Glacies, Vol. 2, Pages 16: Madden–Julian Oscillation Modulation of Antarctic Sea Ice

Glacies doi: 10.3390/glacies2040016

Authors:
Bradford S. Barrett
Donald M. Lafleur
Gina R. Henderson

Convection associated with the leading mode of subseasonal variability of the tropical atmosphere, the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), can excite Rossby wave trains that extend well into the extratropics and allow the MJO to modulate many components of the Earth system. To improve our understanding of teleconnections between the MJO and Antarctic sea ice, composite anomalies of daily change in sea ice concentration (ΔSIC) from 1989 to 2019 were binned by phase 0–20 days after an active MJO and compared to anomalies of surface air temperature, the meridional component of surface wind, and sea-level pressure. In May, ΔSIC anomalies were strongest in the Indian Ocean (IO) sector, 16 days after phase 8. There, a wavenumber-three pattern in sea-level pressure anomalies associated with the MJO resulted in anomalously poleward winds and warmer temperatures over the central and eastern IO that were collocated with anomalously negative ΔSIC. Furthermore, anomalously equatorward winds and colder temperatures in the western IO were collocated with anomalously positive ΔSIC. In July, ΔSIC anomalies were strongest in the Weddell Sea (WS) sector nine days after an active MJO in phase 2. There, a wavenumber-three pattern in sea-level pressure anomalies resulted in anomalously poleward winds and warmer temperatures over the western and central WS that were collocated with negative ΔSIC anomalies; anomalously equatorward winds and colder temperatures over the eastern WS were collocated with positive ΔSIC anomalies. In September, the largest ΔSIC anomalies were observed in the IO and WS sectors six days after an active MJO in phase 8. No meaningful modulation of sea ice anomalies was found after an active MJO in November or January. These results extend our understanding of teleconnections between the MJO and Antarctic sea ice on the subseasonal time scale.

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