{"112691":{"#nid":"112691","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Arctic Sea Ice Decline May be Driving Snowy Winters Seen in Recent Years","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology provides\nfurther evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions\nand widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The study\u2019s findings could\nbe used to improve seasonal forecasting of snow and temperature anomalies across\nnorthern continents.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the level of Arctic sea ice set a new record low in\n2007, significantly above-normal winter snow cover has been seen in large parts\nof the northern United States, northwestern and central Europe, and northern\nand central China. During the winters of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, the Northern\nHemisphere measured its second and third largest snow cover levels on record.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur study demonstrates that the decrease in Arctic sea ice\narea is linked to changes in the winter Northern Hemisphere atmospheric\ncirculation,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/Judith_A_Curry\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJudith Curry\u003C\/a\u003E, chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric\nSciences at Georgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThe circulation changes result in more frequent\nepisodes of atmospheric blocking patterns, which lead to increased cold surges and\nsnow over large parts of the northern continents.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study was published on Feb. 27, 2012 in the online early\nedition of the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1114910109\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EProceedings of the\nNational Academy of Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E. The research was supported by NASA and the\nNational Science Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn this study, scientists from Georgia Tech, the Chinese\nAcademy of Sciences and Columbia University expanded on previous research by\ncombining observational data and model simulations to explore the link between unusually\nlarge snowfall amounts in the Northern Hemisphere in recent winters and\ndiminishing Arctic sea ice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers analyzed observational data collected\nbetween 1979 and 2010 and found that a decrease in autumn Arctic sea ice of 1\nmillion square kilometers -- the size of the surface area of Egypt -- corresponded\nto significantly above-normal winter snow cover in large parts of the northern\nUnited States, northwestern and central Europe, and northern and central China.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe analysis revealed two major factors that could be\ncontributing to the unusually large snowfall in recent winters -- changes in\natmospheric circulation and changes in atmospheric water vapor content -- which\nare both linked to diminishing Arctic sea ice. Strong warming in the Arctic\nthrough the late summer and autumn appears to be enhancing the melting of sea\nice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe think the recent snowy winters could be caused by the\nretreating Arctic ice altering\natmospheric circulation patterns by weakening westerly winds, increasing the amplitude of the jet stream\nand increasing the amount of moisture in the atmosphere,\u201d explained\nJiping Liu, a senior research scientist in the School of Earth and Atmospheric\nSciences at Georgia Tech. \u201cThese pattern changes enhance blocking patterns that\nfavor more frequent movement of cold air masses to middle and lower latitudes, leading to increased heavy snowfall\nin Europe and the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDiminishing\nArctic sea ice can cause changes in atmospheric circulation that lead to a circulation\npattern that is different than the\n\u201cnegative phase\u201d of the Arctic Oscillation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to analyzing observational data, the researchers\nalso assessed the impact of the diminishing Arctic sea ice on atmospheric\ncirculation by comparing the results of model simulations run with different sea\nice distribution. They ran one experiment that assumed seasonally varying\nArctic sea ice and utilized sea ice concentration data collected between 1979\nand 2010. Another simulation incorporated prescribed sea ice loss in autumn and winter based on satellite-derived\nArctic sea ice concentrations.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\nsimulations showed that diminishing Arctic sea ice induced a significant surface\nwarming in the Arctic Ocean and Greenland\/northeastern Canada, and cooling over\nnorthern North America, Europe, Siberia and eastern Asia. The models also\nshowed above-normal winter snowfall in large parts of the northern United\nStates, central Europe, and northern and central China.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe consistent relationships seen in the model simulations\nand observational data illustrate that the rapid loss of sea ice in summer and\ndelayed recovery of sea ice in autumn modulates snow cover, winter temperature and\nthe frequency of cold air outbreaks in northern mid-latitudes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHuijun Wang and Mirong Song of the Chinese Academy of\nSciences Institute of Atmospheric Physics and Radley Horton from the Columbia University Center for Climate\nSystems Research also contributed to this work.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project was\nsupported by the NASA Energy and Water Cycle Study and the National Science\nFoundation (NSF) (Award No. ANT-0838920). The content is solely the\nresponsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily\nrepresent the official views of NASA or the NSF.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations\nContacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John\nToon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter: \u003C\/strong\u003EAbby\nRobinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology provides\nfurther evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions\nand widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The study\u2019s findings could\nbe used to improve seasonal forecasting of snow and temperature anomalies across\nnorthern continents.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology provides further evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions and widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2012-02-27 16:44:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:44","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-27T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-27T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"112661":{"id":"112661","type":"image","title":"Snow cover maps","body":null,"created":"1449178213","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:13","changed":"1475894731","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:31","alt":"Snow cover maps","file":{"fid":"194161","name":"curry_snow_cover_hires.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/curry_snow_cover_hires_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/curry_snow_cover_hires_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":645830,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/curry_snow_cover_hires_0.jpg?itok=CG-ePtzN"}},"112671":{"id":"112671","type":"image","title":"Arctic sea ice concentration map","body":null,"created":"1449178213","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:13","changed":"1475894731","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:31","alt":"Arctic sea ice concentration map","file":{"fid":"194162","name":"curry_sea_ice_extent_hires.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/curry_sea_ice_extent_hires_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/curry_sea_ice_extent_hires_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1079277,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/curry_sea_ice_extent_hires_0.jpg?itok=cPVr0jvw"}},"112681":{"id":"112681","type":"image","title":"Winter blocking patterns","body":null,"created":"1449178213","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:13","changed":"1475894731","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:31","alt":"Winter blocking patterns","file":{"fid":"194163","name":"curry_blocking_hires.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/curry_blocking_hires_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/curry_blocking_hires_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":427967,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/curry_blocking_hires_0.jpg?itok=f9xZaByH"}}},"media_ids":["112661","112671","112681"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"25251","name":"Arctic sea ice"},{"id":"2868","name":"atmosphere"},{"id":"25301","name":"circulation"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"25291","name":"Jiping Liu"},{"id":"25241","name":"Judith Curry"},{"id":"167428","name":"snow"},{"id":"171188","name":"snowfall"},{"id":"3432","name":"weather"},{"id":"25311","name":"weather forecasting"},{"id":"4105","name":"winter"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAbby Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:abby@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eabby@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n404-385-3364\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}