China’s Recent Progresses in Polar Climate Change and Its Interactions with the Global Climate System

• Published in: Advances in atmospheric sciences Vol. 40; no. 8; pp. 1401 - 1428
• Main Authors: Li, Xichen, Chen, Xianyao, Wu, Bingyi, Cheng, Xiao, Ding, Minghu, Lei, Ruibo, Qi, Di, Sun, Qizhen, Wang, Xiaoyu, Zhong, Wenli, Zheng, Lei, Xin, Meijiao, Shen, Xiaocen, Song, Chentao, Hou, Yurong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Science Press 01.08.2023; Springer Nature B.V; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China; Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology,Qingdao 266061,China%Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences/Institute of Atmospheric Sciences,Fudan University,Shanghai 200438,China; Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China%Frontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System and Physical Oceanography Laboratory,Ocean University of China,Qingdao 266100,China; CMA-FDU Joint Laboratory of Marine Meteorology,Shanghai 200438,China%School of Geospatial Engineering and Science,Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Zhuhai),Sun Yat-sen University,Zhuhai 519082,China%State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather,Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences,Beijing 100081,China%Key Laboratory for Polar Science of the MNR,Polar Research Institute of China,Shanghai 200136,China%Polar and Marine Research Institute,Jimei University,Xiamen 361021,China%Polar Research and Forecasting Division,National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center,Beijing 100081,China%Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China
• Subjects: Acidification; Antarctic climate; Antarctic climate changes; Anthropogenic factors; Arctic climate changes; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate change; Climate change research; Climate models; Climate system; Climatic extremes; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emissions; Expeditions; Geophysics/Geodesy; Global climate; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; Meteorology; Multiship expeditions; National Reports to the IUGG by Chinese National Committee for IAMAS; Ocean acidification; Ozone; Polar climates; Polar environments; Polar regions; Regional climates; Review; Sea ice; Stratosphere; Temperature rise; Troposphere; China; Arctic region; 极地气候变化; polar climate change; stratospheric circulation; recent progress in China; global sea level rise; 北极放大; tropical-polar interactions; 热带—极地相互作用; 全球海平面上升; Arctic amplification; 中国近期进展; 平流层环流
• ISSN: 0256-1530; 1861-9533
• DOI: 10.1007/s00376-023-2323-3

During the recent four decades since 1980, a series of modern climate satellites were launched, allowing for the measurement and record-keeping of multiple climate parameters, especially over the polar regions where traditional observations are difficult to obtain. China has been actively engaging in polar expeditions. Many observations were conducted during this period, accompanied by improved Earth climate models, leading to a series of insightful understandings concerning Arctic and Antarctic climate changes. Here, we review the recent progress China has made concerning Arctic and Antarctic climate change research over the past decade. The Arctic temperature increase is much higher than the global-mean warming rate, associated with a rapid decline in sea ice, a phenomenon called the Arctic Amplification. The Antarctic climate changes showed a zonally asymmetric pattern over the past four decades, with most of the fastest changes occurring over West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Arctic and Antarctic climate changes were driven by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and ozone loss, while tropical-polar teleconnections play important roles in driving the regional climate changes and extreme events over the polar regions. Polar climate changes may also feedback to the entire Earth climate system. The adjustment of the circulation in both the troposphere and the stratosphere contributed to the interactions between the polar climate changes and lower latitudes. Climate change has also driven rapid Arctic and Southern ocean acidification. Chinese researchers have made a series of advances in understanding these processes, as reviewed in this paper.