Speaker: Lauren Kuntz
Lauren will be presenting the attached paper by Tokinaga et al (2017): Early 20th-century Arctic warming intensified by Pacific and Atlantic multidecadal variability.
Here are her thoughts on the paper:
"Recently, the Arctic has been warming faster than the global average - an amplification linked to sea ice loss. A similar amplification of Arctic warming occurred in early 20th century, however radiative forcing was smaller than present day and there were minimal changes in sea ice. Some studies have suggested this early Arctic warming was due to either decreased volcanic forcing or increased solar forcing. Here, Tokinaga et al explore a new hypothesis, suggesting that internal variability in the Pacific and Atlantic could explain the early 20th century Arctic warming. They propose a physical mechanism through which sea surface temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic alter atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. I look forward to a discussion about the implications of this work on our understanding of historical radiative forcings as well as the role of internal variability in future climate projections."