The Impact of Tropical Teleconnections on Antarctic Sea Ice and Climate

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

The role of tropical teleconnections on Antarctic sea ice and climate is investigated. Teleconnections are generated in a fully coupled and a slab ocean simulation. We find that both experiments are able to replicate the observed satellite-era anomalies in atmospheric circulation in west Antarctica. Perturbation heating anomaly experiments show that Atlantic teleconnections may also impact Amundsen sea ice variability. When ocean circulation response is suppressed, sea ice exhibits a stronger response to circulation anomalies generated by the the tropics. Furthermore, we show that a wind-driven cooling of the tropical Pacific does not generate a slow-down in global warming.