IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/wirecc/v8y2017i5ne474.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Amplified Arctic warming and mid‐latitude weather: new perspectives on emerging connections

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer A. Francis
  • Stephen J. Vavrus
  • Judah Cohen

Abstract

The Arctic is warming and melting at alarming rates. Within the lifetime of a Millennial, the volume of ice floating on the Arctic Ocean has declined by at least half. The pace of Arctic warming is two‐to‐three times that of the globe; this disparity reached a new record high during 2016. While the Arctic spans only a small fraction of the Earth, it plays a disproportionate and multifaceted role in the climate system. In this article, we offer new perspectives on ways in which the Arctic's rapid warming may influence weather patterns in heavily populated regions (the mid‐latitudes) of the Northern Hemisphere. Research on this topic has evolved almost as rapidly as the snow and ice have diminished, and while much has been learned, many questions remain. The atmosphere is complex, highly variable, and undergoing a multitude of simultaneous changes, many of which have become apparent only recently. These realities present challenges to robust signal detection and to clear attribution of cause‐and‐effect. In addition to updating the state of this science, we propose an explanation for the varying and intermittent response of mid‐latitude circulation to the rapidly warming Arctic. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e474. doi: 10.1002/wcc.474 This article is categorized under: Climate Models and Modeling > Knowledge Generation with Models

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer A. Francis & Stephen J. Vavrus & Judah Cohen, 2017. "Amplified Arctic warming and mid‐latitude weather: new perspectives on emerging connections," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:8:y:2017:i:5:n:e474
    DOI: 10.1002/wcc.474
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.474
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/wcc.474?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiankai Zhang & Wenshou Tian & Martyn P. Chipperfield & Fei Xie & Jinlong Huang, 2016. "Persistent shift of the Arctic polar vortex towards the Eurasian continent in recent decades," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(12), pages 1094-1099, December.
    2. Christophe Kinnard & Christian M. Zdanowicz & David A. Fisher & Elisabeth Isaksson & Anne de Vernal & Lonnie G. Thompson, 2011. "Reconstructed changes in Arctic sea ice over the past 1,450 years," Nature, Nature, vol. 479(7374), pages 509-512, November.
    3. James A. Screen & Ian Simmonds, 2014. "Amplified mid-latitude planetary waves favour particular regional weather extremes," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(8), pages 704-709, August.
    4. James A. Screen & Ian Simmonds, 2010. "The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification," Nature, Nature, vol. 464(7293), pages 1334-1337, April.
    5. Baek-Min Kim & Seok-Woo Son & Seung-Ki Min & Jee-Hoon Jeong & Seong-Joong Kim & Xiangdong Zhang & Taehyoun Shim & Jin-Ho Yoon, 2014. "Weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex by Arctic sea-ice loss," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    6. James A. Screen & Jennifer A. Francis, 2016. "Contribution of sea-ice loss to Arctic amplification is regulated by Pacific Ocean decadal variability," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(9), pages 856-860, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. N. A. Serova & V. A. Serova, 2021. "Transport Infrastructure of the Russian Arctic: Specifics Features and Development Prospects," Studies on Russian Economic Development, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 214-220, March.
    2. Temiz, Mert & Dincer, Ibrahim, 2022. "A unique ocean and solar based multigenerational system with hydrogen production and thermal energy storage for Arctic communities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. D. M. Smith & R. Eade & M. B. Andrews & H. Ayres & A. Clark & S. Chripko & C. Deser & N. J. Dunstone & J. García-Serrano & G. Gastineau & L. S. Graff & S. C. Hardiman & B. He & L. Hermanson & T. Jung , 2022. "Robust but weak winter atmospheric circulation response to future Arctic sea ice loss," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Miao Fang & Xin Li & Hans W. Chen & Deliang Chen, 2022. "Arctic amplification modulated by Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and greenhouse forcing on multidecadal to century scales," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Schlenker, Wolfram & Taylor, Charles A., 2021. "Market expectations of a warming climate," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 627-640.
    4. David Barber & Matthew Asplin & Richard Raddatz & Lauren Candlish & Scot Nickels & Stephanie Meakin & Klaus Hochheim & Jennifer Lukovich & Ryan Galley & Simon Prinsenberg, 2012. "Change and variability in sea ice during the 2007–2008 Canadian International Polar Year program," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 115-133, November.
    5. Weiming Ma & Hailong Wang & Gang Chen & L. Ruby Leung & Jian Lu & Philip J. Rasch & Qiang Fu & Ben Kravitz & Yufei Zou & John J. Cassano & Wieslaw Maslowski, 2024. "The role of interdecadal climate oscillations in driving Arctic atmospheric river trends," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Brock, W. & Xepapadeas, A., 2017. "Climate change policy under polar amplification," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 93-112.
    7. Vinícius B. P. Chagas & Pedro L. B. Chaffe & Günter Blöschl, 2022. "Climate and land management accelerate the Brazilian water cycle," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Isabel Dorado-Liñán & Blanca Ayarzagüena & Flurin Babst & Guobao Xu & Luis Gil & Giovanna Battipaglia & Allan Buras & Vojtěch Čada & J. Julio Camarero & Liam Cavin & Hugues Claessens & Igor Drobyshev , 2022. "Jet stream position explains regional anomalies in European beech forest productivity and tree growth," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Clifford Chuwah & Twan Noije & Detlef Vuuren & Philippe Sager & Wilco Hazeleger, 2016. "Global and regional climate impacts of future aerosol mitigation in an RCP6.0-like scenario in EC-Earth," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Philippe Goulet Coulombe & Maximilian Gobel, 2020. "Arctic Amplification of Anthropogenic Forcing: A Vector Autoregressive Analysis," Papers 2005.02535, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2021.
    11. Hasan Sohail & Virpi Kollanus & Pekka Tiittanen & Alexandra Schneider & Timo Lanki, 2020. "Heat, Heatwaves and Cardiorespiratory Hospital Admissions in Helsinki, Finland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-11, October.
    12. Yu Yueyue & Yang Wenwen & Zhang Lingli & Guan Zhaoyong & Yang Qinlan & Hu Muxin & Qiu Wentian & Wang Jingyi, 2023. "Region-dependent meteorological conditions for the winter cold hazards with and without precipitation in China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 115(3), pages 2673-2698, February.
    13. Xiaoting Sun & Qinghua Ding & Shih-Yu Simon Wang & Dániel Topál & Qingquan Li & Christopher Castro & Haiyan Teng & Rui Luo & Yihui Ding, 2022. "Enhanced jet stream waviness induced by suppressed tropical Pacific convection during boreal summer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    14. Elizabeth Kopits & Alex L. Marten & Ann Wolverton, 2013. "Moving Forward with Incorporating "Catastrophic" Climate Change into Policy Analysis," NCEE Working Paper Series 201301, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Jan 2013.
    15. Eddy Bekkers & Joseph F. Francois & Hugo Rojas†Romagosa, 2018. "Melting Ice Caps and the Economic Impact of Opening the Northern Sea Route," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(610), pages 1095-1127, May.
    16. Wolfram Schlenker & Charles A Taylor, 2019. "Market Expectations About Climate Change," NBER Working Papers 25554, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Eddy Bekkers & Joseph F. Francois & Hugo Rojas†Romagosa, 2018. "Melting Ice Caps and the Economic Impact of Opening the Northern Sea Route," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(610), pages 1095-1127, May.
    18. Xiaoqing Liu & Matthew Huber & Gavin L. Foster & Andrew Dessler & Yi Ge Zhang, 2022. "Persistent high latitude amplification of the Pacific Ocean over the past 10 million years," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    19. Chuya Wang & Minghu Ding & Yuande Yang & Ting Wei & Tingfeng Dou, 2022. "Risk Assessment of Ship Navigation in the Northwest Passage: Historical and Projection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, May.
    20. Yufei Zou & Philip J. Rasch & Hailong Wang & Zuowei Xie & Rudong Zhang, 2021. "Increasing large wildfires over the western United States linked to diminishing sea ice in the Arctic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:8:y:2017:i:5:n:e474. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1757-7799 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.