Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a link between melting sea ice and wildfires on the western side of the united states.
They used climate models to find out more about how melting sea ice can cause hotter, drier weather in the western United States.
Hailong Wang is an earth scientist at PNNL who was part of this research.
“Arctic warming is largely related to global warming and the amplified warming by local processes within the arctic,” said Wang.
Wang describes that as the ice melts in the warmer months, sunlight warms the surfaces it meets. When the land and sea get warmer in the artic, it affects places thousands of kilometers away, like in Washington or Oregon.
“When there is less sea ice coverage, the ocean heat can be released later in the season to the atmosphere,” said Wang.
This influences the atmosphere, creating vortexes that can make the polar jet stream move.
“The jetstream can cause changes in wind and pressure in the atmosphere. It can also affect things down on the surface. Such as the areas of high and low pressure. It helps shape the weather we often see,” said Wang.
This welcomes weather that makes states like California, Washington, and Oregon have a higher risk for fires.
“As the earth becomes warmer, the arctic summer sea ice may disappear in the coming decades,” said Wang.
Find out more on PNNL’s website.
