1270 | 456 | How does the decreasing sea ice cover in Eurasia impact the climate in mid and high latitudes? | Joanna Jędruszkiewicz, Joanna Wibig, Piotr Piotrowski

A significant decrease in sea ice cover in the Eurasian sector has been observed over the last 15 years. This phenomenon is most apparent in the area of the Barents-Kara Seas. Decreasing sea ice cover led to lower albedo and higher solar absorption by the ocean. Furthermore, newly open waters allow warm water penetration further toward the North Pole. All these, in turn, increase the temperature. A warmer atmosphere in the Arctic region decreases the meridional temperature gradient, changes circulation patterns, storm tracks, and characteristics of the jet stream and impacts the temperature extremes over Eurasia._x000D_
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This study is based on ERA5 reanalysis with a horizontal resolution of 0.25×0.25 and covers the 1979–2021 period. For the years with low sea ice cover, the temperature dipole is created in winter with warm Arctic and cold Eurasia, called the WACE pattern. The WACE pattern coincides with the enhancement of the high-pressure centre in Asia, often located near the Ural (Ural blocking). The high-pressure centre is also created over Greenland (Greenland blocking) during the summer. These circulation patterns favour the occurrence of more frequent cold or warm spells in Europe._x000D_

Joanna Jędruszkiewicz, Joanna Wibig, Piotr Piotrowski
Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz

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ID Abstract: 456