In this study, the response of sea ice thickness to changes in the external forcing is investigated and particularly how this response depends on the surface albedo formulation by means of a one-dimensional coupled ocean-ice-atmosphere model. The main focus is on the thickness response to the atmospheric heat advection F-wall, solar radiation F-SW, and amount of snow precipitation S-prec. Different albedo parameterization schemes [ECHAM5, CSIRO, and Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3)] representing albedos commonly used in global climate models are compared together with more simplified schemes. Using different albedo schemes with the same external forcing produces large differences in ice thickness. The ice thickness response is similar for all realistic albedo schemes with a nearly linear decrease with increasing F-wall in the perennial ice regime and with a steplike transition into seasonal ice when F-wall exceeds a certain threshold. This transition occurs at an annual-mean ice thickness of 1.7-2.0 m. Latitudinal differences in solar insolation generally leads to increasing ice thickness toward the North Pole. The snow response varies significantly depending on which albedo scheme is used. The ECHAM5 scheme yields thinner ice with S-prec, the CSIRO scheme gives ice thickness nearly independent of S-prec, and with the CCSM3 scheme the ice thickness decreases with S-prec. A general result is that the modeled ice cover is rather sensitive to positive perturbations of the external heat supply when it is close to the transition such that just a small increase of, for example, F-wall can force the ice cover into the seasonal regime.

Cloud and thermodynamic characteristics from three Arctic observation sites are investigated to understand the collocation between low-level clouds and temperature inversions. A regime where cloud top was 100-200 m above the inversion base [cloud inside inversion (CII)] was frequently observed at central Arctic Ocean sites, while observations from Barrow, Alaska, indicate that cloud tops were more frequently constrained to inversion base height [cloud capped by inversion (CCI)]. Cloud base and top heights were lower, and temperature inversions were also stronger and deeper, during CII cases. Both cloud regimes were often decoupled from the surface except for CCI over Barrow. In-cloud lapse rates differ and suggest increased cloud-mixing potential for CII cases. Specific humidity inversions were collocated with temperature inversions for more than 60% of the CCI and more than 85% of the CII regimes. Horizontal advection of heat and moisture is hypothesized as an important process controlling thermodynamic structure and efficiency of cloud-generated motions. The portion of CII clouds above the inversion contains cloud radar signatures consistent with cloud droplets. The authors test the longwave radiative impact of cloud liquid above the inversion through hypothetical liquid water distributions. Optically thin CII clouds alter the effective cloud emission temperature and can lead to an increase in surface flux on the order of 1.5 W m(-2) relative to the same cloud but whose top does not extend above the inversion base. The top of atmosphere impact is even larger, increasing outgoing longwave radiation up to 10 W m(-2). These results suggest a potentially significant longwave radiative forcing via simple liquid redistributions for a distinctly dominant cloud regime over sea ice.

The Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) was conducted during summer and early autumn 2014, providing a detailed view of the seasonal transition from ice melt into freeze-up. Measurements were taken over both ice-free and ice-covered surfaces, near the ice edge, offering insight to the role of the surface state in shaping the atmospheric conditions. The initiation of the autumn freeze-up was related to a change in air mass, rather than to changes in solar radiation alone; the lower atmosphere cooled abruptly leading to a surface heat loss. During melt season, strong surface inversions persisted over the ice, while elevated inversions were more frequent over open water. These differences disappeared during autumn freeze-up, when elevated inversions persisted over both ice-free and ice-covered conditions. These results are in contrast to previous studies that found a well-mixed boundary layer persisting in summer and an increased frequency of surface-based inversions in autumn, suggesting that our knowledge derived from measurements taken within the pan-Arctic area and on the central ice-pack does not necessarily apply closer to the ice-edge. This study offers an insight to the atmospheric processes that occur during a crucial period of the year; understanding and accurately modeling these processes is essential for the improvement of ice-extent predictions and future Arctic climate projections.

During the Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) in summer 2014 a weeklong period of warm-air advection over melting sea ice, with the formation of a strong surface temperature inversion and dense fog, was observed. Based on an analysis of the surface energy budget, we formulated the hypothesis that, because of the airmass transformation, additional surface heating occurs during warm-air intrusions in a zone near the ice edge. To test this hypothesis, we explore all cases with surface inversions occurring during ACSE and then characterize the inversions in detail. We find that they always occur with advection from the south and are associated with subsidence. Analyzing only inversion cases over sea ice, we find two categories: one with increasing moisture in the inversion and one with constant or decreasing moisture with height. During surface inversions with increasing moisture with height, an extra 10-25 W m(-2) of surface heating was observed, compared to cases without surface inversions; the surface turbulent heat flux was the largest single term. Cases with less moisture in the inversion were often cloud free and the extra solar radiation plus the turbulent surface heat flux caused by the inversion was roughly balanced by the loss of net longwave radiation.

AbstractIn recent years extreme winter warming events have been reported in arctic areas. These events are characterized as extraordinarily warm weather episodes, occasionally combined with intense rainfall, causing ecological disturbance and challenges for arctic societies and infrastructure. Ground-ice formation due to winter rain or melting prevents ungulates from grazing, leads to vegetation browning, and impacts soil temperatures. The authors analyze changes in frequency and intensity of winter warming events in the Nordic arctic region?northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland, including the arctic islands Svalbard and Jan Mayen. This study identifies events in the longest available records of daily temperature and precipitation, as well as in future climate scenarios, and performs analyses of long-term trends for climate indices aimed to capture these individual events. Results show high frequencies of warm weather events during the 1920s?30s and the past 15 years (2000?14), causing weak positive trends over the past 90 years (1924?2014). In contrast, strong positive trends in occurrence and intensity for all climate indices are found for the past 50 years with, for example, increased rates for number of melt days of up to 9.2 days decade?1 for the arctic islands and 3?7 days decade?1 for the arctic mainland. Regional projections for the twenty-first century indicate a significant enhancement of the frequency and intensity of winter warming events. For northern Scandinavia, the simulations indicate a doubling in the number of warming events, compared to 1985?2014, while the projected frequencies for the arctic islands are up to 3 times higher.