Recent climate variation in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and its linkages to large-scale circulation in the Pacific

The thermal state of the Bering Sea exhibits interdecadal variations, with distinct changes occurred in 1997–1998. After the unusual thermal condition of the Bering Sea in 1997–1998, we found that the recent climate variability (1999–2010) in the Bering Sea is closely related to Pacific basin-scale...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climate dynamics 2014-05, Vol.42 (9-10), p.2423-2437
Main Authors: Yeo, Sae-Rim, Kim, Kwang-Yul, Yeh, Sang-Wook, Kim, Baek-Min, Shim, Taehyoun, Jhun, Jong-Ghap
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric circulation
Atmospheric research
climate
Climate variability
Climatology
Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change
Decades
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
El Nino
Environmental aspects
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Geophysics/Geodesy
heat transfer
icebergs
Marine
Meteorology
Oceanography
Sea ice
Thermal energy
winter
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Summary:The thermal state of the Bering Sea exhibits interdecadal variations, with distinct changes occurred in 1997–1998. After the unusual thermal condition of the Bering Sea in 1997–1998, we found that the recent climate variability (1999–2010) in the Bering Sea is closely related to Pacific basin-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Specifically, warming in the Bering and Chukchi Seas in this period involves sea ice reduction and stronger oceanic heat flux to the atmosphere in winter. The atmospheric response to the recent warming in the Bering and Chukchi Seas resembles the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) pattern. Further analysis reveals that the recent climate variability in the Bering and Chukchi Seas has strong covariability with large-scale climate modes in the Pacific, that is, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation and the central Pacific El Niño. In this study, physical connections among the recent climate variations in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, the NPO pattern and the Pacific large-scale climate patterns are investigated via cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function analysis. An additional model experiment using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmospheric Model, version 3, is conducted to support the robustness of the results.
ISSN:0930-7575
1432-0894
DOI:10.1007/s00382-013-2042-z