Impact of Cyclonic Wind Anomalies Caused by Massive Winter Sea Ice Retreat in the Barents Sea on Atlantic Water Transport Toward the Arctic: A Model Study

Abstract

The Arctic is warming much faster than the global average. This is known as Arctic Amplification and is caused by feedbacks in the local climate system. In this study, we explore a previously proposed hypothesis that an associated wind feedback in the Barents Sea could play an important role by increasing the warm water inflow into the Barents Sea. We find that the strong recent decrease in Barents Sea winter sea ice cover causes enhanced ocean‐atmosphere heat flux and a local air temperature increase, thus a reduction in sea level pressure and a local cyclonic wind anomaly with eastward winds in the Barents Sea Opening. By investigating various reanalysis products and performing high‐resolution perturbation experiments with the ocean and sea ice model FESOM2.1, we studied the impact of cyclonic atmospheric circulation changes on the warm Atlantic Water import into the Arctic via the Barents Sea and Fram Strait. We found that the observed wind changes do not significantly affect the warm water transport into the Barents Sea, which rejects the wind‐feedback hypothesis. At the same time, the cyclonic wind anomalies in the Barents Sea increase the amount of Atlantic Water recirculating westwards in Fram Strait by a downslope shift of the West Spitsbergen Current, and thus reduce Atlantic Water reaching the Arctic basin via Fram Strait. The resulting warm‐water anomaly in the Greenland Sea Gyre drives a local anticyclonic circulation anomaly.

Cyclone Impacts on Sea Ice Concentration in the Atlantic Arctic Ocean: Annual Cycle and Recent Changes

“…This facilitates for example the occurrence of break-up events under strong wind conditions (Rheinlaender et al, 2022) and could lead to a future intensification of cyclone impacts on sea ice. The Arctic sea ice retreat and related changes in ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes in winter can potentially also impact the atmosphere by favoring local cyclonic circulation conditions (Heukamp et al, 2023) and intensified winter storms (Crawford et al, 2022), creating possible feedback loops involving cyclones and sea ice.A better understanding of how cyclone impacts on sea ice are affected by these "new Arctic" conditions can help to improve short-term sea ice forecasts during cyclone events. Such forecasts are important for Arctic navigation,…”

Shifts of the Recirculation Pathways in Central Fram Strait Drive Atlantic Intermediate Water Variability on Northeast Greenland Shelf

“…Therefore, it is proposed that the regional wind forcing not only promotes variability in the WSC that is advected westwards, but also affects the strength and behavior of RAW pathways through which all AIW passes. Heukamp et al (2023) also found that because more AW was transported westwards along more southerly pathways, less heat entered the Central Arctic Ocean. This suggests that both the AW temperature anomalies in the WSC and the behavior of the recirculation pathways by which AW is advected across Fram Strait ultimately controls the AIW on the NEG continental shelf.…”

“…This export however, has reduced in the last decades, attributed primarily to the reduction of sea ice thickness in Fram Strait which is driven mainly by atmospheric warming (Sumata et al, 2022(Sumata et al, , 2023. The shift in sea ice regime results in a strengthening of the northwards transport of AW to the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean (Polyakov et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2020), and is linked to changes in the atmospheric circulation (Heukamp et al, 2023;Smedsrud et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2021).…”

Cold season Arctic strong cyclones enhance Atlantification of the Arctic Ocean

“…On one hand, CHL has weakened in recent years, leading to increased winter ventilation and reduced winter ice formation (Polyakov et al 2017, Li and Fedorov 2021, Tesi et al 2021. On the other hand, the total area covered by sea ice in the Barents Sea has decreased by nearly half in recent decades, and most of the sea ice currently found in the Barents Sea is blown in from the central Arctic (Onarheim et al 2015, Stroeve and Notz 2018, Smedsrud et al 2022, Heukamp et al 2023, Rieke et al 2023 The melting of sea ice may trigger changes in sea stratification, and when sea ice melts, it replenishes the freshwater layer above the CHL. With reduced sea ice, there is less freshwater, resulting in weakened stratification between ocean layers.…”

“…Winter storms can accelerate the loss of sea ice in the Arctic, and strong wind fields have an important impact on the Atlantic Water transport in the Arctic Ocean, further intensifying the process of Atlantification (Polyakov et al 2013, Graham et al 2019, Heukamp et al 2023. However, there is limited research on these phenomena, and the Arctic hosts a highly active weather system known as Arctic cyclones, with lifecycles ranging from a few hours to several days (Keegan 1958, Serreze 1995, Simmonds and Li 2021, Valkonen et al 2021.…”