO-5007, Bergen; University of Bergen, Geophysical Institute, Allegaten 70, NO-5007, Bergen, NO
    X close

    Abstract

    Previous studies have shown that sea-ice in the Sea of Okhotsk can be affected by local storms; in turn, the resultant sea-ice changes can affect the downstream development of storm tracks in the Pacific and possibly dampen a pre-existing North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) signal in late winter. In this paper, a storm tracking algorithm was applied to the six hourly horizontal winds from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data from 1978(9) to 2007 and output from the atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) ECHAM5 forced by sea-ice anomalies in the Sea of Okhotsk. The life cycle response of storms to sea-ice anomalies is investigated using various aspects of storm activity—cyclone genesis, lysis, intensity and track density. Results show that, for enhanced positive sea-ice concentrations in the Sea of Okhotsk, there is a decrease in secondary cyclogenesis, a westward shift in cyclolysis and changes in the subtropical jet are seen in the North Pacific. In the Atlantic, a pattern resembling the negative phase of the NAO is observed. This pattern is confirmed by the AGCM ECHAM5 experiments driven with above normal sea-ice anomalies in the Sea of Okhotsk.

    How to Cite: Mesquita, M.D.S., Hodges, K.I., Atkinson, D.E. and Bader, J., 2011. Sea-ice anomalies in the Sea of Okhotsk and the relationship with storm tracks in the Northern Hemisphere during winter. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, 63(2), pp.312–323. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.2010.00483.x
    3
    Views
    1
    Downloads
    16
    Citations
      Published on 01 Jan 2011
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 20 Aug 2010            Submitted on 30 Nov 2009

    References

    1. Alexander , M. A. , Bhatt , U. S. , Walsh , J. E. , Timlin , M. S. , Miller , J. S. and co-authors . 2004 . The atmospheric response to realistic arctic sea ice anomalies in an AGCM during winter. J. Clim . 17 , 890 - 905 .  

    2. Bengtsson , L. , Hodges , K. I. and Roeckner , E . 2006 . Storm tracks and climate change . J. Clim . 19 , 3518 – 3543 .  

    3. Cavalieri , D. , Parkinson , C. , Gloersen , P. and Zwally , H. J. 2008 . Sea ice concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I passive microwave data. Accessed: 29 June 2009. Boulder, Colorado, USA : National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media .  

    4. Chang , E. K. M. and Fu , Y . 2002 . Interdecadal variations in Northern Hemisphere winter storm track intensity . J. Clim . 15 , 642 – 658 .  

    5. Chang , E. K. M. and Yu , D. B . 1999 . Characteristics of wave packets in the upper troposphere. Part I: Northern Hemisphere winter. J. Atmos. Sc i . 56 , 1708 – 1728 .  

    6. Chang , E. K. M. , Lee , S. and Swanson , K. L . 2002 . Storm track dynamics . J. Clim ., 15 , 2163 – 2183 .  

    7. Deser , C. , Walsh , J. E. and Timlin , M. S . 2000 . Arctic Sea ice variability in the context of recent atmospheric circulation trends . J. Clim . 13 , 617 – 633 .  

    8. Deser , C. , Magnusdottir , G. , Saravanan , R. and Phillips , A . 2004 . The effects of north Atlantic SST and sea ice anomalies on the winter circulation in CCM3. Partdirect and indirect components of theresponse . J. Clim . 17 , 877 – 889 .  

    9. Fang , Z. and Wallace , J. M . 1994 . Arctic sea ice variability on a timescale of weeks and its relation to atmospheric forcing . J. Clim . 7 , 1897 – 1914 .  

    10. Franzke , C. and Feldstein , S. B . 2005 . The continuum and dynamics of Northern Hemisphere teleconnections patterns. J. Atmos. Sc i . 62 , 3250 – 3267 .  

    11. Hodges , K. I . 1994 . A general method for tracking analysis and its application to meteorological data. Mon . Weather Re v . 122 , 2573 – 2586 .  

    12. Hodges , K. I . 1995 . Feature tracking on the unit sphere. Mon . Weather Re v . 123 , 3458 – 3465 .  

    13. Hodges , K. I . 1996 . Spherical nonparametric estimators applied to the UGAMP model integration for AMIP. Mon . Weather Re v . 124 , 2914 – 2932 .  

    14. Hodges , K. I . 1999 . Adaptive constraints for feature tracking. Mon . Weather Re v . 127 , 1362 – 1373 .  

    15. Hodges , K. I. , Hoskins , B. J. , Boyle , J. and Thorncroft , C. 2003. A comparison of recent re-analysis data sets using objective feature tracking: storm tracks and tropical easterly waves. Mon. Weather Rev. 131 , 2012 - 2037 .  

    16. Hodges , K. I . 2008 . Confidence intervals and significance tests for spherical data derived from feature tracking. Mon . Weather Re v . 136 , 1758 – 1777 .  

    17. Honda , M. , Nakamura , H. , Ukita , J . , Kousalca , I. and Takeuchi , K . 2001 . Interannual seesaw between the Aleutian and Icelandic lows. Part I: seasonal dependence and life cycle. J. Clim. 14 , 1029 - 1042 .  

    18. Honda , M. , Yamazalci , K. , Nakamura , H. and Takeuchi , K . 1999 . Dy-namic and thermodynamic characteristics of atmospheric response to anomalous sea-ice extent in the Sea of Okhotsk . J. Clim . 12 , 3347 – 3358 .  

    19. Hoskins , B. J. and Hodges , K. I . 2002 . New perspectives on the Northern Hemisphere winter storm tracks. J. Atmos. Sc i . 59 , 1041 – 1061 .  

    20. Johnson , C. M . 1980 . Wintertime Arctic Sea ice extremes and the si-multaneous atmospheric circulation. Mon . Weather Re v . 108 , 1782 – 1791 .  

    21. Kalnay , E. , Kanamitsu , M. , Kistler , R. , Collins , W. , Deaven , D. , and co-authors . 1996 . The NCEP-NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bull. Am. MeteoroL Soc . 77 , 437 - 471 .  

    22. Kistler , R. , Kalnay , E. , Collins , W. , Saha , S. , White , G. and co-authors . 2001 . The NCEP-NCAR 50-year reanalysis: monthly means CD-ROM and documentation. Bull. Am. MeteoroL Soc . 82 , 247 - 267 .  

    23. Magnusdottir , G. , Deser , C. and Saravanan , R . 2004 . The effects of north Atlantic SST and sea ice anomalies on the winter circulation in CCM3. Part I: main features and storm track characteristics of the response . J. Clim . 17 , 857 – 876 .  

    24. Mesquita , M. D. S. , Atkinson , D. E. and Hodges , K. I . 2010 . Character-istics and variability of storm tracks in the North Pacific, Bering Sea and Alaska . J. Clim . 23 , 294 – 311 .  

    25. Murray , R. J. and Simmonds , I . 1995 . Responses of climate and cy-clones to reductions in Arctic winter sea ice . J. Geophys. Res . 100 , 4791 – 4806 .  

    26. Orlanslci , I . 2005 . A new look at the Pacific storm track variability: sensitivity to tropical SSTs and to upstream seeding. J. Atmos. Sc i . 62 , 1367 – 1390 .  

    27. Orsolini , Y. J. and Kvamsto , N. G . 2009 . The role of the Eurasian snow cover upon the wintertime circulation: decadal simulations forced with satellite observations . J. Geophys. Res . 114 , D19108 . https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JDO12253 .  

    28. Overland , J. E. and Pease , C. H . 1982 . Cyclone Climatology of the Bering Sea and Its Relation to Sea Ice Extent. Mon . Weather Re v . 110 , 5 – 13 .  

    29. Parkinson , C. L . 1990 . The impact of the Siberian high and Aleutian low on the sea-ice cover of the Sea of Okhotsk . Ann. Glaciol . 14 , 226 – 229 .  

    30. Partington , K. , Flynn , T. , Lamb , D. , Bertoia , C. and Dedrick , K . 2003 . Late twentieth century Northern Hemisphere sea-ice record from U.S. National Ice Center ice charts . J. Geophys. Res . 108 , 3343 . https://doi.org/10.3310.1029/2002JC001623 .  

    31. Rilciishi , K. and Takatsuji , S . 2005 . On the growth of ice cover in the Sea of Okhotsk with special reference to its negative correlation with that in the Bering Sea . Ann. Glaciol . 42 , 380 – 388 .  

    32. Riviere , G. and Orlanslci , I . 2007 . Characteristics of the Atlantic storm-track eddy activity and its relation with the North Atlantic oscillation. J. Atmos. Sc i . 64 , 241 – 266 .  

    33. Roeckner , E. , Bäuml , G. , Bonaventura , L. , Brokopf , R. , Esch , M. and co-authors . 2003 . The atmospheric general circulation model ECHAM 5. In MPI Report 349 .  

    34. Roeckner , E. , Brokopf , R. , Esch , M. , Giorgetta , M. , Hagemann , S. and co-authors . 2006. Sensitivity of simulated climate to horizontal and vertical resolution in the ECHAM5 atmosphere model. J. Clim . 19 , 3771-379 1 .  

    35. Rogers , J. C. and van Loon , H . 1979 . The seesaw in winter temperatures between Greenland and Northern Europe. Part some oceanic and atmospheric effects in middle and high latitudes. Mon . Weather Re v . 107 , 509 – 519 .  

    36. Seierstad , I. A. and Bader , J . 2009 . Impact of a projected future Arctic sea ice reduction on extratropical storminess and the NAO . Clim. Dyn . 33 , 937 – 943 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-008-0431-5 .  

    37. Simmonds , I. and Budd , W. F . 1991 . Sensitivity of the sourthern hemi-sphere circulation to leads in the Antarctic pack ice . Quart. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 117 , 1003 – 1024 .  

    38. Simmonds , I. and Keay , K . 2002 . Surface fluxes of momentum and mechanical energy over the north Pacific and north Atlantic oceans . Meteor. Atmos. Phys . 80 , 1 – 18 .  

    39. Strong , C. and Magnusdottir , G . 2008a . Tropospheric Rossby wave breaking and the NAO/NAM. J. Atmos. Sc i . 65 , 2861 – 2876 .  

    40. Strong , C. and Magnusdottir , G . 2008b . How Rossby wave breaking over the Pacific forces the North Atlantic oscillation . Geophys. Res. Lett . 35 , L10706 . https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033578 .  

    41. Toyota , T. , Ukita , J. , Ohshima , K. I. , Walcatsuchi , M. and Mu-ramoto , K . 1999 . A measurement of sea ice albedo over the southwestern Okhotsk Sea . J. MeteoroL Soc. Jpn . 77 , 117 – 133 .  

    42. Woollings , T. , Hoskins , B. , Blackburn , M. , Hassell , D. and Hodges , K. I . 2010 . Storm track sensitivity to sea surface temperature resolution in a regional atmosphere model . Clim. Dyn . 35 , 341 – 353 .  

    43. Yamamoto , K. , Tachibana , Y. , Honda , M. and Ukita , J . 2006 . Intra-seasonal relationship between the Northern Hemisphere sea ice vari-ability and the North Atlantic oscillation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L14711, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026286 .  

    Jump to Discussions Related content
    comments powered by Disqus