Has Arctic Sea Ice Loss Contributed to Increased Surface Melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet

AbstractIn recent decades, the Greenland ice sheet has experienced increased surface melt. However, the underlying cause of this increased surface melting and how it relates to cryospheric changes across the Arctic remain unclear. Here it is shown that an important contributing factor is the decreasing Arctic sea ice. Reduced summer sea ice favors stronger and more frequent occurrences of blocking-high pressure events over Greenland. Blocking highs enhance the transport of warm, moist air over Greenland, which increases downwelling infrared radiation, contributes to increased extreme heat events, and accounts for the majority of the observed warming trends. These findings are supported by analyses of observations and reanalysis data, as well as by independent atmospheric model simulations using a state-of-the-art atmospheric model that is forced by varying only the sea ice conditions. Reduced sea ice conditions in the model favor more extensive Greenland surface melting. The authors find a positive feedba...

[1]  Mauro Perego,et al.  Enhanced basal lubrication and the contribution of the Greenland ice sheet to future sea-level rise , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[2]  Elizabeth C. Kent,et al.  Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century , 2003 .

[3]  J. Stroeve,et al.  Recent changes in Arctic sea ice melt onset, freezeup, and melt season length , 2009 .

[4]  Edward Hanna,et al.  Ice-sheet mass balance and climate change , 2013, Nature.

[5]  Marco Tedesco,et al.  Snowmelt detection over the Greenland ice sheet from SSM/I brightness temperature daily variations , 2007 .

[6]  R. Barry,et al.  Processes and impacts of Arctic amplification: A research synthesis , 2011 .

[7]  S. Marshall,et al.  Substantial contribution to sea-level rise during the last interglacial from the Greenland ice sheet , 2000, Nature.

[8]  J. Curry,et al.  Impact of declining Arctic sea ice on winter snowfall , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[9]  Philippe Huybrechts,et al.  Melt-induced speed-up of Greenland ice sheet offset by efficient subglacial drainage , 2011, Nature.

[10]  Xavier Fettweis,et al.  The role of albedo and accumulation in the 2010 melting record in Greenland , 2011 .

[11]  Eric Rignot,et al.  A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance , 2012, Science.

[12]  R. Alley,et al.  Ice-Sheet and Sea-Level Changes , 2005, Science.

[13]  T. Mauritsen,et al.  Arctic amplification dominated by temperature feedbacks in contemporary climate models , 2014 .

[14]  X. Fettweis,et al.  Melting trends over the Greenland ice sheet (1958–2009) from spaceborne microwave data and regional climate models , 2010 .

[15]  S. Vavrus,et al.  Evidence for a wavier jet stream in response to rapid Arctic warming , 2015 .

[16]  K. Steffen,et al.  The influence of North Atlantic atmospheric and oceanic forcing effects on 1900–2010 Greenland summer climate and ice melt/runoff , 2013 .

[17]  N. DiGirolamo,et al.  Greenland ice sheet melt from MODIS and associated atmospheric variability , 2014, Geophysical research letters.

[18]  Adam A. Scaife,et al.  Recent seasonal asymmetric changes in the NAO (a marked summer decline and increased winter variability) and associated changes in the AO and Greenland Blocking Index , 2015 .

[19]  S. Vavrus,et al.  Evidence linking Arctic amplification to extreme weather in mid‐latitudes , 2012 .

[20]  Seong-Joong Kim,et al.  The Melting Arctic and Midlatitude Weather Patterns: Are They Connected?* , 2015 .

[21]  X. Fettweis,et al.  Greenland ice sheet albedo feedback: thermodynamics and atmospheric drivers , 2012 .

[22]  S. P. Anderson,et al.  Glaciers Dominate Eustatic Sea-Level Rise in the 21st Century , 2007, Science.

[23]  I. Simmonds,et al.  The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification , 2010, Nature.

[24]  C. Deser,et al.  Atmospheric impacts of Arctic sea-ice loss, 1979–2009: separating forced change from atmospheric internal variability , 2013, Climate Dynamics.

[25]  Myoung-Jong Noh,et al.  An improved mass budget for the Greenland ice sheet , 2013 .

[26]  Z. Fang.  STATISTICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SEA ICE AND ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION DURING WINTERTIME , 2008 .

[27]  W. Rossow,et al.  Advances in understanding clouds from ISCCP , 1999 .

[28]  Dara Entekhabi,et al.  Recent Arctic amplification and extreme mid-latitude weather , 2014 .

[29]  J. Thepaut,et al.  The ERA‐Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system , 2011 .

[30]  J. Wallace,et al.  Regional Climate Impacts of the Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode , 2001, Science.

[31]  G. Liston,et al.  Greenland ice sheet surface melt extent and trends: 1960–2010 , 2011, Journal of Glaciology.

[32]  Konrad Steffen,et al.  Surface Melt-Induced Acceleration of Greenland Ice-Sheet Flow , 2002, Science.

[33]  Adam A. Scaife,et al.  Drivers of North Atlantic Polar Front jet stream variability , 2015 .

[34]  Eric Rignot,et al.  Mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet from 1958 to 2007 , 2008 .

[35]  J. Wallace,et al.  Tropical forcing of the recent rapid Arctic warming in northeastern Canada and Greenland , 2014, Nature.

[36]  R. Horton,et al.  Reducing spread in climate model projections of a September ice-free Arctic , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[37]  J. Stroeve,et al.  Does sea ice influence Greenland ice sheet surface-melt? , 2009 .

[38]  B. Josse,et al.  Contribution of light-absorbing impurities in snow to Greenland/'s darkening since 2009 , 2014 .

[39]  John E. Walsh,et al.  Intensified warming of the Arctic: Causes and impacts on middle latitudes , 2014 .

[40]  G. Meehl,et al.  Effect of the potential melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet on the Meridional Overturning Circulation and global climate in the future , 2011 .

[41]  J. C. Comiso,et al.  Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS, Version 3 , 2017 .

[42]  Eric Rignot,et al.  A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance , 2012, Science.

[43]  Dim Coumou,et al.  The weakening summer circulation in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes , 2015, Science.

[44]  Konrad Steffen,et al.  Greenland Ice Sheet melt extent: 1979–1999 , 2001 .

[45]  Thomas L. Mote,et al.  Greenland surface melt trends 1973–2007: Evidence of a large increase in 2007 , 2007 .

[46]  Xavier Fettweis,et al.  Evidence and analysis of 2012 Greenland records from spaceborne observations, a regional climate model and reanalysis data , 2012 .

[47]  K. Steffen,et al.  July 2012 Greenland melt extent enhanced by low-level liquid clouds , 2013, Nature.

[48]  Mark R. Anderson,et al.  Passive microwave-derived spatial and temporal variations of summer melt on the Greenland ice sheet , 1993 .

[49]  Son V. Nghiem,et al.  The extreme melt across the Greenland ice sheet in 2012 , 2012 .

[50]  Theodoros Economou,et al.  The importance of spring atmospheric conditions for predictions of the Arctic summer sea ice extent , 2014 .

[51]  X. Fettweis,et al.  Atmospheric and oceanic climate forcing of the exceptional Greenland ice sheet surface melt in summer 2012 , 2013 .

[52]  W. Collins,et al.  The Formulation and Atmospheric Simulation of the Community Atmosphere Model Version 3 (CAM3) , 2006 .

[53]  Muyin Wang,et al.  A sea ice free summer Arctic within 30 years: An update from CMIP5 models , 2012 .

[54]  Does sea ice influence Greenland ice sheet surface-melt? , 2009 .