Influence of Arctic Amplification on Midlatitude Circulation and Available Energy

Recent global warming displays an enhanced and heterogeneous signal in the Arctic, termed Arctic amplification. Changes in atmospheric circulation as a result of Arctic amplification are unclear, but a significant downwards trend in eddy kinetic energy (EKE) has been observed during boreal summer (Coumou et al., Science, 2015). I will present trends in another quantity of the Lorenz energy cycle, mean available potential energy (MAPE), in various reanalysis products over the satellite era, and explore the robustness of the observed trends to time period, spatial domain, and data set. The behavior of MAPE over this time period is consistent with that of EKE in the ERA-Interim reanalysis, with implications for e.g. storm track intensity and persistent weather patterns. I will also discuss possible causal links between the observed Arctic amplification and changes in atmospheric circulation using idealized model results.