Interannual Arctic-Tropical Coupling in Boreal Summer: Beaufort Sea Ice Variability and Its Association with Tropical North Atlantic SST

Interannual Arctic-Tropical Coupling in Boreal Summer: Beaufort Sea Ice Variability and Its Association with Tropical North Atlantic SST | 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 Research Article Interannual Arctic-Tropical Coupling in Boreal Summer: Beaufort Sea Ice Variability and Its Association with Tropical North Atlantic SST Aminu Dalhatu Datti, David Ferreira, Charles Anosike, Felix Olabamiji Ajibola, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9305531/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The relationship between the Arctic and the Tropical North Atlantic (TNA) is a critical, yet relatively underexplored aspect of climate variability, particularly in light of the rapid changes occurring in the Arctic. Despite its potential significance, the interannual linkage remains insufficiently understood, limiting a comprehensive understanding of broader climate dynamics. In this study, we investigate the variability of the interannual relationship between Beaufort Sea Ice Concentration (SIC) and TNA Sea Surface Temperature (SST) over the period 1979–2023. Our results reveal a statistically significant negative correlation between Beaufort SIC and TNA SST. Increased Beaufort SIC appears to induce notable local radiative cooling through reduced upward longwave radiation and enhanced shortwave reflection, which may trigger anomalous vertical circulation and a Rossby wave source over the Arctic. The resulting stationary wave train, originating from the Beaufort region, tends to propagate southeastward across Canada and the northern United States, extending toward the western and subtropical North Atlantic and eventually into the TNA. This circulation pattern is associated with atmospheric conditions favorable for the development of negative SST anomalies over the TNA. Associated turbulent heat flux responses over the TNA further suggest that Arctic-induced atmospheric circulation changes can modulate local air-sea heat exchange, providing an energetic pathway through which Beaufort SIC variability may influence TNA SST anomalies. The NCAR Community Atmosphere Model version 5.3 (CAM5.3) is able to reproduce the observed mechanisms to a reasonable extent, offering additional support for the proposed dynamical pathway. Arctic-tropical connection Beaufort Sea ice variability Tropical North Atlantic SST Rossby wave propagation Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major Revision 11 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 05 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 02 Apr, 2026 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. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9305531","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":618818310,"identity":"4dcabc6a-766d-494c-8ebb-bbdb5ed531b5","order_by":0,"name":"Aminu Dalhatu Datti","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgYGBjYgzcxgwPAQyOZnP8DAkFBAWIsED0hLYgODhGRPAlCLASGbQFoYoFoMboBE8Gjhn3a47TFPmV2dPTvzxg+JO+zqjG9wJ354YMAgzy92AKsWiduJ7cY855KBDmMrlkg8kyxhdoN3swTQYYYzZydgt+Z2Yps0bxszUAuPgUQikGF24+0GkJYEg9vYtchDtNSDtBj/SAQyjGfkbv6BT4sBRMthkBYzoC2HJQwkcrfhtcUQqEVyzrnjkj2H2cosEtuOS844k7vNIsFAAqdf5G6nP5N4U1bNz95/ePONj23V/PztZzff/FFhI88vjcP7uIAEacpHwSgYBaNgFKAAAAE+WXkTR4cpAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0239-9196","institution":"Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aminu","middleName":"Dalhatu","lastName":"Datti","suffix":""},{"id":618818313,"identity":"4ad6ccc5-56ce-4a89-a9a3-01c5e8a551b1","order_by":1,"name":"David Ferreira","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Reading - 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