Abstract. By considering the moisture transport for precipitation (MTP) for a target
region to be the moisture that arrives in this region from its major moisture
sources and which then results in precipitation in that region, we explore
(i) whether the MTP from the main moisture sources for the Arctic region is
linked with inter-annual fluctuations in the extent of Arctic sea ice
superimposed on its decline and (ii) the role of extreme MTP events in the
inter-daily change in the Arctic sea ice extent (SIE) when extreme MTP
simultaneously arrives from the four main moisture regions that supply it.
The results suggest (1) that ice melting at the scale of inter-annual
fluctuations against the trend is favoured by an increase in moisture
transport in summer, autumn, and winter and a decrease in spring and, (2) on
a daily basis, extreme humidity transport increases the formation of ice in
winter and decreases it in spring, summer, and autumn; in these three seasons
extreme humidity transport
therefore contributes to Arctic sea ice melting. These patterns differ
sharply from that linked to the decline on a long-range scale, especially in
summer when the opposite trend applies, as ice melt is favoured by a decrease
in moisture transport for this season at this scale.
The role of cyclone activity in snow accumulation on Arctic sea ice