Seasonal evolution and interannual variability of the local solar energy absorbed by the Arctic sea ice–ocean system

Perovich, Donald K.; Nghiem, S. V.; Markus, T.; Schweiger, Axel

doi:10.1029/2006jc003558

Cited by 148 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Work aimed at quantifying observed changes in the albedo of the ice-covered Arctic (e.g. [10,47]) is important to better understand the changing Arctic system.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting projected Arctic surface shortwave heating and albedo change in coupled climate models

Holland

Landrum

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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One contribution of 9 to a discussion meeting issue 'Arctic sea ice reduction: the evidence, models and impacts (part 1)' . We use a large ensemble of simulations from the Community Earth System Model to quantify simulated changes in the twentieth and twenty-first century Arctic surface shortwave heating associated with changing incoming solar radiation and changing ice conditions. For increases in shortwave absorption associated with albedo reductions, the relative influence of changing sea ice surface properties and changing sea ice areal coverage is assessed. Changes in the surface sea ice properties are associated with an earlier melt season onset, a longer snow-free season and enhanced surface ponding. Because many of these changes occur during peak solar insolation, they have a considerable influence on Arctic surface shortwave heating that is comparable to the influence of ice area loss in the early twenty-first century. As ice area loss continues through the twenty-first century, it overwhelms the influence of changes in the sea ice surface state, and is responsible for a majority of the net shortwave increases by the mid-twenty-first century. A comparison with the Arctic surface albedo and shortwave heating in CMIP5 models indicates a large spread in projected twenty-first century change. This is in part related to different ice loss rates among the models and different representations of the late twentieth century ice albedo and associated sea ice surface state.

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“…Work aimed at quantifying observed changes in the albedo of the ice-covered Arctic (e.g. [10,47]) is important to better understand the changing Arctic system.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting projected Arctic surface shortwave heating and albedo change in coupled climate models

Holland

Landrum

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…To simulate Arctic atmospheric conditions during the SHEBA experiment, a simple idealized albedo model based on the SHEBA observations (Perovich et al, 2007a) and a satellite data set were used in Polar WRF (Bromwich et al, 2009). This albedo model was then applied to the entire Arctic Ocean to simulate the 1-year period from December 2006 to November 2007 (Wilson et al, 2011).…”

Section: Snow and Ice Albedo: Observations And Parameterizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The numbers indicate the following processes: 1 -atmospheric advection of heat and moisture to the Arctic; 2 -oceanic advection of heat and salt to the Arctic; 3 -generation of temperature and humidity inversions; 4 -turbulence in stable boundary layer; 5 -convection over leads and polynyas; 6 -cloud microphysics; 7 -cloud-radiation-turbulence interactions; 8 -reflection and penetration of solar radiation in snow/ice; 9 -surface melt and pond formation; 10 -formation of superimposed ice and snow ice; 11 -gravity drainage of salt in sea ice; 12 -brine formation; 13 -turbulent exchange of momentum, heat and salt during ice growth; and 14 -double-diffusive convection. More detailed illustration of small-scale processes is given in Compared to a dry atmosphere, the ocean, sea ice, snow, and clouds have a much higher long-wave emissivity and a much lower shortwave transmissivity (Perovich et al, 2007a, b). Over the central Arctic Ocean, small-scale processes are somewhat more tractable than near the coasts and continental shelves.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in understanding and parameterization of small-scale physical processes in the marine Arctic climate system: a review

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The Arctic climate system includes numerous highly interactive small-scale physical processes in the atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean. During and since the International Polar Year 2007-2009, significant advances have been made in understanding these processes. Here, these recent advances are reviewed, synthesized, and discussed. In atmospheric physics, the primary advances have been in cloud physics, radiative transfer, mesoscale cyclones, coastal, and fjordic processes as well as in boundary layer processes and surface fluxes. In sea ice and its snow cover, advances have been made in understanding of the surface albedo and its relationships with snow properties, the internal structure of sea ice, the heat and salt transfer in ice, the formation of superimposed ice and snow ice, and the small-scale dynamics of sea ice. For the ocean, significant advances have been related to exchange processes at the ice-ocean interface, diapycnal mixing, double-diffusive convection, tidal currents and diurnal resonance. Despite this recent progress, some of these small-scale physical processes are still not sufficiently understood: these include wave-turbulence interactions in the atmosphere and ocean, the exchange of heat and salt at the ice-ocean interface, and the mechanical weakening of sea ice. Many other processes are reasonably well understood as stand-alone processes but the challenge is to understand their interactions with and impacts and feedbacks on other processes. Uncertainty in the parameterization of small-scale processes continues to be among the greatest challenges facing climate modelling, particularly in high latitudes. Further improvements in parameterization require new year-round field campaigns on the Arctic sea ice, closely combined with satellite remote sensing studies and numerical model experiments.

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“…During the period 1998-2004, Perovich et al (2007b) estimated the annual heat input in the Canada Basin to vary between 8.5 · 10 8 J m −2 and 11 · 10 8 J m −2 . This heat estimate corresponds to 2.6-3.3 m of meltwater, if all available heat is used to melt ice.…”

Section: The Canada Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time and space variability of freshwater content, heat content and seasonal ice melt in the Arctic Ocean from 1991 to 2011

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Changes in the hydrography of the Arctic Ocean have recently been reported. The upper ocean has been freshening and pulses of warm Atlantic Water have been observed to spread into the Arctic Ocean. Although these changes have been intensively studied, salinity and temperature variations have less frequently been considered together. Here hydrographic observations, obtained by icebreaker expeditions conducted between 1991 and 2011, are analyzed and discussed. Five different water masses in the upper 1000 m of the water column are examined in five sub-basins of the Arctic Ocean. This allows for studying the variations of the distributions of the freshwater and heat contents in the Arctic Ocean not only in time but also laterally and vertically. In addition, the seasonal ice melt contribution is separated from the permanent, winter, freshwater content of the Polar Mixed Layer. Because the positions of the icebreaker stations vary between the years, the icebreaker observations are at each specific point in space and time compared with the Polar Science Center Hydrographic Climatology to separate the effects of space and time variability on the observations. The hydrographic melt water estimate is discussed and compared with the potential ice melt induced by atmospheric heat input estimated from the ERA–Interim and NCEP/NCAR reanalyses. After a period of increased salinity in the upper ocean during the 1990s, both the Polar Mixed Layer and the upper halocline have been freshening. The increase in freshwater content in the Polar Mixed Layer is primarily driven by a decrease in salinity, not by changes in Polar Mixed Layer depth, whereas the freshwater is accumulating in the upper halocline mainly through the increasing thickness of the halocline. This is especially evident in the Northern Canada Basin, where the most substantial freshening is observed. The warming, and to some extent also the increase in salinity, of the Atlantic Water during the early 1990s extended from the Nansen Basin into the Amundsen and Makarov basins, while the warm and saline inflows occurring during the 2000s appear to be confined to the Nansen Basin, suggesting that the warm and saline inflow through Fram Strait largely recirculates in the Nansen Basin.

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Seasonal evolution and interannual variability of the local solar energy absorbed by the Arctic sea ice–ocean system

Cited by 148 publications

References 43 publications

Factors affecting projected Arctic surface shortwave heating and albedo change in coupled climate models

Factors affecting projected Arctic surface shortwave heating and albedo change in coupled climate models

Advances in understanding and parameterization of small-scale physical processes in the marine Arctic climate system: a review

Time and space variability of freshwater content, heat content and seasonal ice melt in the Arctic Ocean from 1991 to 2011

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