Sensitivity of sea ice to wind-stress and radiative forcing since 1500: a model study of the Little Ice Age and beyond

Three different reconstructed wind-stress fields which take into account variations of the North Atlantic Oscillation, one general circulation model wind-stress field, and three radiative forcings (volcanic activity, insolation changes and greenhouse gas changes) are used with the UVic Earth System Climate Model to simulate the surface air temperature, the sea-ice cover, and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) since 1500, a period which includes the Little Ice Age (LIA). The simulated Northern Hemisphere surface air temperature, used for model validation, agrees well with several temperature reconstructions. The simulated sea-ice cover in each hemisphere responds quite differently to the forcings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the simulated sea-ice area and volume during the LIA are larger than the present-day area and volume. The wind-driven changes in sea-ice area are about twice as large as those due to thermodynamic (i.e., radiative) forcing. For the sea-ice volume, changes due to wind forcing and thermodynamics are of similar magnitude. Before 1850, the simulations suggest that volcanic activity was mainly responsible for the thermodynamically produced area and volume changes, while after 1900 the slow greenhouse gas increase was the main driver of the sea-ice changes. Changes in insolation have a small effect on the sea ice throughout the integration period. The export of the thicker sea ice during the LIA has no significant effect on the maximum strength of the AMOC. A more important process in altering the maximum strength of the AMOC and the sea-ice thickness is the wind-driven northward ocean heat transport. In the Southern Hemisphere, there are no visible long-term trends in the simulated sea-ice area or volume since 1500. The wind-driven changes are roughly four times larger than those due to radiative forcing. Prior to 1800, all the radiative forcings could have contributed to the thermodynamically driven changes in area and volume. In the 1800s the volcanic forcing was dominant, and during the first part of the 1900s both the insolation changes and the greenhouse gas forcing are responsible for thermodynamically produced changes. Finally, in the latter part of the 1900s the greenhouse gas forcing is the dominant factor in determining the sea-ice changes in the Southern Hemisphere.

Evaluation of the North Atlantic Oscillation as simulated by a coupled climate model

 The realism of the Hadley Centre’s coupled climate model (HadCM2) is evaluated in terms of its simulation of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a major natural mode of the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere that is currently the subject of considerable scientific interest. During 1400 y of a control integration with present-day radiative forcing levels, HadCM2 exhibits a realistic NAO associated with spatial patterns of sea level pressure, synoptic activity, temperature and precipitation anomalies that are very similar to those observed. Spatially, the main model deficiency is that the simulated NAO has a teleconnection with the North Pacific that is stronger than observed. In a temporal sense the simulation is compatible with the observations if the recent observed trend (from low values in the 1960s to high values in the early 1990s) in the winter NAO index (the pressure difference between Gibraltar and Iceland) is ignored. This recent trend is, however, outside the range of variability simulated by the control integration of HadCM2, implying that either the model is deficient or that external forcing is responsible for the variation. It is shown, by analysing two ensembles, each of four HadCM2 integrations that were forced with historic and possible future changes in greenhouse gas and sulphate aerosol concentrations, that a small part of the recent observed variation may be a result of anthropogenic forcing. If so, then the HadCM2 experiments indicate that the anthropogenic effect should reverse early next century, weakening the winter pressure gradient between Gibraltar and Iceland. Even combining this anthropogenic forcing and internal variability cannot explain all of the recent observed variations, indicating either some model deficiency or that some other external forcing is partly responsible. Received: 20 August 1998 / Accepted: 12 May 1999     

外强迫引起的夏季大气环流异常及其机制探讨

本文主要探讨了夏季模式大气对热带海温和高纬极冰异常的外强迫响应机制,结果表明,在大气环流模式长时间积分以后,不同的外强迫源均可在全球大气的一些关键性区域激发产生相同的环流异常型,即夏季大气主要异常型对外强迫源地理位置不敏感,很大程度上依赖于大气内部动力学过程.根据以上特点本文提出外强迫引起大气异常存在两类机制,其中外强迫和大气内部动力学过程相互作用机制是产生大气异常的重要动力学途径.     

Radiative Forcing and Climate Response Due to Black Carbon in Snow and Ice

The radiative forcing and climate response due to black carbon(BC) in snow and/or ice were investigated by integrating observed effects of BC on snow/ice albedo into an atmospheric general circulation model(BCC AGCM2.0.1) developed by the National Climate Center(NCC) of the China Meteorological Administration(CMA).The results show that the global annual mean surface radiative forcing due to BC in snow/ice is +0.042 W m 2,with maximum forcing found over the Tibetan Plateau and regional mean forcing exceeding +2.8 W m 2.The global annual mean surface temperature increased 0.071 C due to BC in snow/ice.Positive surface radiative forcing was clearly shown in winter and spring and increased the surface temperature of snow/ice in the Northern Hemisphere.The surface temperatures of snow-covered areas of Eurasia and North America in winter(spring) increased by 0.83 C(0.6 C) and 0.83 C(0.46 C),respectively.Snowmelt rates also increased greatly,leading to earlier snowmelt and peak runoff times.With the rise of surface temperatures in the Arctic,more water vapor could be released into the atmosphere,allowing easier cloud formation,which could lead to higher thermal emittance in the Arctic.However,the total cloud forcing could decrease due to increasing cloud cover,which will offset some of the positive feedback mechanism of the clouds.     

On the role of high latitude ice,snow, and vegetation feedbacks in the climatic response to external forcing changes

A seasonal energy balance climate model containing a detailed treatment of surface and planetary albedo, and in which seasonally varying land snow and sea ice amounts are simulated in terms of a number of explicit physical processes, is used to investigate the role of high latitude ice, snow, and vegetation feedback processes. Feedback processes are quantified by computing changes in radiative forcing and feedback factors associated with individual processes. Global sea ice albedo feedback is 5–8 times stronger than global land snowcover albedo feedback for a 2% solar constant increase or decrease, with Southern Hemisphere cryosphere feedback being 2–5 times stronger than Northern Hemisphere cryosphere feedback.In the absence of changes in ice extent, changes in ice thickness in response to an increase in solar constant are associated with an increase in summer surface melting which is exactly balanced by increased basal winter freezing, and a reduction in the upward ocean-air flux in summer which is exactly balanced by an increased flux in winter, with no change in the annual mean ocean-air flux. Changes in the mean annual ocean-air heat flux require changes in mean annual ice extent, and are constrained to equal the change in meridional oceanic heat flux convergence in equilibrium. Feedback between ice extent and the meridional oceanic heat flux obtained by scaling the oceanic heat diffusion coefficient by the ice-free fraction regulates the feedback between ice extent and mean annual air-sea heat fluxes in polar regions, and has a modest effect on model-simulated high latitude temperature change.Accounting for the partial masking effect of vegetation on snow-covered land reduces the Northern Hemisphere mean temperature response to a 2% solar constant decrease or increase by 20% and 10%, respectively, even though the radiative forcing change caused by land snowcover changes is about 3 times larger in the absence of vegetational masking. Two parameterizations of the tundra fraction are tested: one based on mean annual land air temperature, and the other based on July land air temperature. The enhancement of the mean Northern Hemisphere temperature response to solar constant changes when the forest-tundra ecotone is allowed to shift with climate is only 1/3 to 1/2 that obtained by Otterman et al. (1984) when the mean annual parameterization is used here, and only 1/4 to 1/3 as large using the July parameterization.The parameterized temperature dependence of ice and snow albedo is found to enhance the global mean temperature response to a 2% solar constant increase by only 0.04 °C, in sharp contrast to the results of Washington and Meehl (1986) obtained with a mean annual model. However, there are significant differences in the method used here and in Washington and Meehl to estimate the importance of this feedback process. When their approach is used in a mean annual version of the present model, closer agreement to their results is obtained.     

Using idealized snow forcing to test teleconnections with the Indian summer monsoon in the Hadley Centre GCM

Anomalous heavy snow during winter or spring has long been regarded as a possible precursor of deficient Indian monsoon rainfall during the subsequent summer. However previous work in this field is inconclusive, in terms of the mechanism that communicates snow anomalies to the monsoon summer, and even the region from which snow has the most impact. In this study we explore these issues in coupled and atmosphere-only versions of the Hadley Centre model. A 1050-year control integration of the HadCM3 coupled model, which well represents the seasonal cycle of snow cover over the Eurasian continent, is analysed and shows evidence for weakened monsoons being preceded by strong snow forcing (in the absence of ENSO) over either the Himalaya/Tibetan Plateau or north/west Eurasia regions. However, empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of springtime interannual variability in snow depth shows the leading mode to have opposite signs between these two regions, suggesting that competing mechanisms may be possible. To determine the dominant region, ensemble integrations are carried out using HadAM3, the atmospheric component of HadCM3, and a variety of anomalous snow forcing initial conditions obtained from the control integration of the coupled model. Forcings are applied during spring in separate experiments over the Himalaya/Tibetan Plateau and north/west Eurasia regions, in conjunction with climatological SSTs in order to avoid the direct effects of ENSO. With the aid of idealized forcing conditions in sensitivity tests, we demonstrate that forcing from the Himalaya region is dominant in this model via a Blanford-type mechanism involving reduced surface sensible heat and longwave fluxes, reduced heating of the troposphere over the Tibetan Plateau and consequently a reduced meridional tropospheric temperature gradient which weakens the monsoon during early summer. Snow albedo is shown to be key to the mechanism, explaining around 50% of the perturbation in sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau, and accounting for the majority of cooling through the troposphere.     

Atmospheric winter response to a projected future Antarctic sea-ice reduction: a dynamical analysis

Several studies have analysed the atmospheric response to sea-ice changes in the Arctic region, but only few have considered the Antarctic. Here, the atmospheric response to sea-ice variability in the Southern Hemisphere is investigated with the atmospheric general circulation model ECHAM5. The model is forced by the present and a projected future seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice. In September, the mean atmospheric response exhibits distinct similarities to the structure of the negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode, the leading mode of Southern Hemisphere variability. In the reduced Antarctic sea-ice integration, there is an equatorward shift of the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude jet and the storm tracks. In contrast to a recent previous study, our findings indicate that a substantial impact of Southern Hemispheric future sea-ice reduction on the mid-latitude circulation cannot be ruled out.     

Time-dependent response of a zonally averaged ocean–atmosphere–sea ice model to Milankovitch forcing

An ocean–atmosphere–sea ice model is developed to explore the time-dependent response of climate to Milankovitch forcing for the time interval 5–3 Myr BP. The ocean component is a zonally averaged model of the circulation in five basins (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans). The atmospheric component is a one-dimensional (latitudinal) energy balance model, and the sea-ice component is a thermodynamic model. Two numerical experiments are conducted. The first experiment does not include sea ice and the Arctic Ocean; the second experiment does. Results from the two experiments are used to investigate (1) the response of annual mean surface air and ocean temperatures to Milankovitch forcing, and (2) the role of sea ice in this response. In both experiments, the response of air temperature is dominated by obliquity cycles at most latitudes. On the other hand, the response of ocean temperature varies with latitude and depth. Deep water formed between 45°N and 65°N in the Atlantic Ocean mainly responds to precession. In contrast, deep water formed south of 60°S responds to obliquity when sea ice is not included. Sea ice acts as a time-integrator of summer insolation changes such that annual mean sea-ice conditions mainly respond to obliquity. Thus, in the presence of sea ice, air temperature changes over the sea ice are amplified, and temperature changes in deep water of southern origin are suppressed since water below sea ice is kept near the freezing point.     

Long-term variability in Northern Hemisphere snow cover and associations with warmer winters

A monthly snow accumulation and melt model is used with gridded monthly temperature and precipitation data for the Northern Hemisphere to generate time series of March snow-covered area (SCA) for the period 1905 through 2002. The time series of estimated SCA for March is verified by comparison with previously published time series of SCA for the Northern Hemisphere. The time series of estimated Northern Hemisphere March SCA shows a substantial decrease since about 1970, and this decrease corresponds to an increase in mean winter Northern Hemisphere temperature. The increase in winter temperature has caused a decrease in the fraction of precipitation that occurs as snow and an increase in snowmelt for some parts of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly the mid-latitudes, thus reducing snow packs and March SCA. In addition, the increase in winter temperature and the decreases in SCA appear to be associated with a contraction of the circumpolar vortex and a poleward movement of storm tracks, resulting in decreased precipitation (and snow) in the low- to mid-latitudes and an increase in precipitation (and snow) in high latitudes. If Northern Hemisphere winter temperatures continue to warm as they have since the 1970s, then March SCA will likely continue to decrease.     

Actual and insolation-weighted Northern Hemisphere snow cover and sea-ice between 1973–2002

Actual and insolation-weighted Northern Hemisphere snow cover and sea ice are binned by latitude bands for the years 1973–2002. Antarctic sea-ice is also analyzed for the years 1980–2002. The use of insolation weighting provides an improved estimate of the radiative feedbacks of snow cover and sea-ice into the atmosphere. One conclusion of our assessment is that while a decrease in both areal and insolation-weighted values have occurred, the data does not show a monotonic decrease of either Arctic sea-ice or Northern Hemisphere snow cover. If Arctic perennial sea-ice is decreasing since the total reduction in areal coverage is relatively small, a large portion of it is being replenished each year such that its radiative feedback to the atmosphere is muted. Antarctic sea-ice areal cover shows no significant long-term trend, while there is a slight decrease in the insolation-weighted values for the period 1980–2002. From the early 1990s to 2001, there was a slight increase in both values. The comparison of general circulation model simulations of changes over the last several decades to observed changes in insolation-weighted sea-ice and snow cover should be a priority research topic.     

North Pacific cyclonic and anticyclonic transients in a global warming context: possible consequences for Western North American daily precipitation and temperature extremes

Trajectories of surface cyclones and anticyclones were constructed using an automated scheme by tracking local minima and maxima of mean daily sea level pressure data in the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis and the Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques coupled global climate Model (CNRM-CM3) SRES A2 integration. Mid-latitude lows and highs traveling in the North Pacific were tracked and daily frequencies were gridded. Transient activity in the CNRM-CM3 historical simulation (1950–1999) was validated against reanalysis. The GCM correctly reproduces winter trajectories as well as mean geographical distributions of cyclones and anticyclones over the North Pacific in spite of a general under-estimation of cyclones’ frequency. On inter-annual time scales, frequencies of cyclones and anticyclones vary in accordance with the Aleutian Low (AL) strength. When the AL is stronger (weaker), cyclones are more (less) numerous over the central and eastern North Pacific, while anticyclones are significantly less (more) numerous over this region. The action of transient cyclones and anticyclones over the central and eastern North Pacific determines seasonal climate over the West Coast of North America, and specifically, winter weather over California. Relationships between winter cyclone/anticyclone behavior and daily precipitation/cold temperature extremes over Western North America (the West) were examined and yielded two simple indices summarizing North Pacific transient activity relevant to regional climates. These indices are strongly related to the observed inter-annual variability of daily precipitation and cold temperature extremes over the West as well as to large scale seasonally averaged near surface climate conditions (e.g., air temperature at 2 m and wind at 10 m). In fact, they represent the synoptic links that accomplish the teleconnections. Comparison of patterns derived from NCEP-NCAR and CNRM-CM3 revealed that the model reproduces links between cyclone/anticyclone frequencies over the Northeastern Pacific and extra-tropical climate conditions but is deficient in relation to tropical climate variability. The connections between these synoptic indices and Western weather are well reproduced by the model. Under advanced global warming conditions, that is, the last half of the century, the model predicts a significant reduction of cyclonic transients throughout the mid-latitude North Pacific with the exception of the far northern and northeastern domains. Anticyclonic transients respond somewhat more regionally but consistently to strong greenhouse forcing, with notably fewer anticyclones over the Okhotsk/Kamchatka sector and generally more anticyclones in the Northeastern Pacific. These modifications of synoptic weather result in regional feedbacks, that is, regional synoptic alterations of the anthropogenic warming signal around the North Pacific. In the eastern Pacific, for example, synoptic feedbacks, having to do especially with the northward shift of the eastern Pacific storm-track (responding, in turn, to a weaker equator-to-pole temperature gradient), are favorable to more anticyclonic conditions off the American mid-latitude west coast and more cyclonic conditions at higher latitudes. These circulation feedbacks further reduce the equator-to-pole temperature gradient by favoring high-latitude mean winter warming especially over a broad wedge of the Arctic north of the Bering Sea and moderating the warming along the mid-latitude west coast of north America while also reducing precipitation frequencies from California to Northern Mexico.     

Sensitivity of last glacial maximum climate to sea ice conditions in the Nordic Seas

Published reconstructions of last glacial maximum (LGM) sea surface temperatures and sea ice extent differ significantly. We here test the sensitivity of simulated North Atlantic climates to two different reconstructions by using these reconstructions as boundary conditions for model experiments. An atmospheric general circulation model has been used to perform two simulations of the (LGM) and a modern-day control simulation. Standard (CLIMAP) reconstructions of sea ice and sea surface temperatures have been used for the first simulation, and a set of new reconstructions in the Nordic Seas/Northern Atlantic have been used for the second experiment. The new reconstruction is based on 158 core samples, and represents ice-free conditions during summer in the Nordic Seas, with accordingly warmer sea surface temperatures and less extensive sea ice during winter as well. The simulated glacial climate is globally 5.7 K colder than modern day, with the largest changes at mid and high latitudes. Due to more intense Hadley circulation, the precipitation at lower latitudes has increased in the simulations of the LGM. Relative to the simulation with the standard CLIMAP reconstructions, reduction of the sea ice in the North Atlantic gives positive local responses in temperature, precipitation and reduction of the sea level pressure. Only very weak signatures of the wintertime Icelandic Low occur when the standard CLIMAP sea surface temperature reconstruction is used as the lower boundary condition in LGM. With reduced sea ice conditions in the Nordic Seas, the Icelandic Low becomes more intense and closer to its present structure. This indicates that thermal forcing is an important factor in determining the strength and position of the Icelandic Low. The Arctic Oscillation is the most dominant large scale variability feature on the Northern Hemisphere in modern day winter climate. In the simulation of the LGM with extensive sea ice this pattern is significantly changed and represents no systematic large scale variability over the North Atlantic. Reduction of the North Atlantic sea ice extent leads to stronger variability in monthly mean sea level pressure in winter. The synoptic variability appears at a lower level in the simulation when standard reconstructions of the sea surface in the LGM are used. A closer inspection of storm tracks in this model experiment shows that that the synoptic lows follow a narrow band along the ice edge during winter. The trajectories of synoptic lows are not constrained to the sea ice edge to the same degree when the sea ice extent is reduced. Seasonally open waters in the Nordic Seas in the new reconstruction apparently act as a moisture source, consistent with the current understanding of the rapid growth of the Fennoscandian and Barents Ice Sheets, during the LGM. The signal from the intensified thermal forcing in the North Atlantic in Boreal winter is carried zonally by upper tropospheric waves, and thus generates non-local responses to the changed sea ice cover.     

THE ROLE OF THE MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION IN STATIONARY WAVE PROPAGATION

In a general baroclinic atmosphere,when the basic state includes meridional circulation,the sta-tionary waves might not only pass through the equatorial easterlies,but also strengthen significantly.The orographic forcing in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude might cause marked responses in thelow latitude atmosphere.This suggests that the meridional circulation plays an important role in theconnection of stationary responses in mid and low latitudes,and so does the heating forcing in theNorthern Hemisphere mid-latitude.Forced by the heating forcing in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude,the features similar to the Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon circulation can be ob-tained.It appears that the meridional circulation plays certain role in the formation of summer mon-soon circulation.The heating anomaly forcing located at the eastern equatorial Pacific makes the sta-tionary waves present PNA(Pacific-North America)pattern in the winter hemisphere,but it doesnot in the summer hemisphere.It suggests that the meridional circulation has a marked influence onthe route of stationary wave propagation both in the winter and summer hemispheres.     

Modeling Study of Aerosol Indirect Effects on Global Climate with an AGCM

Aerosol indirect effects (AIEs) on global climate were quantitatively investigated by introducing aerosol-cloud interaction parameterizations for water stratus clouds into an AGCM (BCC AGCM2.0.1), which was developed by the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological Administration. The study yielded a global annual mean of -1.14 W m-2 for the first indirect radiative forcing (IRF), with an obvious seasonal change. In summer, large forcing mainly occurred in mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hem...     

Northern Hemisphere midlatitude cyclone variability in GCM simulations with different ocean representations

The impact of different ocean models or sea surface temperature (SST) and sea-ice concentrations on cyclone tracks in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes is determined within a hierarchy of model simulations. A reference simulation with the coupled atmosphere ocean circulation model ECHAM/HOPE is compared with simulations using ECHAM and three simplified ocean and sea-ice representations: (1) a variable depth mixed layer (ML) ocean, (2) forcing by varying SST and sea-ice, and (3) with climatological SST and sea-ice; the latter two are from the coupled ECHAM/HOPE integration. The reference simulation reproduces the observed cyclone tracks. The cyclones are tracked automatically by a standard routine and the variability of individual cyclone trajectories within the storm tracks is determined by a cluster approach. In the forced simulation with varying SST, the geographical distribution and the statistics of the cyclones are not altered compared to the coupled reference simulation. In the ML- and the climatological simulation, deviations of the mean cyclone distribution are found which occur mainly in the North Pacific, and can partially be traced back to missing El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. The climatological experiment is superior to the ML-experiment. The variability of the individual cyclone trajectories, as determined by the cluster analysis, reveals the same types and frequencies of propagation directions for all four representations of the lower boundary. The largest discrepancies for the cluster occupations are found for the climatological and the ML-simulation.     

温室气体和硫酸盐气溶胶的辐射强迫作用

对GOALS4 .0海 陆 气耦合模式的相关部分进行了改进 ,主要改进包括温室气体的扩充和硫酸盐气溶胶“显式”方案的引入 ,并引入 2 0世纪温室气体的实际浓度变化以及硫循环模式模拟的硫酸盐气溶胶的三维全球浓度分布 ,模拟了温室气体和硫酸盐气溶胶造成的辐射强迫的空间分布和时间变化。全球平均的温室气体和硫酸盐气溶胶的辐射强迫分别为 2 .17W /m2 和 - 0 .2 9W /m2 ;温室气体造成的辐射强迫在空间上呈现明显的纬向结构 ,最大值 (大于 2 .5W/m2 )和最小值 (小于 1W /m2 )分别位于副热带和两极地区 ,在北半球主要工业区硫酸盐气溶胶的辐射强迫绝对值接近温室气体的辐射强迫值 (大于 - 2 .0W /m2 )。     

Impacts of thermohaline circulation shutdown in the twenty-first century

We discuss climate impacts of a hypothetical shutdown of the thermohaline circulation (‘THC’) in the 2050s, using the climate model HadCM3. Previous studies have generally focussed on the effects on pre-industrial climate. Here we take into account increased greenhouse gas concentrations according to an IS92a emissions scenario. THC shutdown causes cooling of the Northern Hemisphere of -1.7?C, locally stronger. Over western Europe cooling is strong enough for a return to pre-industrial conditions and a significant increase in the occurrence of frost and snow cover. Global warming restricts the increase in sea ice cover after THC shutdown. This lessens the amount of cooling over NW Europe, but increases it over North America, compared to pre-industrial shutdown. This reflects a non-linearity in the local temperature response to THC shutdown. Precipitation change after THC shutdown is generally opposite to that caused by global warming, except in western and southern Europe, where summer drying is enhanced, and in Central America and southeast Asia, where precipitation is also further reduced. Local rise in sea level after THC shutdown can be large along Atlantic coasts (pm; 25,cm), which would add to the rise caused by global warming. Potentially rapid THC shutdown adds to the range of uncertainty of projected future climate change.     

Influence of Low-frequency Solar Forcing on the East Asian Winter Monsoon Based on HadCM3 and Observations

In this study, we investigate the influence of low-frequency solar forcing on the East Asian winter monsoon(EAWM)by analyzing a four-member ensemble of 600-year simulations performed with Had CM3(Hadley Centre Coupled Model,version 3). We find that the EAWM is strengthened when total solar irradiance(TSI) increases on the multidecadal time scale. The model results indicate that positive TSI anomalies can result in the weakening of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, causing negative sea surface temperature(SST) anomalies in the North Atlantic. Especially for the subtropical North Atlantic, the negative SST anomalies can excite an anomalous Rossby wave train that moves from the subtropical North Atlantic to the Greenland Sea and finally to Siberia. In this process, the positive sea-ice feedback over the Greenland Sea further enhances the Rossby wave. The wave train can reach the Siberian region, and strengthen the Siberian high. As a result, low-level East Asian winter circulation is strengthened and the surface air temperature in East Asia decreases. Overall,when solar forcing is stronger on the multidecadal time scale, the EAWM is typically stronger than normal. Finally, a similar linkage can be observed between the EAWM and solar forcing during the period 1850–1970.     

Evidence bearing on the mechanism of rapid deglaciation

Six northeast Atlantic cores contain planktonic foraminiferal records implying a very abrupt glacial/interglacial surface-ocean warming roughly coincident with the last deglaciation (isotopic termination II) at 127 000 yr B.P. These faunal composition curves have, however, been substantially altered by sediment mixing processes on the sea floor; they are translated downward in the core record and made to look steeper than they actually were. The reason for this abnormally large mixing impact is an interval of sediment with very low to negligible concentrations of all microfossils (surface ocean and bottom living). These low concentrations reflect a several-thousand-year interval of low productivity and little or no life in the overlying surface waters. We interpret this thorough suppression of productivity as a consequence of meltwater and icebergs flooding into the subpolar Atlantic gyre from the surrounding Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during deglaciation. The meltwater influx inhibited warm-season productivity by maintaining a well-stratified low-salinity surface layer; in winter, the low salinity layer froze, stopping nutrientrich deep waters from surfacing in normal cold-season convection. The earth's orbital configuration during this deglaciation created an unusually strong summer insolation maximum and winter insolation minimum in the Northern Hemisphere. Rapid melting and disintegration of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets induced by strong summer insolation apparently created the meltwater influx; combined with very low winter insolation, the presence of this low-salinity meltwater layer led to unusually extensive sea-ice formation. The existence of a large region of winter sea ice across the subpolar North Atlantic during deglaciation implies a reduced supply of moisture in winter to the wasting Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. This includes the loss of winter moisture both locally from ice-covered northern waters and regionally from low-latitude winter storms no longer penetrating northward. The winter sea-ice cover thus acts as an amplifier providing positive feedback to the insolation-driven deglaciation process.     

CO2 climate sensitivity and snow-sea-ice albedo parameterization in an atmospheric GCM coupled to a mixed-layer ocean model

The snow-sea-ice albedo parameterization in an atmospheric general circulation model (GCM), coupled to a simple mixed-layer ocean and run with an annual cycle of solar forcing, is altered from a version of the same model described by Washington and Meehl (1984). The model with the revised formulation is run to equilibrium for 1 × CO₂ and 2 × CO₂ experiments. The 1 ×CO₂ (control) simulation produces a global mean climate about 1° warmer than the original version, and sea-ice extent is reduced. The model with the altered parameterization displays heightened sensitivity in the global means, but the geographical patterns of climate change due to increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) are qualitatively similar. The magnitude of the climate change is affected, not only in areas directly influenced by snow and ice changes but also in other regions of the globe, including the tropics where sea-surface temperature, evaporation, and precipitation over the oceans are greater. With the less-sensitive formulation, the global mean surface air temperature increase is 3.5 °C, and the increase of global mean precipitation is 7.12%. The revised formulation produces a globally averaged surface air temperature increase of 4.04 °C and a precipitation increase of 7.25%, as well as greater warming of the upper tropical troposphere. Sensitivity of surface hydrology is qualitatively similar between the two cases with the larger-magnitude changes in the revised snow and ice-albedo scheme experiment. Variability of surface air temperature in the model is comparable to observations in most areas except at high latitudes during winter. In those regions, temporal variation of the sea-ice margin and fluctuations of snow cover dependent on the snow-ice-albedo formulation contribute to larger-than-observed temperature variability. This study highlights an uncertainty associated with results from current climate GCMs that use highly parameterized snow-sea-ice albedo schemes with simple mixed-layer ocean models.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.