What is it about?
Cloud radiative effects are analyzed together with micro-physical cloud properties like liquid and ice water path obtained for wintertime Arctic clouds from the remote-sensing instrumentation suite at the ARM site in Utqiaǵvik, north slope of Alaska. Cloud observations have been sorted depending on the coupling status to the upwind sea ice condition using the water vapor transport as a link mechanism. It has been found that cloud coupled to sea ice openings are more efficient to reduce the cooling of surface longwave radiation.
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Why is it important?
The complex interaction between cryosphere and atmosphere is not yet totally understood. How the Arctic sea ice influences the atmosphere in general and the clouds in particular is paramount to reduce uncertainties in climate models. The findings are important since the Arctic sea ice is rapidly reducing, meaning higher amount of liquid clouds which are more efficient to warm the surface thus increasing the feedback mechanism that can foster further reduction of sea ice.
Perspectives
Recent finding based on the MOSAiC expedition are going to be implemented to the Utqiaǵvik observations and more this article can be improved quantitatively in terms of precision of the results as well as long-term trends.
Pablo Saavedra Garfias
Universitat Leipzig
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Estimation of wintertime cloud radiative effects in the Western Arctic, a function of cloud-moisture-coupling and sea ice conditions, January 2024, American Institute of Physics,
DOI: 10.1063/5.0182751.
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