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Atmospheric forcing validation for modeling the central Arctic
Author(s) -
Makshtas A.,
Atkinson D.,
Kulakov M.,
Shutilin S.,
Krishfield R.,
Proshutinsky A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl031378
Subject(s) - forcing (mathematics) , climatology , environmental science , cloud cover , atmospheric model , atmospheric sciences , the arctic , arctic , cloud forcing , meteorology , radiative forcing , aerosol , geology , cloud computing , physics , oceanography , computer science , operating system
We compare daily data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research and National Centers for Environmental Prediction “Reanalysis 1” project with observational data obtained from the North Pole drifting stations in order to validate the atmospheric forcing data used in coupled ice‐ocean models. This analysis is conducted to assess the role of errors associated with model forcing before performing model verifications against observed ocean variables. Our analysis shows an excellent agreement between observed and reanalysis sea level pressures and a relatively good correlation between observed and reanalysis surface winds. The observed temperature is in good agreement with reanalysis data only in winter. Specific air humidity and cloudiness are not reproduced well by reanalysis and are not recommended for model forcing. An example sensitivity study demonstrates that the equilibrium ice thickness obtained using NP forcing is two times thicker than using reanalysis forcing.