Rapid Acceleration of Arctic Near-Surface Wind Speed in a Warming Climate

• Arctic near-surface wind speed (NWS) plays an increasingly crucial role in influencing the local air-sea interactions and the safety of trans-Arctic shipping, but its potential changes in a warming climate and underlying causes remain unclear. Using reanalysis and model simulation data sets, we reveal that the Arctic NWS has increased remarkably since the 1960s, with the strongest increase in the Arctic Ocean surface. We propose that the acceleration of Arctic NWS is primarily driven by reduced stability in the lower troposphere due to increased upward heat fluxes and decreased surface roughness owing to the losses of Arctic glaciers and sea ice in a warming climate. In addition, the coupled climate models project a robust increase in the Arctic NWS under various warming scenarios during the 21st century, especially in the vicinity of the Kara Sea and the Beaufort Sea. The speed at which wind blows near the surface in the Arctic is important for understanding local air-sea interactions and ensuring the safety of ships traveling across the region. However, how and why Arctic wind speeds are changing in a warming climate remains unclear. Using a combination of data analysis and model simulations, we found that the wind speed in the Arctic overall had been markedly increasing since the 1960s, especially over the sea. This increase in wind speed seems to have mainly been caused by human-induced warming, whereby more heat is transferred into the air making the lower part of the atmosphere less stable. In addition, the melting of glaciers and sea ice in the Arctic has made the surface smoother, helping wind to blow faster. Models used to project future climate change reveal that the wind in the Arctic is simulated to increase further, especially in certain areas such as the Kara Sea and the Beaufort Sea. Reanalyzes and CMIP6 model simulations show increasing near-surface wind speed (NWS) in the Arctic region since 1960s Decreases in surface roughness and atmospheric stability could contribute to the increasing Arctic NWS CMIP6 models project a continued increase in the Arctic NWS in various future warming scenarios

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NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geology (hsv//eng)

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