Cloud cover over Spitsbergen and its relation to atmospheric circulation (1983-2015)

Abstract

This paper discusses the cloud cover and its relation to atmospheric circulation over Spitsbergen during 1983Spitsbergen during -2015. It focuses on monthly and seasonal cloud covers and on the frequency of days with specific cloud cover (cloudless, clear, cloudy and completely overcast sky) and their relation to various circulation types. In the research period the cloud cover characteristics were differentiated over the island on both monthly and seasonal scales, and they strongly depended on the direction of air advection. The highest mean daily cloud cover was reported for circulation types with air advection from the south (S+SWc and S+SWa). The greatest variation in the cloud cover distribution was observed during the polar night (at Svalbard Lufthavn and Ny-Ålesund) or in the autumn (Hornsund). The long-term variability in the cloud cover significantly depends on the frequency of N+NEa type (negative correlation) and on S+SWc and W+NWc and Cc+Bc types (positive correlation), particularly in spring.

The Influence of Atmospheric Circulation on Mean and Extreme Weather Conditions on Kaffiøyra (NW Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago) in the Summer Seasons 1975–2015

“…They found that the highest mean diurnal C occurs with air mass advection from southern directions (for types S + SWa and S + SWc). These dependencies have been confirmed by Lipiński and Łupikasza (2016) and Łupikasza and Lipiński (2017) for three Spitsbergen stations (Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Lufthavn and Hornsund). They also found that C on Spitsbergen is greatest for southerly advection types, regardless of baric regime (S + SWc and S + SWa).…”

“…They also found that C on Spitsbergen is greatest for southerly advection types, regardless of baric regime (S + SWc and S + SWa). By far the lowest C was associated with N + NEa and N + NEc types (Łupikasza and Lipiński 2017). On Kaffiøyra, too, C was highest during air inflow from the S-W sector, under both anticyclonic and cyclonic regimes.…”

“…A particularly large number of studies have related to the Norwegian Arctic, investigating how AC affects: air temperature and humidity (e.g., Niedźwiedź 1987;Gluza and Piasecki 1989;Przybylak 1992;Niedźwiedź 1993;Przybylak 2002;Przybylak and Araźny 2006;Niedźwiedź 2007;Bednorz 2010;Przybylak et al, 2012a;Gluza and Siwek 2012;Niedźwiedź 2013b;Isaksen et al, 2016;Araźny et al, 2018;Kendzierski et al, 2018;Przybylak et al, 2018;Araźny 2019;Kejna and Sobota 2019); precipitation (e.g., Niedźwiedź and Ustrnul 1988;Przybylak and Marciniak 1992;Hanssen-Bauer and Førland 1998;Łupikasza and Niedźwiedź 2002;Łupikasza 2010;Dobler et al, 2021); and cloudiness (Niedźwiedź and Ustrnul 1989;Kejna et al, 2012;Lipiński and Łupikasza 2016;Łupikasza and Lipiński 2017;Kolendowicz et al, 2021).…”

Global Radiative Flux and Cloudiness Variability for the Period 1959–2010 in Belgium: A Comparison between Reanalyses and the Regional Climate Model MAR

“…Afterwards, a circulation type classification (as the one developed by Belleflamme et al [67]) could be used to associate the daily cloudiness to some types of general circulation. The temporal evolution of these circulation types could then be studied as was done in Bednorz et al [68] and Lupikaszca and Lipinski [69]. Finally, it might also be interesting to verify whether such a decrease in cloudiness would be projected if MAR was forced by GCM-based future projections.…”

Meteorology and summer net radiation of an Arctic alpine glacier: Svenbreen, Svalbard

“…Svalbard is a mountainous, heavily glacierized archipelago in the high‐Arctic (Figure a). The main characteristics of the regional climate are: (a) relatively mild air temperatures for the latitude (77°–80°N) due to the proximity of the warm West Spitsbergen Current (Førland et al , ; Walczowski and Piechura, ); (b) frequent coreless winters, mid‐winter warm‐spells, thawing events and large day‐to‐day winter temperature variability (Bednorz and Fortuniak, ); (c) high relative humidity, cloudiness and wind speeds (Esau and Repina, ; Maturilli et al , ; Łupikasza and Lipiński, ); (d) relatively low precipitation (200–600 mm) (Førland et al , ); (e) strong seasonal contrasts in global radiation (polar night and midnight‐sun) (Maturilli et al , ); and (f) high weather sensitivity to changes in atmospheric circulation and sea ice conditions (Isaksen et al , ). Additionally, the local climate is significantly influenced by distance to the surrounding seas, relief and surface characteristics (e.g., Bednorz and Kolendowicz, ; Przybylak et al , ; Gjelten et al , ; Araźny et al , ).…”