{"title":"Arctic warming as a potential trigger for the warm blob in the northeast Pacific","authors":"Huan-Huan Chen, Yuntao Wang, Xichen Li, Liying Wan, Yeping Yuan, Yunwei Yan, Charles Hannah, Fei Chai","doi":"10.1038/s41612-025-00900-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The northeast (NE) Pacific has experienced significant marine heatwaves (MHWs) in recent years, commonly known as “warm blobs.” This study examines the impact of Arctic warming, particularly in the Eastern Siberian-Chukchi Sea (ES-CS) region, on the occurrence of these warm blobs during boreal winters. We found that Arctic warming triggers a positive phase of the Tropical/Northern Hemisphere-like (TNH-like) atmospheric circulation, creating a pronounced high-pressure system over the Alaskan region. This system leads to easterly wind anomalies that weaken prevailing westerlies, reducing heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere and cold advection in the upper ocean. Consequently, sea surface temperatures rise, favoring the development of warm blobs. A numerical experiment confirmed that the projected changes in the ES-CS region impact warm blobs occurrences by inducing this high-pressure system, linking Arctic warming to MHWs in the NE Pacific.</p>","PeriodicalId":19438,"journal":{"name":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00900-9","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The northeast (NE) Pacific has experienced significant marine heatwaves (MHWs) in recent years, commonly known as “warm blobs.” This study examines the impact of Arctic warming, particularly in the Eastern Siberian-Chukchi Sea (ES-CS) region, on the occurrence of these warm blobs during boreal winters. We found that Arctic warming triggers a positive phase of the Tropical/Northern Hemisphere-like (TNH-like) atmospheric circulation, creating a pronounced high-pressure system over the Alaskan region. This system leads to easterly wind anomalies that weaken prevailing westerlies, reducing heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere and cold advection in the upper ocean. Consequently, sea surface temperatures rise, favoring the development of warm blobs. A numerical experiment confirmed that the projected changes in the ES-CS region impact warm blobs occurrences by inducing this high-pressure system, linking Arctic warming to MHWs in the NE Pacific.
期刊介绍：
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science is an open-access journal encompassing the relevant physical, chemical, and biological aspects of atmospheric and climate science. The journal places particular emphasis on regional studies that unveil new insights into specific localities, including examinations of local atmospheric composition, such as aerosols.
The range of topics covered by the journal includes climate dynamics, climate variability, weather and climate prediction, climate change, ocean dynamics, weather extremes, air pollution, atmospheric chemistry (including aerosols), the hydrological cycle, and atmosphere–ocean and atmosphere–land interactions. The journal welcomes studies employing a diverse array of methods, including numerical and statistical modeling, the development and application of in situ observational techniques, remote sensing, and the development or evaluation of new reanalyses.
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