Cloud radiative effect dominates variabilities of surface energy budget in the dark Arctic
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)
Climate models simulate a wide range of temperatures in the Arctic. Here we investigate one of the main drivers of changes in surface temperature: the net surface heat flux in the models. We show that in the winter months of the dark Arctic, there is a more than two-fold difference in the net surface heat fluxes among the models, and this difference is dominated by the downward infrared radiation from clouds. Owing to the small amount of water vapor in the winter Arctic, infrared radiation from clouds transmits more easily to the surface in the Arctic than at other latitudes, resulting in large cloud radiative effect at the surface. The dominant role of the cloud effect is also found in the transient variability of the net surface heat flux. Results demonstrate that accurate simulation of clouds is crucial for determining the net surface heat flux, which in turn affects surface temperature and sea ice properties in the Arctic.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Contributing Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY; Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344
- OSTI ID:
- 2506136
- Journal Information:
- Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 2045-2322
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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