The Arctic Climate System

413 Pages·2006·15.45 MB·English

by  Mark C. Serreze

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The Arctic Climate System
TheArcticcanbeviewedasanintegratedsystem,characterizedbyintimatecouplings
betweenitsatmosphere,oceanandland,linkedinturntothelargerglobalsystem.This
comprehensive,up-to-dateassessmentbeginswithanoutlineofearlyArcticexploration
andthegrowthofmodernresearch,followedbyanoverviewoftheArctic’sbasicphysical
characteristicsandclimaticfeatures.Usinganintegratedsystemsapproach,subsequent
chaptersexaminetheatmosphericheatbudgetandcirculation,thesurfaceenergybudget,
thehydrologiccycleandinteractionsbetweentheocean,atmosphereandseaicecover.
ReviewsofrecentdirectionsinnumericalmodelingandthecharacteristicsofpastArctic
climatessetthestagefordetaileddiscussionofrecentclimatevariabilityandtrends,and
projectedfuturestates.Throughout,satelliteremotesensingdataandresultsfromrecent
majorfieldprogramsareusedtoillustratekeyprocesses.
TheArcticClimateSystemprovidesacomprehensiveandaccessibleoverviewofthe
subjectforresearchersandadvancedstudentsinawiderangeofdisciplines.
CambridgeAtmosphericandSpaceScienceSeries
Editors:J.T.Houghton,M.J.RycroftandA.J.Dessler
Thisseriesofupper-leveltextsandresearchmonographscoversthephysicsandchemistry
ofdifferentregionsoftheEarth’satmosphere,fromthetroposphereandstratosphere,up
throughtheionosphereandmagnetosphereandouttotheinterplanetarymedium.
MARK C. SERREZE receivedaPh.D.inGeographyfromtheUniversityofColorado,
Boulder,in1989,forhisworkonunderstandingArcticseaicevariability.Hehas
subsequentlybeenaresearchscientistattheUniversityofColorado,attheNationalSnow
andIceDataCenterwithintheCooperativeInstituteforResearchinEnvironmental
SciencesandisanAssociateResearchProfessorinGeography.HisArcticresearchinterests
arewide-ranging,andincludeatmosphere–seaiceinteractions,synopticclimatology,
hydroclimatology,boundarylayerproblems,numericalweatherpredictionandclimate
change.Dr.SerrezehasconductedfieldworkintheCanadianArcticonseaiceandicecaps,
andontheAlaskantundra.ServiceincludescontributionstotheNationalScience
Foundation,theWorldClimateResearchProgramme,theUnitedStatesNavyandtheArctic
ResearchConsortiumoftheUnitedStates.
ROGER G. BARRY obtainedhisPh.D.inGeographyatSouthamptonUniversity,United
Kingdom,in1965.HeisProfessorofGeographyattheUniversityofColorado,Boulder,
DirectoroftheNationalSnowandIceDataCenterforGlaciology,andafellowofthe
CooperativeInstituteforResearchinEnvironmentalSciences.Hehaswrittenover200
researchpapersandseveralbooks,includingMountainWeatherandClimate;Atmosphere,
WeatherandClimate;SynopticClimatologyandSynopticandDynamicClimatology.In
1999,Dr.BarrywasmadeaFellowoftheAmericanGeophysicalUnioninrecognitionof
hiscontributionstoresearchinclimatologyandcryosphericscience.In2004,hewasnamed
DistinguishedProfessorbytheUniversityofColoradoBoardofRegents.
Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science Series
EDITORS
AlexanderJ.Dessler
JohnT.Houghton
MichaelJ.Rycroft
TITLESINPRINTINTHISSERIES
M.H.Rees
J.F.LemaireandK.I.Gringauz
Physicsandchemistryoftheupper
TheEarth’splasmasphere
atmosphere
D.HastingsandH.Garrett
R.Daley
Spacecraft–environmentinteractions
Atmospheredataanalysis
T.E.Cravens
J.R.Garratt
Physicsofsolarsystemplasmas
Theatmosphericboundarylayer
J.K.Hargreaves J.Green
Thesolar–terrestrialenvironment Atmosphericdynamics
S.Sazhin G.E.Thomasand
Whistler-modewavesinahotplasma K.Stamnes
Radiativetransferintheatmosphere
S.P.Gary
andocean
Theoryofspaceplasma
microinstabilities T.I.Gombosi
Physicsofspaceenvironment
M.Walt
Introductiontogeomagnetically R.W.SchunkandA.F.Nagy
trappedradiation Ionospheres:Physics,plasmaphysics,
T.I.Gombosi andchemistry
Gaskinetictheory I.G.Enting
B.A.Kagan Inverseproblemsinatmospheric
constituenttransport
Ocean–atmosphereinteractionand
climatemodelling R.D.Hunsuckerand
I.N.James J.K.Hargreaves
Introductiontocirculating Thehigh-latitudeionosphereandits
atmospheres effectsonradiopropagation
J.C.KingandJ.Turner R.W.SchunkandAndrewF.Nagy
Antarcticmeteorologyandclimatology Ionospheres
The Arctic Climate
System
Mark C. Serreze
CooperativeInstituteforResearchinEnvironmentalSciences,
NationalSnowandIceDataCenter
Roger G. Barry
CooperativeInstituteforResearchinEnvironmentalSciences
  
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
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©M.SerrezeandR.Barry2005
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisionof
relevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
Firstpublishedinprintformat 2005
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Contents
Prefacepage xi
Acknowledgements xii
ListofAbbreviations xiii
1 TheevolutionofknowledgeabouttheArcticanditsclimate 1
1.1 Historicalexploration 4
1.2 Thebeginningofsystematicobservations 10
1.3 Themodernera 12
2 Physicalcharacteristicsandbasicclimaticfeatures 17
2.1 TheArcticocean 19
2.2 TheArcticlands 30
2.3 Basicclimaticelements 37
3 Thebasicatmosphericheatbudget 55
3.1 TheArcticandtheglobalheatbudget 56
3.2 ThebasicArcticheatbudget 60
3.3 FurtheranalysisofF 69
wall
4 Theatmosphericcirculation 74
4.1 Historicalperspective 75
4.2 The stratospheric circulation 79
4.3 The Arctic tropopause 90
4.4 Themid-troposphericcirculation 92
vii
viii Contents
4.5 Surfaceandnear-surfacecirculation 94
4.6 PolarLows 106
5 Thesurfaceenergybudget 110
5.1 Theenergybalanceequations 111
5.2 Thedownwardsolarradiationflux 115
5.3 Surfacealbedo 120
5.4 Longwaveradiationfluxes 125
5.5 Distributionofnetradiation 127
5.6 Cloudradiativeforcing 128
5.7 Radiationfluxesfromsurfaceobservations:examplesfromSHEBA 131
5.8 Partitioningofnetradiation 131
5.9 Skintemperature,SATandverticalstructure 137
5.10 Radiation–climatefeedbacks 143
6 Precipitation,netprecipitationandriverdischarge 147
6.1 Precipitation 148
6.2 Evapo-transpirationandnetprecipitation 156
6.3 Meanannualcyclesforthemajorterrestrialdrainages 162
6.4 Riverdischargeandrunoff 166
7 Arcticocean–seaice–climateinteractions 177
7.1 Seaiceformation,growthandmelt 179
7.2 Meancirculation,icezonesandconcentration 183
7.3 Seaicemotion 190
7.4 Examplesoflarge-scaleocean–seaice–climateinteractions 197
7.5 TheFramStraitoutflowandthethermohalinecirculation 204
8 ClimateregimesoftheArctic 208
8.1 TheGreenlandIceSheet 209
8.2 Polardesert 217
8.3 MaritimeArctic 220
8.4 CentralArcticOcean 223
8.5 Mountainsanduplands 226
8.6 Urbanmodificationsoflocalclimate 228
9 ModelingtheArcticclimatesystem 229
9.1 Generalmodeltypes 230
9.2 Single-columnmodels 232
9.3 Landsurfacemodels 237
9.4 Seaiceandice–oceanmodels 240
9.5 Globalclimatemodels 245
9.6 Regionalclimatemodels 252
9.7 Numericalweatherpredictionmodels 255