Synoptic Mechanisms of Winter Warming in the Arctic

E. K. Semenov, N. N. Sokolikhina, K. O. Tudrii, and M. V. Shchenin

Considered is the case of abnormally warm weather in the western sector of the Russian Arctic in winter 2011/12. The synoptic analysis is carried out using the daily data of macro-scale recon- struction of atmospheric circulation that resulted in the intensive advection of warm air to the Arctic basin and large-scale anomalies of air temperature. As a result, the area of the ice cover of the Barents and Kara seas was the least ever observed over the history of routine remote observations.