Possible Links between Arctic Sea Ice Loss Events and Cold Eurasian Anomalies in Winter

Abstract

Recently, there have been two competing perspectives on the links of rapid sea ice retreat over the Barents-Kara Seas (BKS) and in midlatitude severe cold winters over Eurasia. By using the daily ECMWF reanalysis (ERA)-Interim dataset during 1979–2016, we reconcile two contrasting viewpoints, namely, if an upward turbulent heat flux appears and maintains several days after the rapid sea ice loss over the BKS in winter, a dipole structure which consists of a primary positive center of action around the Barents Sea with the other opposite-sign center of action over Eurasian continent is easily amplified, and consequently a cold anomaly over Eurasia will occur, but not vice versa. Our work casts light on the links between the Arctic sea ice loss and Eurasian cold winter anomalies by revealing the different responses of the surface turbulent heat flux (STHF) after rapid sea ice retreat on a daily basis.