AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Editors' Highlight

Storm tracks head for the poles in the 21st century

Storm tracks are regions where large-scale weather phenomena such as frontal storms often occur. Yin (2005) used the output from 15 climate simulations, each performed with a different general circulation model (GCM), to predict how the positions of storm tracks might change over the course of this century. The GCM results suggested that during the 21st century, storm tracks will move toward the Earth's poles and climb to higher altitudes. In addition, the GCM results suggested that storms would intensify and that surface winds and precipitation would increase toward the poles. The shifting of the storms was also accompanied by warming high in the atmosphere over the tropics. Yin says these changes would have wide-ranging effects on the planet's climate. Winds, for example, are an important driver of ocean circulation, and changes in their strength and location might affect ocean and atmospheric processes, such as CO₂ storage. Yin says the significant influence storm tracks have on climate makes it crucial to understand how and why they move poleward.

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