Accelerating Southern Ocean Sea Ice Decline due to Cloud-Climate Feedbacks

Accelerating Southern Ocean Sea Ice Decline due to Cloud-Climate Feedbacks | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Accelerating Southern Ocean Sea Ice Decline due to Cloud-Climate Feedbacks Dae-Won Kim, Martina Zapponini, Thomas Jung, Myeong-Hyeon Kim, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7325013/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract After decades of stability, Southern Ocean sea ice has recently experienced an abrupt decline, with uncertain future behaviour. Using high-resolution climate simulations, we identify a seasonally modulated cascade of feedbacks driving rapid sea ice loss, especially in the Weddell Sea. Anthropogenic warming reduces sea ice, enhancing ocean heat release in warm seasons, which warms and moistens the atmospheric boundary layer in cold seasons. This increases mid-level cloud cover and longwave radiative warming, suppressing spring sea ice formation and activating the sea ice-albedo feedback. Current ocean warming trends indicate this transition threshold is nearly reached. These findings highlight a potential near-term regime shift in Southern Ocean sea ice, emphasising the importance of monitoring ocean-atmosphere interactions and cloud feedbacks to understand implications for regional and global climate change. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Climate change/Climate and Earth system modelling Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Climate change/Projection and prediction Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science/Atmospheric dynamics Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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