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The Effect of Downwelling Longwave and Shortwave Radiation on Arctic Summer Sea Ice
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Meteorology .
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Meteorology .ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6908-7410
2016 (English)In: Journal of Climate, ISSN 0894-8755, E-ISSN 1520-0442, Vol. 29, no 3, p. 1143-1159Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The Arctic summer sea ice has diminished fast in recent decades. A strong year-to-year variability on top of this trend indicates that sea ice is sensitive to short-term climate fluctuations. Previous studies show that anomalous atmospheric conditions over the Arctic during spring and summer affect ice melt and the September sea-ice extent (SIE). These conditions are characterized by clouds, humidity and heat anomalies which all affect shortwave (SWD) and longwave (LWD) radiation to the surface. In general, positive LWD anomalies are associated with cloudy and humid conditions, whereas positive anomalies of SWD appear under clear-sky conditions. Here we investigate the effect of realistic anomalies of LWD and SWD on summer sea ice, by performing experiments with the Community Earth System Model. The SWD and LWD anomalies are studied separately and in combination for different seasons. It is found that positive LWD anomalies in spring and early summer have significant impact on the September SIE, whereas winter anomalies show only little effect. Positive anomalies in spring and early summer initiate an earlier melt onset, hereby triggering several feedback mechanisms that amplify melt during the succeeding months. Realistic positive SWD anomalies appear only important if they occur after the melt has started and the albedo is significantly reduced relative to winter conditions. Simulations where both positive LWD and negative SWD anomalies are implemented simultaneously, mimicking cloudy conditions, reveal that clouds during spring have a significant impact on summer sea ice while summer clouds have almost no effect.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2016. Vol. 29, no 3, p. 1143-1159
Keywords [en]
Geographic location/entity, Arctic, Sea ice, Circulation/ Dynamics, Clouds, Physical Meteorology and Climatology, Feedback, Surface fluxes, Models and modeling, Climate models
National Category
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Research subject
Atmospheric Sciences and Oceanography
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-124366DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0238.1ISI: 000369287000002OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-124366DiVA, id: diva2:885556
Available from: 2015-12-18 Created: 2015-12-18 Last updated: 2022-02-23Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. The atmospheric contribution to Arctic sea-ice variability
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The atmospheric contribution to Arctic sea-ice variability
2015 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The Arctic sea-ice cover plays an important role for the global climate system. Sea ice and the overlying snow cover reflect up to eight times more of the solar radiation than the underlying ocean. Hence, they are important for the global energy budget, and changes in the sea-ice cover can have a large impact on the Arctic climate and beyond. In the past 36 years the ice cover reduced significantly. The largest decline is observed in September, with a rate of more than 12% per decade. The negative trend is accompanied by large inter-annual sea-ice variability: in September the sea-ice extent varies by up to 27% between years. The processes controlling the large variability are not well understood. In this thesis the atmospheric contribution to the inter-annual sea-ice variability is explored. The focus is specifically on the thermodynamical effects: processes that are associated with a temperature change of the ice cover and sea-ice melt. Atmospheric reanalysis data are used to identify key processes, while experiments with a state-of-the-art climate model are conducted to understand their relevance throughout different seasons. It is found that in years with a very low September sea-ice extent more heat and moisture is transported in spring into the area that shows the largest ice variability. The increased transport is often associated with similar atmospheric circulation patterns. Increased heat and moisture over the Arctic result in positive anomalies of water vapor and clouds. These alter the amount of downward radiation at the surface: positive cloud anomalies allow for more longwave radiation and less shortwave radiation. In spring, when the solar inclination is small, positive cloud anomalies result in an increased surface warming and an earlier seasonal melt onset. This reduces the ice cover early in the season and allows for an increased absorption of solar radiation by the surface during summer, which further accelerates the ice melt. The modeling experiments indicate that cloud anomalies of similar magnitude during other seasons than spring would likely not result in below-average September sea ice. Based on these results a simple statistical sea-ice prediction model is designed, that only takes into account the downward longwave radiation anomalies or variables associated with it. Predictive skills are similar to those of more complex models, emphasizing the importance of the spring atmosphere for the annual sea-ice evolution.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, 2015. p. 30
Keywords
Sea ice, Arctic, Climate Variability
National Category
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Research subject
Atmospheric Sciences and Oceanography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-119779 (URN)978-91-7649-228-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2015-10-16, Nordenskiöldsalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 12, Stockholm, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.

Available from: 2015-09-24 Created: 2015-08-24 Last updated: 2022-02-23Bibliographically approved

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Kapsch, Marie-LuiseTjernström, Michael

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