Interannual Variations of Arctic Cloud Types in Relation to Sea Ice

Eastman, Ryan; Warren, Stephen G.

doi:10.1175/2010jcli3492.1

Cited by 148 publications

(162 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

144

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Over the period 1981-2010, a statistically significant increase in the average degree of cloudiness was observed in the winter, with a decrease in the summer (not significant). This corresponds to findings of others concerning cloudiness in the Arctic (Przybylak 1999;Eastman and Warren 2010) and is possibly associated with increasing surface temperatures and decreasing sea ice.…”

Section: Basic Characteristics Of Cloudinesssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Similar results obtained for Spitsbergen and the entire Atlantic region of the Arctic were cited by Przybylak (1999). Also, Eastman and Warren (2010) found increasing trend over the Arctic Ocean in all seasons. Different results, i.e.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Most of the models concerning future cloudiness in the Arctic emphasize the role of sea ice reduction and increase of sea surface temperature which enhance evaporation (Schweiger et al 2008;Kay and Gettelman 2009;Eastman and Warren 2010;Palm et al 2009). Vavrus et al (2009) proved that the Arctic cloud changes according to the GCMs are not significantly correlated with changes in sea level pressure, which means that cloudiness is not significantly influenced by circulation patterns.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are a few studies concerning the impact of the atmospheric circulation on Arctic cloudiness (Kotarba and Widawski 2008;Vavrus et al 2011). More numerous studies emphasize the role of sea ice reduction and increase of sea surface temperature (SST) on the amount of clouds in the Arctic, mainly due to the enhanced evaporation and impact of increasing SST on static stability (Crane and Barry 1984;Schweiger et al 1999;Stephens 2005;Schweiger et al 2008;Kay and Gettelman 2009;Vavrus et al 2009;Eastman and Warren 2010;Palm et al 2009;Andrews et al 2012;Andrews and Ringer 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Atmospheric conditions governing anomalies of the summer and winter cloudiness in Spitsbergen

Bednorz

Kaczmarek

Dudlik

2014

Theor Appl Climatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The study is based on data concerning cloudiness for the years 1981-2010 from Svalbard Lufthavn. Atmospheric circulation was characterized using a catalogue of circulation types developed by Niedźwiedź (2013) and average daily values of atmospheric pressure. Intensive cyclogenesis taking place over the north Atlantic expressed by lower-than-normal sea level pressure (SLP), particularly over the Fram Strait and over the east coast of Greenland, enhances the meridional air transport from the southern sector which conveys positive anomalies of cloudiness, namely a very cloudy weather. Negative anomalies of cloudiness over Svalbard Lufthavn occur in the winter when the north Atlantic cyclone path is shifted to the south and goes along the northern Norwegian shore towards the south Barents Sea. In summer, the influence of pressure patterns on cloudiness is weaker than in winter and different circulation patterns induce negative extremes of cloudiness. In the warm season, sunny weather occurs when a distinct anticyclone spreads over the Svalbard Archipelago and to its west, over the Fram Strait and the northern outskirts of the Greenland Sea. Extremely cloudy weather occurs in summer when a weak anticyclone spreads over the Barents Sea, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the Kara Sea, while slightly lower-than-normal pressure is observed over Greenland. Such a pressure pattern enhances southerly and south-westerly flow of air masses, bringing humid air. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that cloudiness over Spitsbergen is strongly controlled by the air circulation arising from pressure patterns.

show abstract

Section: Basic Characteristics Of Cloudinesssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Atmospheric conditions governing anomalies of the summer and winter cloudiness in Spitsbergen

Bednorz

Kaczmarek

Dudlik

2014

Theor Appl Climatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Qualitative comparison is, nevertheless, useful to evaluate the result. Recent observations from satellite and surface indicate an increase of low-level (,2 km) clouds over newly open water during autumn (Eastman and Warren 2010;Kay and Gettelman 2009;Wu and Lee 2012) although other studies largely relying on the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40) and the Interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) suggest the opposite (Cuzzone and Vavrus 2011;Schweiger et al 2008). While the sign of the integrated low-level cloud change is unclear from observations, Palm et al (2010) confirm the vertical dipole structure of the cloud change in the lower troposphere based on satellite observations, which is consistent with our simulations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust Seasonality of Arctic Warming Processes in Two Different Versions of the MIROC GCM

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is one of the most robust projected responses of climate models to the increase of atmospheric CO 2 concentration that the Arctic experiences a rapid warming with a magnitude larger than the rest of the world. While many processes are proposed as important, the relative contribution of individual processes to the Arctic warming is not often investigated systematically. Feedbacks are quantified in two different versions of an atmosphere-ocean GCM under idealized transient experiments based on an energy balance analysis that extends from the surface to the top of the atmosphere. The emphasis is placed on the largest warming from late autumn to early winter (October-December) and the difference from other seasons. It is confirmed that dominating processes vary with season. In autumn, the largest contribution to the Arctic surface warming is made by a reduction of ocean heat storage and cloud radiative feedback. In the annual mean, on the other hand, it is the albedo feedback that contributes the most, with increasing ocean heat uptake to the deeper layers working as a negative feedback. While the qualitative results are robust between the two models, they differ quantitatively, indicating the need for further constraint on each process. Ocean heat uptake, lower tropospheric stability, and low-level cloud response probably require special attention.

show abstract

Factors driving mercury variability in the Arctic atmosphere and ocean over the past 30 years

Fisher

Jacob

Soerensen

et al. 2013

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

[1] Long-term observations at Arctic sites (Alert and Zeppelin) show large interannual variability (IAV) in atmospheric mercury (Hg), implying a strong sensitivity of Hg to environmental factors and potentially to climate change. We use the GEOS-Chem global biogeochemical Hg model to interpret these observations and identify the principal drivers of spring and summer IAV in the Arctic atmosphere and surface ocean from 1979-2008. The model has moderate skill in simulating the observed atmospheric IAV at the two sites (r~0.4) and successfully reproduces a long-term shift at Alert in the timing of the spring minimum from May to April (r = 0.7). Principal component analysis indicates that much of the IAV in the model can be explained by a single climate mode with high temperatures, low sea ice fraction, low cloudiness, and shallow boundary layer. This mode drives decreased bromine-driven deposition in spring and increased ocean evasion in summer. In the Arctic surface ocean, we find that the IAV for modeled total Hg is dominated by the meltwater flux of Hg previously deposited to sea ice, which is largest in years with high solar radiation (clear skies) and cold spring air temperature. Climate change in the Arctic is projected to result in increased cloudiness and strong warming in spring, which may thus lead to decreased Hg inputs to the Arctic Ocean. The effect of climate change on Hg discharges from Arctic rivers remains a major source of uncertainty.

show abstract

Interannual Variations of Arctic Cloud Types in Relation to Sea Ice

Cited by 148 publications

References 44 publications

Atmospheric conditions governing anomalies of the summer and winter cloudiness in Spitsbergen

Atmospheric conditions governing anomalies of the summer and winter cloudiness in Spitsbergen

Robust Seasonality of Arctic Warming Processes in Two Different Versions of the MIROC GCM

Factors driving mercury variability in the Arctic atmosphere and ocean over the past 30 years

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About