Föhn-Induced Melting over Larsen C Modulated by Atmospheric River Shape, Direction and Landfall Location

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Abstract In recent decades, the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) has experienced record-high temperatures from the combined impacts of atmospheric rivers (ARs) and föhn warming. However, while ARs often amplify föhn over the AP, not all events cause surface warming over the entire Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS). This study uses high-resolution Polar WRF simulations to explore the relationship between ARs and föhn over the AP during austral summers, identifying four distinct AR shapes that cause föhn-induced surface warming over the LCIS: fully zonal, zonal-like, concave, and convex. Convex ARs linked to blocking highs produce the strongest föhn warming across the LCIS, particularly in its southern sections. While fully zonal ARs embedded within coupled low-high pressure systems induce comparable föhn warming, their enhanced moisture and cloud cover suppress the typical increases in downward shortwave radiation associated with föhn-driven cloud clearance. Conversely, zonal-like ARs under coupled low-high pressure systems and concave ARs under single low-pressure systems primarily make landfall over the northern AP, thereby have greater impact over the northern LCIS. With AR frequency and intensity likely to increase under climate change, their complex interplay with föhn over the AP may become a key factor in the future stability of coastal ice shelves.
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Föhn-Induced Melting over Larsen C Modulated by Atmospheric River Shape, Direction and Landfall Location | 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 Föhn-Induced Melting over Larsen C Modulated by Atmospheric River Shape, Direction and Landfall Location Xun Zou, Penny Rowe, Irina Gorodetskaya, Andrew Orr, David Bromwich, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7384193/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 In recent decades, the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) has experienced record-high temperatures from the combined impacts of atmospheric rivers (ARs) and föhn warming. However, while ARs often amplify föhn over the AP, not all events cause surface warming over the entire Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS). This study uses high-resolution Polar WRF simulations to explore the relationship between ARs and föhn over the AP during austral summers, identifying four distinct AR shapes that cause föhn-induced surface warming over the LCIS: fully zonal, zonal-like, concave, and convex. Convex ARs linked to blocking highs produce the strongest föhn warming across the LCIS, particularly in its southern sections. While fully zonal ARs embedded within coupled low-high pressure systems induce comparable föhn warming, their enhanced moisture and cloud cover suppress the typical increases in downward shortwave radiation associated with föhn-driven cloud clearance. Conversely, zonal-like ARs under coupled low-high pressure systems and concave ARs under single low-pressure systems primarily make landfall over the northern AP, thereby have greater impact over the northern LCIS. With AR frequency and intensity likely to increase under climate change, their complex interplay with föhn over the AP may become a key factor in the future stability of coastal ice shelves. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files ARFoehnPaperSUPPFinal.pdf Supplementary Material for Atmospheric River and Föhn analysis 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. 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. 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