Articles | Volume 21, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-67-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-67-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Jan 2025
Research article |
| 13 Jan 2025
| 13 Jan 2025
A stretched polar vortex increased mid-latitude climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum
Yurui Zhang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Hans Renssen
Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bø, Norway
Heikki Seppä
Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Zhen Li
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Xingrui Li
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
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Short summary
The upper and lower atmospheres interact. The polar regions, with high-speed, cyclonically rotating winds, provide a window through which upper winds affect surface weather and climate variability. By analysing climate model results, we found that ice sheets induced anomalous upward wave propagation and stretched the rotating winds towards North America, increasing the likelihood of cold-air outbreaks at the mid-latitudes. This accounts for the enhanced winter cooling at these latitudes.
The upper and lower atmospheres interact. The polar regions, with high-speed, cyclonically...
