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The role of shortwave radiation in the 2007 Arctic sea ice anomaly
Author(s) -
Nussbaumer Eric A.,
Pinker Rachel T.
Publication year - 2012
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 - 10.1029/2012gl052415
Subject(s) - sea ice , arctic ice pack , arctic sea ice decline , downwelling , climatology , arctic , shortwave radiation , sea ice concentration , arctic geoengineering , sea ice thickness , cryosphere , shortwave , oceanography , geology , anomaly (physics) , antarctic sea ice , cloud cover , environmental science , ice albedo feedback , radiation , upwelling , cloud computing , radiative transfer , physics , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , operating system
Recent satellite and re‐analysis model results on downwelling surface shortwave (DSSW) radiation allow the investigation of its role in the Arctic sea ice anomalies. Using satellite based information we revisit claims that reduced cloudiness and enhanced DSSW are associated with the significant loss of sea ice during 2007. We account for the fact that the Arctic Ocean is not homogenous in terms of the characteristics of the sea ice anomalies. We separate the Arctic Ocean region according to the spatial distribution of the sea ice anomalies and investigate the impact of DSSW on the ice conditions accordingly. The region which exhibits the strongest signal during the unprecedented 2007 reduction in sea ice is identified as 120°E to 210°E. Our analysis shows that the lowest cloud amount and the highest accumulated amount of DSSW prior to the ice melt season (June) occur in 2005. For 2007, areas showing the largest accumulation of DSSW do not correspond with negative sea ice concentration anomalies.