Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate

Abstract Arctic sea ice extent grows from its September minimum through winter, influenced mainly by September sea ice conditions and atmospheric circulation during the ice‐growing season. However, the changing role of the two drivers in a warming climate remains unclear. Using large‐ensemble climat...

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Main Authors: Peter Yu Feng Siew, Yutian Wu, Mingfang Ting, Cheng Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113601
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author Peter Yu Feng Siew
Yutian Wu
Mingfang Ting
Cheng Zheng
author_facet Peter Yu Feng Siew
Yutian Wu
Mingfang Ting
Cheng Zheng
author_sort Peter Yu Feng Siew
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Arctic sea ice extent grows from its September minimum through winter, influenced mainly by September sea ice conditions and atmospheric circulation during the ice‐growing season. However, the changing role of the two drivers in a warming climate remains unclear. Using large‐ensemble climate model simulations and Ridge Regression, this study quantifies the changing relative importance of the two drivers from 1861 to 2100. Up until recent years, low September sea ice largely enhanced sea ice growth via a negative feedback, as open water allows more freezing when the water is still cold enough. However, this negative feedback weakens with rising Arctic air and ocean temperatures that increasingly limit and delay sea ice freezing. Atmospheric circulation will relatively play an increasing role in driving sea ice growth in the next few decades. These findings are useful in guiding future studies for improving Arctic sea ice seasonal forecasts and long‐term projections.
format Article
id doaj-art-09b98aef4aca420c8a4a387facb2e47c
institution DOAJ
issn 0094-8276
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language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-09b98aef4aca420c8a4a387facb2e47c2025-08-20T03:10:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-03-01526n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113601Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming ClimatePeter Yu Feng Siew0Yutian Wu1Mingfang Ting2Cheng Zheng3Antarctic Research Centre Victoria University of Wellington Wellington New ZealandLamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University New York NY USALamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University New York NY USASchool of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University New York NY USAAbstract Arctic sea ice extent grows from its September minimum through winter, influenced mainly by September sea ice conditions and atmospheric circulation during the ice‐growing season. However, the changing role of the two drivers in a warming climate remains unclear. Using large‐ensemble climate model simulations and Ridge Regression, this study quantifies the changing relative importance of the two drivers from 1861 to 2100. Up until recent years, low September sea ice largely enhanced sea ice growth via a negative feedback, as open water allows more freezing when the water is still cold enough. However, this negative feedback weakens with rising Arctic air and ocean temperatures that increasingly limit and delay sea ice freezing. Atmospheric circulation will relatively play an increasing role in driving sea ice growth in the next few decades. These findings are useful in guiding future studies for improving Arctic sea ice seasonal forecasts and long‐term projections.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113601Arcic sea iceclimate changeatmospheric circulationcryosphereatmosphere‐ice interactionssea ice growth
spellingShingle Peter Yu Feng Siew
Yutian Wu
Mingfang Ting
Cheng Zheng
Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate
Geophysical Research Letters
Arcic sea ice
climate change
atmospheric circulation
cryosphere
atmosphere‐ice interactions
sea ice growth
title Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate
title_full Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate
title_fullStr Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate
title_full_unstemmed Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate
title_short Identifying Physical Drivers of Arctic Sea Ice Growth and Their Changing Roles in a Warming Climate
title_sort identifying physical drivers of arctic sea ice growth and their changing roles in a warming climate
topic Arcic sea ice
climate change
atmospheric circulation
cryosphere
atmosphere‐ice interactions
sea ice growth
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113601
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AT yutianwu identifyingphysicaldriversofarcticseaicegrowthandtheirchangingrolesinawarmingclimate
AT mingfangting identifyingphysicaldriversofarcticseaicegrowthandtheirchangingrolesinawarmingclimate
AT chengzheng identifyingphysicaldriversofarcticseaicegrowthandtheirchangingrolesinawarmingclimate