Springtime atmospheric energy transport and the control of Arctic summer sea-ice extent

Kapsch, Marie‐Luise; Graversen, Rune; Tjernström, Michael

doi:10.1038/nclimate1884

Cited by 227 publications

(304 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Because the effects of enhanced moisture transport on Arctic ice are diverse, there is no direct relationship between enhanced transport and SIE decline. Anomalously high moisture transport into the Arctic is associated with intense surface winds, and increment in moisture content and induced radiative warming, which lead to decreased SIE (Kapsch et al, 2013;Park et al, 2015b). However, anomalous moisture transport can result in anomalous precipitation, and in this case, the relation between enhanced moisture transport and diminished SIE is unclear because changes in precipitation are not always related to SIE in the same way, depending on the type of precipitation and the season.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

A new pattern of the moisture transport for precipitation related to the drastic decline in Arctic sea ice extent

2018

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Abstract. In this study we use the term moisture transport for precipitation for a target region as the moisture coming to this region from its major moisture sources resulting in precipitation over the target region (MTP). We have identified changes in the pattern of moisture transport for precipitation over the Arctic region, the Arctic Ocean, and its 13 main subdomains concurrent with the major sea ice decline that occurred in 2003. The pattern consists of a general decrease in moisture transport in summer and enhanced moisture transport in autumn and early winter, with different contributions depending on the moisture source and ocean subregion. The pattern is statistically significant and consistent with changes in the vertically integrated moisture fluxes and frequency of circulation types. The results of this paper also reveal that the assumed and partially documented enhanced poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes as a consequence of increased moisture from climate change seems to be less simple and constant than typically recognised in relation to enhanced Arctic precipitation throughout the year in the present climate.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

A new pattern of the moisture transport for precipitation related to the drastic decline in Arctic sea ice extent

2018

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“…Before the IPY, the knowledge of temperature inversion statistics over the Arctic Ocean was mostly based on radiosonde sounding data from coastal stations and the Russian drifting stations whose tracks were mostly in the sector of 120-240 • E. The main findings were that surface-based inversions prevail during winter, extending to a height of typically 1200 m, with a typical temperature increase of 10-12 K (Kahl, 1990;Serreze et al, 1992). More recent ship and aircraft data show that in winter and early spring, especially during low temperatures, strong surface-based inversions exist also in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic Ocean (Lüpkes et al, 2012b).…”

Section: Temperature and Humidity Inversionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fridlind et al, 2012;Solomon et al, 2011). In addition to the above-mentioned small-scale processes, an increase in the advection of heat and moisture from lower latitudes also contributes to the Arctic amplification (Graversen et al, 2008;Kapsch et al, 2013). The relative importance of the above-mentioned processes in the Arctic is not well understood.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…On one hand, large-scale circulation and related lateral advection of heat and water vapour/freshwater in the atmosphere Sedlar and Devasthale, 2012;Kapsch et al, 2013) and ocean (Mauldin et al, 2010;Lique and Steele, 2012) strongly affect the boundary conditions for small-scale processes in the Arctic. On the other hand, small-scale processes modify the large-scale circulation via a number of interactive processes.…”

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confidence: 99%

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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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“…The longwave radiative effect of clouds is a large term in the Arctic surface energy balance in all seasons and consequently regulates ice loss over both land and sea, with more ice loss typical under cloudy conditions despite less absorption of shortwave radiation (Kapsch et al 2013;Van Tricht et al 2016;Mortin et al 2016). From a Lagrangian standpoint, clouds form as warm and moist air masses are advected and cooled over the Arctic Ocean in both summer, leading to ice melt and fog (Tjernstrom et al 2015), and winter, leading to bottom-heavy warming and weakening of surface inversions (Woods and Caballero 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suppression of Arctic Air Formation with Climate Warming: Investigation with a Two-Dimensional Cloud-Resolving Model

Cronin

Tziperman

2017

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

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Arctic climate change in winter is tightly linked to changes in the strength of surface temperature inversions, which occur frequently in the present climate as Arctic air masses form during polar night. Recent work proposed that, in a warmer climate, increasing low-cloud optical thickness of maritime air advected over highlatitude landmasses during polar night could suppress the formation of Arctic air masses, amplifying winter warming over continents and sea ice. But this mechanism was based on single-column simulations that could not assess the role of fractional cloud cover change. This paper presents two-dimensional cloud-resolving model simulations that support the single-column model results: low-cloud optical thickness and duration increase strongly with initial air temperature, slowing the surface cooling rate as the climate is warmed. The cloud-resolving model cools less at the surface than the single-column model, and the sensitivity of its cooling to warmer initial temperatures is also higher, because it produces cloudier atmospheres with stronger lowertropospheric mixing and distributes cloud-top cooling over a deeper atmospheric layer with larger heat capacity. Resolving larger-scale cloud turbulence has the greatest impact on the microphysics schemes that best represent general observed features of mixed-phase clouds, increasing their sensitivity to climate warming. These findings support the hypothesis that increasing insulation of the high-latitude land surface by low clouds in a warmer world could act as a strong positive feedback in future climate change and suggest studying Arctic air formation in a three-dimensional climate model.

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Springtime atmospheric energy transport and the control of Arctic summer sea-ice extent

Cited by 227 publications

References 24 publications

A new pattern of the moisture transport for precipitation related to the drastic decline in Arctic sea ice extent

A new pattern of the moisture transport for precipitation related to the drastic decline in Arctic sea ice extent

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

Suppression of Arctic Air Formation with Climate Warming: Investigation with a Two-Dimensional Cloud-Resolving Model

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