Connecting the Tropics to the Polar Regions
Theme Description: 
Dramatic climate change is affecting both the Arctic and West Antarctica, yet the relative roles of local versus remote forcings in causing the changes are being debated. As global climate change continues to unfold, the two-way links between the tropics and the poles will play key determining factors in the climatic evolution of these sensitive regions. Thus, the time is ripe for a detailed look at how the tropics and the poles are coupled climatically. This special collection of the Journal of Climate on “Connecting the Tropics to Polar Regions” grew out of a mini-conference on the same topic that was held at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in June 2014: http://www.ldgo.columbia.edu/~xyuan/Mini-Conference/Web.html
Subsequently, contributions were solicited from conference participants as well as colleagues worldwide with prior publications dealing with tropical-polar connections. Primarily, the manuscripts evaluate the remote impacts of various tropical forcings (El Nino-Southern –Southern Oscillation, Madden-Julian Oscillation, etc.) on polar and midlatitude atmospheric variability in the contemporary environment, and the Southern Hemisphere is emphasized.
Collection Organizers:
David H. Bromwich
Byrd Polar & Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Xiaojun Yuan
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York.
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