New phenomenon enables Polar jet circulation to bring Saharan dust to Arctic Circle

As most of you know, for the past few decades climate change has caused the Arctic climate system to deglaciate rapidly. This is because the Arctic system is more sensitive to a warming world than the temperate zones where most of us live. This feature is known as Arctic amplification.   All credible scientists, armed with peer-reviewed ice and snow data reports, know that it is humans that cause climate change, via the burning of fossil fuels that powers our economy. Some of the effects of our lack of action to control greenhouse gas emissions from our petroleum addiction have resulted in the significant loss of sea ice, snow cover, and permafrost in the Arctic.   Now a new threat to the ice has been discovered that has the effect of amplifying changes to the Arctic by decreasing reflectivity from snow and ice with layers of dust originating in Africa’s Sahara desert. EurekAlert published a press release on a recent study that found that the new mechanism is raising temperatures and melting ice in Greenland. Research scientists at NYU Abu Dhabi, along with other global researchers, have identified a new mechanism by which warm dust travels from the Sahara Desert to the Arctic Circle. This has been proven to affect rising temperatures and ice melt in Greenland.

“The poleward transport of dust is caused by a meandering polar jet stream that was at the origin of both dust emission (through cyclogenesis over Northwest Africa) and poleward transport of the uplifted dust toward the Arctic (through circulation related to cut-off low formation).” The polar jet stream has been identified as the main driver for such events according to the study.

Meandering polar jet stream visible in red colors, upper-level trough visible in blue.

From EurekAlert:

The study has found that atmospheric circulation of this nature enables the transport of dust, warm and moist air masses from subtropics and mid-latitudes to the Arctic, where approximately half of the warming is now being attributed to increased moisture and heat fluxes transported to the region.

The warm and moist air masses accompanying the Saharan dust caused a rise in surface temperature of 10C (18F) for more than three consecutive days upon reaching southeastern Greenland. Subsequent temperature observations detected increased melting within the ice across this same area.

"The polar jet stream has been identified as the main driver for such events leading to the transport of large amount of dust to high-latitudes," said Diana Francis, atmospheric scientist at NYU Abu Dhabi and lead research scientist in this study.

"If the polar jet is set to slow more frequently due to the changes in the Arctic climate system and to the Arctic Amplification, such events are expected to become more frequent," Francis added.

With this news along with the recently released 1.5C report prepared for the UN by the IPCC that has generated apocalyptic headlines throughout the world, you could be forgiven to think that the GOP just might get nervous enough and get moving on the most significant threat humanity has ever faced, but you would be wrong. The GOP shrugged instead.