.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
Return
On the Great Arctic Cyclone and Record-Low Sea Ice in 2012: A Tropical Western Pacific–Arctic Teleconnection
.png){kind=icon}
PRE
AI
J
Z
X
Y
DOI：10.1029/2025JD045538.png)
.png){kind=icon}
Original request for help.png){kind=icon}
Share.png){kind=icon}
Save
Abstract
En 中文
The minimum Arctic sea ice extent has drawn considerable attention due to its global climate impacts and implications for Arctic shipping routes. In August 2012, an exceptionally strong Arctic cyclone (AC12) contributed to the September sea ice extent reaching its lowest level since 1979. However, the cause of the extreme intensity of AC12 has not been fully understood. In this study, we propose that a tropical–Arctic teleconnection is responsible for the rapid intensification of AC12, which is triggered by extremely strong convection over the western North Pacific (WNP) and elongated by the extremely northward-displaced North Pacific Jet (NPJ). AC12 reinforces the preexisting Arctic tropopause polar vortex by anomalous poleward heat and moisture transport and enhanced baroclinicity. Observations and simulations show that WNP convection alone typically cannot trigger Rossby waves into the Arctic; rather, idealized experiments demonstrate that the northward-shifted NPJ plays an essential role in establishing a continuous waveguide by strengthening the meridional potential vorticity gradient near the Bering Strait. Further model simulations driven by observed sea surface temperature anomalies reveal that the extremely negative phase of the Pacific Meridional Mode in late summer 2012 plays a crucial role in establishing the tropical–Arctic teleconnection. Its tropical component, the cold tongue over the northeastern tropical Pacific, favors more frequent strong WNP convection, while its extratropical component displaces NPJ via changing meridional temperature gradients. These findings have important implications for the tropical–Arctic intraseasonal interaction and its effect on Arctic extremes.
Keywords:
Arctic cyclone
tropical convection
North Pacific jet
tropical-Arctic teleconnection
Pacific meridional mode
Journal
J
IF:
0
Papers:
437
Citations:
0
Organization
Cited Papers