What are the physical links between Arctic sea ice loss and Eurasian winter climate?

Rapid sea ice retreat and increases in temperature have characterised the Arctic basin in the last few decades. A number of studies have suggested that these changes have had a direct impact on extremes of weather and climate in the midlatitudes, while others have submitted that the evidence for this may not be robust. Sato et al (2014 Environ. Res. Lett. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/8/084009 ) cast considerable light on this divergence of perspectives by revealing that apparent links between Barents Sea ice coverage and cold Eurasian winters form just a sector of a teleconnection pattern which originates remotely in the North Atlantic Gulf Stream region