Global and Hemisphere Implications of Anthropogenically-forced Arctic Atmospheric Circulation

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

The researchers will examine the potential effect of climate warming from anthropogenically induced increases of atmospheric carbon dioxide on both Arctic and global climate. The long-term variability of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) may be influenced by increased greenhouse gas concentration, and therefore, is important for understanding future climate response to the continued increase of gases. Data from a warm, ice-free geologic period will be used as a proxy in a climate system model to examine what a future warmer, ice-free Arctic resulting from a warming similar to the one underway in the Arctic might be like. The role of the AO in arctic climate and the feedback of arctic climate on global climate is a new area of research that has important implications for understanding mechanisms for global warming. Since the Arctic has been warming for over a decade and the environmental response is already obvious, the research is a timely contribution to studies of the impacts from global warming.