Dominant patterns of atmospheric variability and their impact on sea ice concentration in the Labrador Sea

Lin, Rui (2023) Dominant patterns of atmospheric variability and their impact on sea ice concentration in the Labrador Sea. Memorial University of Newfoundland. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The thesis presents results from an Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) analysis of the dominant patterns of atmospheric circulation and their impact on the variability of sea ice in the Labrador Sea. The study uses ERA5 reanalysis of sea level pressure and sea ice from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). The analysis focuses on the relationship between the EOFS of sea ice concentration and three dominant patterns of the North Atlantic atmospheric variability: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Greenland Ridge (GR) and the Scandinavia–Greenland pattern (SG). The first EOF of the sea ice concentration determines the interannual variability of the offshore horizontal sea ice extension. The second EOF is related to the variations in the magnitude of ice concentration in the areas covered by ice every year. A significant correlation was found between the NAO and the first sea ice EOF pattern. In particular, the results suggest that the quasi-decadal transition in sea ice concentration observed in the mid-1990s was related to a quasi-decadal transition from a positive to a negative phase of NAO. The results provide a reference for identifying the drivers of ocean variability in the Labrador Sea and their potential impact on the regional marine ecosystem and climate.

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