Wind Feedback Mediated by Sea Ice in the Nordic Seas

Abstract

Air–sea interactions play a critical role in the climate system. This study investigates wind-induced changes in the ocean surface temperature and sea ice cover feeding back onto the atmospheric circulation. This interaction was modeled in the Nordic seas, using a partial coupling method to constrain the ocean with prescribed wind forcing in an otherwise fully coupled Earth system model. This enabled the evaluation of not only the direct oceanic, but also the indirect atmospheric response to idealized forcing scenarios of perturbed winds over the Nordic seas. The results show that an anticyclonic wind anomaly forcing leads to significant surface cooling in the Greenland Sea mostly due to anomalous drift of sea ice. During winter, the cooling reduces the net surface heat flux to the atmosphere and increases sea level pressure. The pressure gradients result in anomalous geostrophic southerly winds, which locally are comparable both in direction and in velocity to the prescribed forcing anomalies, suggesting a positive feedback.