A new modelling study isolates the effect of Arctic sea ice melting from other factors.
A new modelling study isolates the effect of Arctic sea ice melting from other factors.
A study led by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has used a novel approach to unravel the influence of the loss of Arctic sea ice on the planet's climate, isolating it from other factors related to climate change.
The study, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, shows that on decadal timescales, the loss of Arctic ice favours the climate of the south-west of the United States - and California in particular - becoming drier on average, especially in winter. This phenomenon would also affect the climate of Spain and Portugal, favouring conditions of higher humidity in winter, although in this case the observed effect is weaker.
'There is much scientific disagreement about the remote effects of Arctic sea ice loss. So far, many studies have focused on the long-term effects, on a scale of centuries. Others have investigated the response to sea ice loss with modelling setups that artificially impose heat to melt the sea ice, potentially affecting the simulated response. Some studies have been changing Antarctic and Arctic sea ice cover at the same time, making it difficult to discern their individual contributions. In our study, we have developed a methodology to assess the impact of Arctic ice loss without adding any heat fluxes, and we focused on the impacts developing within a few decades,' explains Ivana Cvijanovic, ISGlobal researcher and lead author of the study.
Read more at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Photo Credit: JayMantri via Pixabay
