Over the past four decades, Arctic sea ice has experienced a drastic decline in winter when it is recovering from summer melt. Observations and model simulations reveal that atmospheric rivers are more frequently reaching the Arctic in winter, preventing the sea ice from growing to the extent that is possible at the freezing temperature.
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References
Wille, J. D. et al. West Antarctic surface melt triggered by atmospheric rivers. Nat. Geosci. 12, 911–916 (2019). This paper reports the melting effect of ARs on ice sheets in Antarctica.
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This is a summary of: Zhang, P. et al. More frequent atmospheric rivers slow the seasonal recovery of Arctic sea ice. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01599-3 (2023).
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Winter sea-ice growth in the Arctic impeded by more frequent atmospheric rivers. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 222–223 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01601-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01601-y