Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Arctic Climate Interconnections and Stratospheric
Ozone Depletion
Readers who are still with me will have noticed the degree of interconnectedness that per-
vades our global climate system as it moves “excess” heat from equatorial regions towards
the poles, which then sends cool air and water back to lower latitudes. We can revisit some
of the tricks that a melting Arctic Ocean and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and its sibling the
North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) may be playing. (See Figure 10.10 .)
Figure 10.10
The Arctic Oscillation and the polar vortex
These two recurring atmospheric patterns have long been implicated as drivers of variability
in the Northern Hemisphere, including the Arctic. During the AO + phase, lower than usual
Search WWH ::




Custom Search