In recent decades, Siberia has experienced significant warming6,16–18, marking a global climatic shift. This temperature increase has resulted in a sustained greening, covering approximately 20% of the world's forested areas15–24 and acting as a net sink for atmospheric CO2 in recent decades, contributing to global carbon dynamics17–23. Notably, Siberian warming has played a central role in influencing East Asian climate21, atmospheric dynamics25, ecosystems, and carbon cycles22–23.
Meanwhile, the eastern coastal regions of the northern Pacific, including California, are known globally for their biological richness. Northerly winds in these areas drive robust upwelling processes that transport cold, nutrient-rich subsurface waters to the surface layer26-27. This phenomenon supports primary production, fisheries, and biodiversity, making these coastal regions vital components of marine ecosystems27. However, the factors influencing the dynamics of their increasing trends remain poorly constrained.
This study aims to provide evidence for the effects of Siberian greening on marine productivity along the west coast of North America in spring. In addition, we investigate potential physical mechanisms linking Siberian greening to marine physical and biological dynamics, particularly those related to atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Using an Earth system model, we conducted a series of experiments in which we systematically manipulated greening anomalies in Siberia. Our results show that the observed greening trends in Siberia have contributed to enhanced chlorophyll trends on the west coast of the US through enhanced upwelling and upward transport of nutrients driven by northerly winds induced by atmospheric teleconnections associated with Siberian warming. Furthermore, taking into account the influence of significant anthropogenic factors, our study suggests a plausible scenario in which the future marine primary productivity of the west coast of North America may experience an increase due to the ongoing greening trends in Siberia. This research highlights the intricate connections between terrestrial vegetation changes and marine productivity and underscores the significant impacts of Siberian greening and warming during spring. These factors, which were previously not strongly influential, now play a significant role in shaping increasing spring chlorophyll trends in the Northeast Pacific due to atmospheric teleconnections. The statement also emphasizes the importance of considering these dynamics for a comprehensive understanding of future ecological trends.
Increasing trends of coastal chlorophyll trends in the western US and Canada.
We focus on spring coastal chlorophyll along the west of North America, where a pronounced increasing trend has been observed since the 2000s (Fig. 1a). Due to the uncertainty of satellite-based chlorophyll measurements28, we estimated recent trends using different data sources. All data show significant increasing trends in spring chlorophyll along the western coast of North America, ranging from 0.17 to 0.33 mg m− 3 per 25 years, which represents 17–35% of its mean value. Combined data of all satellite data (see Method) also show notable increasing trends over 25 years (1998–2002) with an average rise of 40%. This trend is evident in the time series of the chlorophyll averaged over the northwestern coast of North America, corresponding to an annual increment of 0.012 mg m− 3 year− 1 (P < 0.01; Fig. 1b). Consistent with the satellite retrievals, field-based observations29,30 of chlorophyll data (CalCOFI) over northern California (Fig. 1a; see Methods) show robust increasing trends.
Furthermore, the averaged spring chlorophyll from selected data increases from 0.55 (1998–2009) to 0.71 (2010–2022), a statistically significant increase of about 29% above the 95% confidence level, according to a bootstrap test (see Method). If target periods are alternatively defined as 1998–2007 and 2013–2022, we obtain an essentially identical result, indicating that spring chlorophyll along the northwestern coast of North America has increased over the 25 years. This finding is supported by a statistically significant increase in combined data and strong inter-data consensus.
We also examine the spatial pattern of trends in spring chlorophyll. Farther downstream in the North Pacific, the combined data show a significant increasing trend in spring chlorophyll along the west coast of North America, ranging from 0.13 to 0.51 mg m− 3 per 25 years. Notably, the coastal regions of northern California, Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia (125°W-130°W, 35°N-50°N) (Fig. 1d) show an increasing trend in chlorophyll of 0.4–0.5 mg m− 3 per 25 years.
Possible link between Siberian greening and coastal chlorophyll trends in the western US and Canada.
The increased trends in coastal chlorophyll along the western coast of North America are linked to significant climatic changes in Eastern Siberia, where a pronounced greening trend has been observed during the spring season since the 2000s (Fig. 2a). This greening trend is also evident in the time series of the gross primary productivity (GPP) in Siberia31 (Supplementary Fig. S2), which shows a remarkable increase of 56.2% (+ 35.7 g C m− 2 yr− 1, P < 0.01). Spatially, 82% of the Siberian GPP over 90°E-140°E, 55°N-70°N (boxed in Fig. 2a) shows significant increasing trends (P < 0.01), with the only opposite trend observed over 80°E-90°E.
A robust increase in Siberian greening from 1998 to 2022 (Fig. 2a) is speculated to be due to global warming, which has accelerated since the 2000s32. The Siberian greening trend is associated with surface warming6,17. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we examine the recent climatic changes over Siberia. Previous studies have shown that the accelerated greening has been driven by Siberian warming, which in turn may further intensify the warming trend due to reduced surface albedo. The proposed processes are in good agreement with our analyses shown in Figs. 2b (see also Supplementary Fig. S2)6,17,18. In terms of spring seasonal progression, eastern Siberia experiences the earliest onset of spring warming. The observed warming trend, particularly pronounced in this region, indicates an enhanced spring warming, possibly due to feedback between anthropogenic warming and ecosystem response6,17,18.
This intensified trend of Siberian GPP could significantly influence regional climate and atmospheric circulations. We investigate trends in atmospheric circulation and find a weakening trend of the Siberian High (Fig. 2c; see negative sea-level pressure (SLP) trends over the Siberian region; see also Supplementary Fig. 3b-3d). Early snowmelt and resulting ground conditions due to anthropogenic warming can lead to a warmer atmosphere and positive geopotential height anomalies by inhibiting evaporative cooling33–35. In the upper troposphere, the advanced seasonal transition is evident in a positive geopotential height trend (Fig. 2b), illustrating the early shrinkage of the East Asian trough36—a stationary planetary trough that characterizes the winter atmospheric circulation over East Asia (Supplementary Fig. 3e). This accelerated decay of the winter climatological circulation is followed by an early establishment of the summer circulation. A negative height trend over the North Pacific (Fig. 2b) supports the early development of the Mid-Pacific Trough37, a planetary wave that dominates the summer atmospheric circulation (Supplementary Fig. 3f and 3g), while strong positive trends over the Northeast Pacific in both the upper and lower tropospheres act in favor of the early development of the summer North Pacific High (Fig. 2a,b).
The positive SLP trend over the northeast Pacific deserves a closer look, as it induces northerly winds along the coastal regions of the western US and Canada. Northerly wind speeds have increased significantly by 4.0 m s− 1 between 1998 and 2021, double the climatological value. This intensified northerly wind enhances upwelling from the subsurface to the surface ocean through Ekman pumping. Observational data show that the upwelling trends have increased by 18 cm day− 1 over two decades (50% above the mean), with a vertical structure showing increasing trends down to 100m depth, peaking at about 30m along the west coast of North America (Supplementary Fig. S4a)38,39. The upwelling may have been accompanied by enhanced upward transport of nutrients from the subsurface (or mixed layer). Estimates of nitrate concentration at 0–10 m depth, based on sampling data show a significant increasing trend, especially after 2010, although with relatively large uncertainties (Supplementary Fig. S4b). The abundance of nutrients in the surface ocean may partially contribute to the chlorophyll from the previous spring, consistent with previous studies linking northerly winds to chlorophyll activity in the western US11,26. Note that chlorophyll decreases in southern California (Fig. 1d) due to southerly wind trends (Fig. 2a) and enhanced downwelling, reducing nutrient supply to the near ocean surface layer and causing a decrease in chlorophyll levels.
These serial responses, coupled with an accelerated seasonal transition, suggest that the observed chlorophyll trend off the west coast of the US and Canada may be amplified by Siberian warming with local vegetation system feedback. In the next section, causality will be clearly demonstrated through Earth system model experiments.
Sensitivity of chlorophyll in the western US and Canada to Siberian GPP
To explore the causal relationship between Siberian GPP-enhanced warming and chlorophyll levels on the west coast of North America, we used an Earth System Model (ESM) in our study. An idealized simulation using the ESM allowed us to assess the influence of Siberian GPP on chlorophyll in this region. The simulation included a reference run with pre-industrial forcing ('SIGPP_1.0'). We introduced a nearly uniform 150% increase in the mean GPP from the reference run in the Siberian region ('SIGPP_1.5') and a 50% reduction in the GPP ('SIGPP_0.5'), as described in the Methods section and Fig. 1a (red box). The differences in chlorophyll between 'SIGPP_1.5' and 'SIGPP_0.5' are shown in Figs. 3a and 3b, and effectively replicate the observed increase in chlorophyll over the US west coast attributed to Siberian greening.
To further validate the robustness of the enhanced effect of Siberian greening effect on western US chlorophyll, we conducted two additional sensitivity experiments involving a doubling ('SIGPP_2.0') and 2.5 times ('SIGPP_2.5') of Siberian greening with ensemble simulations (see Methods). The results, with an overall accuracy of more than 95%, showed a significant positive correlation between Siberian GPP and the chlorophyll response (Fig. 3b), consistent with the observations in the comparison between the 'SIGPP_1.5' and 'SIGPP_0.5' experiments. The difference in chlorophyll between 'SIGPP_2.0' and 'SIGPP_1.0' ranged from 0.15 to 0.20 mg m− 3, approximately 40–55% of the spring mean chlorophyll from the reference run. This increase was particularly pronounced in Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia, where there was substantial enhancement of northerly and oceanic upwelling. In summary, Siberian greening leads to an increase in marine productivity and carbon sink by altering climatic conditions on the West Coast of the US region.
To gain a deeper understanding of this mechanism, we leveraged the results from the ESM simulations. Our analysis aimed to quantify the influence of Siberian Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) on marine productivity along the western US through the 'SIGPP_1.5' and 'SIGPP_0.5' simulations. Figure 3c nicely illustrates the differences in climate and ecosystems between these two simulations, successfully reproducing the SLP trend pattern (e.g., Fig. 2a) and the enhancement of northerly winds in the western U.S. due to Siberian greening. The model deviates slightly from observations by simulating the southward shift of the negative SLP and the westward shift of the positive SLP. Nevertheless, it effectively reproduces the zonal dipole pattern of the SLP, which is characterized by anomalous high pressure in the northeastern Pacific accompanied by northerly anomalies (Fig. 3c). In addition, the model skillfully captures the seasonal transition of planetary waves in the upper troposphere, accompanied by Siberian heating, resulting in anomalous high pressure and northeasterly winds over the western US (Supplementary Fig. S5). The model also reproduces the oceanic response to the northerly winds at the surface, simulating significant upwelling anomalies (Supplementary Fig. S6a) and abundant nutrients (Supplementary Fig. S6b), although the magnitudes are relatively weaker than observed. In summary, our results suggest that the increasing trends in chlorophyll over the western U.S. are largely due to the seasonal modulation initiated by Siberian greening and warming and the resulting northerly winds.
Impacts of Siberian Greening on Western US Marine Productivity under Global Warming Conditions
The effects of greenhouse warming on marine productivity, particularly along the west coast of North America, have been investigated by numerous observational and climate model studies10–15,26−28,40. To quantitatively assess the positive effects of Siberian warming enhanced by the greening on marine productivity along the west coast of North America under greenhouse warming, two additional simulations have been conducted using the ESM. In the first simulation, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were abruptly quadrupled ('4XCO2'), allowing the vegetation system to respond freely. In the second simulation, CO2 concentrations were also quadrupled, but pre-industrial climatological conditions for Siberian GPP were maintained ('4XCO2 + GPPclim'). In the '4XCO2' simulation, chlorophyll increases by 1.05 mg m− 3 over 40 years compared to the reference run (SIGPP_1.0). Conversely, when Siberian greening was suppressed ('4XCO2 + GPPclim'), chlorophyll showed a less significant increase compared to the '4XCO2' simulation, with a lower concentration (by 0.3–0.4 mg m− 3 in Fig. 4a). An analysis of the differences between these simulations revealed that Siberian greening led to enhanced positive chlorophyll anomalies in the northeast Pacific, associated with increased surface northerly winds and increased upwelling. These processes were similar to those observed in models with pre-industrial CO2 forcing (difference between SIGPP_1.5 and SIGPP_0.5; refer Fig. 3), suggesting that the enhanced effect of Siberian greening on western US marine GPP persists under greenhouse warming conditions, albeit with potential differences in the underlying mechanisms in a warmer background climate.
The results presented in Fig. 4a are further corroborated by an examination of emission-based model simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) future scenario runs (Methods). The CMIP6 simulations include data from 8 models for the period 2040 to 2099. The models with greater Siberian greening tend to simulate greater increases in coastal chlorophyll in the western US and Canada, with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.64 (P < 0.01) (Fig. 4b). The increasing trends in Siberian GPP appear to result in an enhanced positive SLP in the northeastern Pacific (Fig. 4b). The enhanced positive SLP can intensify northerly winds in the western US coastal region through an enhanced upwelling and high nutrient concentrations, thus contributing to increased chlorophyll. This is supported by CMIP6 simulations, which indicate that Siberian GPP enhances northerly winds in the coastal region of the western US and Canada and tends to increase nutrients. This change is statistically significant (r = 0.66, P < 0.01) (Fig. 4c). We plot the increased coastal chlorophyll in the western US under greenhouse warming as a function of the corresponding Siberian greening (Fig. 4c). Overall, these CMIP6 model results are in good agreement with our model simulations.