Arctic Radiation-IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment: The Arctic Radiant Energy System during the Critical Seasonal Ice Transition

Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Arctic Radiation-IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE) acquired unique aircraft data on atmospheric radiation and sea ice properties during the critical late summer to autumn sea ice minimum and commencement of refreezing. The C-130 aircraft flew 15 missions over the Beaufort Sea between 4 and 24 September 2014. ARISE deployed a shortwave and longwave broadband radiometer (BBR) system from the Naval Research Laboratory; a Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) from the University of Colorado Boulder; the Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research (4STAR) from the NASA Ames Research Center; cloud microprobes from the NASA Langley Research Center; and the Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) laser altimeter system from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. These instruments sampled the radiant energy exchange between clouds and a variety of sea ice scenarios, including prior to and after refreezing began. The most critical and unique aspect of ARISE mission planning was to coordinate the flight tracks with NASA Cloud and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite sensor observations in such a way that satellite sensor angular dependence models and derived top-of-atmosphere fluxes could be validated against the aircraft data over large gridbox domains of order 100–200 km. This was accomplished over open ocean, over the marginal ice zone (MIZ), and over a region of heavy sea ice concentration, in cloudy and clear skies. ARISE data will be valuable to the community for providing better interpretation of satellite energy budget measurements in the Arctic and for process studies involving ice–cloud–atmosphere energy exchange during the sea ice transition period.

Download Full-text

Seasonal Variations of Arctic Low‐Level Clouds and Its Linkage to Sea Ice Seasonal Variations

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1735 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yueyue Yu ◽

Patrick Taylor ◽

Ming Cai

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Seasonal Variations ◽

Thermal Structure ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

The Arctic ◽

Liquid Water Path ◽

Surface Type ◽

Low Level ◽

Low Cloud

Using CALIPSO&#8208;CloudSat&#8208;Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)&#8208;Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) (C3M) dataset, this study documents the seasonal variation of sea ice, cloud, and atmospheric properties in the Arctic (70&#176;N&#8211;82&#176;N) for 2007&#8211;2010. A surface type stratification&#8212;consisting Permanent Ocean, Land, Permanent Ice, and Transient Sea Ice&#8212;is used to investigate the influence of surface type on low-level Arctic cloud liquid water path (LWP) seasonality. The results show significant variations in the Arctic low-level cloud LWP by surface type linked to differences in thermodynamic state. Subdividing the Transient Ice region (seasonal sea ice zone) by melt/freeze season onset dates reveals a complex influence of sea ice variations on low cloud LWP seasonality. We find that lower tropospheric stability (LTS) is the primary factor affecting the seasonality of cloud LWP. Our results suggest that variations in sea ice melt/freeze onset have a significant influence on the seasonality of low-level cloud LWP by modulating the lower tropospheric thermal structure and not by modifying the surface evaporation rate in late spring and mid-summer. We find no significant dependence of the May low-level cloud LWP peak on the melt/freeze onset dates, whereas and September/October low-level cloud LWP maximum shifts later in the season for earlier melt/later freeze onset regions. The Arctic low cloud LWP seasonality is controlled by several surface-atmosphere interaction processes; the importance of each varies seasonally due to the thermodynamic properties of sea ice. Our results demonstrate that when analyzing Arctic cloud-sea ice interactions, a seasonal perspective is critical.

Download Full-text

Next-generation angular distribution models for top-of-atmosphere radiative flux calculation from CERES instruments: methodology

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-8-611-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 611-632 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

W. Su ◽

J. Corbett ◽

Z. Eitzen ◽

L. Liang

Keyword(s):

Angular Distribution ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Continuous Functions ◽

Climate Feedback ◽

Radiative Energy ◽

Next Generation ◽

Distribution Models

Abstract. The top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes are critical components to advancing our understanding of the Earth's radiative energy balance, radiative effects of clouds and aerosols, and climate feedback. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments provide broadband shortwave and longwave radiance measurements. These radiances are converted to fluxes by using scene-type-dependent angular distribution models (ADMs). This paper describes the next-generation ADMs that are developed for Terra and Aqua using all available CERES rotating azimuth plane radiance measurements. Coincident cloud and aerosol retrievals, and radiance measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and meteorological parameters from Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) data assimilation version 5.4.1 are used to define scene type. CERES radiance measurements are stratified by scene type and by other parameters that are important for determining the anisotropy of the given scene type. Anisotropic factors are then defined either for discrete intervals of relevant parameters or as a continuous functions of combined parameters, depending on the scene type. Significant differences between the ADMs described in this paper and the existing ADMs are over clear-sky scene types and polar scene types. Over clear ocean, we developed a set of shortwave (SW) ADMs that explicitly account for aerosols. Over clear land, the SW ADMs are developed for every 1° latitude × 1° longitude region for every calendar month using a kernel-based bidirectional reflectance model. Over clear Antarctic scenes, SW ADMs are developed by accounting the effects of sastrugi on anisotropy. Over sea ice, a sea-ice brightness index is used to classify the scene type. Under cloudy conditions over all surface types, the longwave (LW) and window (WN) ADMs are developed by combining surface and cloud-top temperature, surface and cloud emissivity, cloud fraction, and precipitable water. Compared to the existing ADMs, the new ADMs change the monthly mean instantaneous fluxes by up to 5 W m−2 on a regional scale of 1° latitude × 1° longitude, but the flux changes are less than 0.5 W m−2 on a global scale.

Download Full-text

Cloud Effects on the Meridional Atmospheric Energy Budget Estimated from Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Data

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/2008jcli1982.1 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 21 (17) ◽

pp. 4223-4241 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Seiji Kato ◽

Fred G. Rose ◽

David A. Rutan ◽

Thomas P. Charlock

Keyword(s):

Energy Transport ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Radiative Effect ◽

Cloud Radiative Effect ◽

Cloud Effect ◽

The Difference ◽

The Tropics

Abstract The zonal mean atmospheric cloud radiative effect, defined as the difference between the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) and surface cloud radiative effects, is estimated from 3 yr of Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data. The zonal mean shortwave effect is small, though it tends to be positive (warming). This indicates that clouds increase shortwave absorption in the atmosphere, especially in midlatitudes. The zonal mean atmospheric cloud radiative effect is, however, dominated by the longwave effect. The zonal mean longwave effect is positive in the tropics and decreases with latitude to negative values (cooling) in polar regions. The meridional gradient of the cloud effect between midlatitude and polar regions exists even when uncertainties in the cloud effect on the surface enthalpy flux and in the modeled irradiances are taken into account. This indicates that clouds increase the rate of generation of the mean zonal available potential energy. Because the atmospheric cooling effect in polar regions is predominately caused by low-level clouds, which tend to be stationary, it is postulated here that the meridional and vertical gradients of the cloud effect increase the rate of meridional energy transport by the dynamics of the atmosphere from the midlatitudes to the polar region, especially in fall and winter. Clouds then warm the surface in the polar regions except in the Arctic in summer. Clouds, therefore, contribute toward increasing the rate of meridional energy transport from the midlatitudes to the polar regions through the atmosphere.

Download Full-text

Decomposing Shortwave Top-of-Atmosphere and Surface Radiative Flux Variations in Terms of Surface and Atmospheric Contributions

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-18-0826.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (16) ◽

pp. 5003-5019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Norman G. Loeb ◽

Hailan Wang ◽

Fred G. Rose ◽

Seiji Kato ◽

William L. Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regional Distribution ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Surface Flux ◽

Energy System ◽

The Arctic ◽

Radiative Fluxes ◽

The Difference ◽

Atmospheric Variations ◽

Modern Era ◽

Global Mean

AbstractA diagnostic tool for determining surface and atmospheric contributions to interannual variations in top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflected shortwave (SW) and net downward SW surface radiative fluxes is introduced. The method requires only upward and downward radiative fluxes at the TOA and surface as input and therefore can readily be applied to both satellite-derived and model-generated radiative fluxes. Observations from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Edition 4.0 product show that 81% of the monthly variability in global mean reflected SW TOA flux anomalies is associated with atmospheric variations (mainly clouds), 6% is from surface variations, and 13% is from atmosphere–surface covariability. Over the Arctic Ocean, most of the variability in both reflected SW TOA flux and net downward SW surface flux anomalies is explained by variations in sea ice and cloud fraction alone (r2 = 0.94). Compared to CERES, variability in two reanalyses—the ECMWF interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim) and NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2)—show large differences in the regional distribution of variance for both the atmospheric and surface contributions to anomalies in net downward SW surface flux. For MERRA-2 the atmospheric contribution is 17% too large compared to CERES while ERA-Interim underestimates the variance by 15%. The difference is mainly due to how cloud variations are represented in the reanalyses. The overall surface contribution in both ERA-Interim and MERRA-2 is smaller than CERES EBAF by 15% for ERA-Interim and 58% for MERRA-2, highlighting limitations of the reanalyses in representing surface albedo variations and their influence on SW radiative fluxes.

Download Full-text

Wave and coastal sea ice interaction along the Arctic coast

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6089 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lucia Hosekova ◽

Mika Malila ◽

Jim Thomson ◽

Nirnimesh Kumar ◽

Erick W. Rogers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Wave ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Reference Frames ◽

Chukchi Sea ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Heat Fluxes ◽

The Arctic ◽

Naval Research ◽

Rapid Decline ◽

Wave Event

Rapid decline in seasonal sea ice has been linked to increased surface wave activity and shoreline erosion in the coastal Arctic. This trend poses a risk to communities vulnerable to flooding and storm surges. Here we focus on quantifying the relationship between coastal erosion, increasing wave activity and the role of sea ice in protecting the coast.&#160;In November 2019, we observed a three day wave event in the Chukchi Sea along the coastal barrier system near Icy Cape, Alaska. The wave event was sampled using multiple drifting SWIFT (Surface Wave Instrument Float with Tracking) buoys, a cross-shore mooring array, and ship-based CTD casts.&#160; This provided datasets for different ice types in both Eulerian and Lagrangian reference frames. Pancake and frazil sea ice near the coast attenuated the incident wave field, such that the significant wave height reduced from 3 to 1.5 m over less than 5 kilometers. The wave data combined with in-situ ice observations and satellite imagery are used to calculate spectral attenuation of wave energy segregated by ice type. Furthermore, observed temperature, mean circulation and surface heat fluxes are used to address the evolution of sea ice throughout the event.&#160;&#160;Supported by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.&#160;

Download Full-text

Decadal Changes of Earth’s Outgoing Longwave Radiation

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs10101539 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 1539 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Steven Dewitte ◽

Nicolas Clerbaux

Keyword(s):

Outgoing Longwave Radiation ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Longwave Radiation ◽

Energy System ◽

Radiation Budget ◽

The Arctic ◽

Regional Patterns ◽

The Earth ◽

Earth Radiation Budget ◽

Earth Radiation

The Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) at the top of the atmosphere quantifies how the earth gains energy from the sun and loses energy to space. Its monitoring is of fundamental importance for understanding ongoing climate change. In this paper, decadal changes of the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) as measured by the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System from 2000 to 2018, the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment from 1985 to 1998, and the High-resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder from 1985 to 2018 are analysed. The OLR has been rising since 1985, and correlates well with the rising global temperature. An observational estimate of the derivative of the OLR with respect to temperature of 2.93 +/− 0.3 W/m 2 K is obtained. The regional patterns of the observed OLR change from 1985–2000 to 2001–2017 show a warming pattern in the Northern Hemisphere in particular in the Arctic, as well as tropical cloudiness changes related to a strengthening of La Niña.

Download Full-text

Instantaneous Top-of-Atmosphere Albedo Comparison between CERES and MISR over the Arctic

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs10121882 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1882 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yizhe Zhan ◽

Larry Di Girolamo ◽

Roger Davies ◽

Catherine Moroney

Keyword(s):

Solar Zenith Angle ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Radiation Budget ◽

The Arctic ◽

Bidirectional Reflectance ◽

Retrieval Accuracy ◽

Bidirectional Reflectance Factor ◽

Reflectance Factor ◽

Relative Root

The top-of-atmosphere (TOA) albedo is one of the key parameters in determining the Arctic radiation budget, with continued validation of its retrieval accuracy still required. Based on three years (2007, 2015, 2016) of summertime (May–September) observations from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) and the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), collocated instantaneous albedos for overcast ocean and snow/ice scenes were compared within the Arctic. For samples where both instruments classified the scene as overcast, the relative root-mean-square (RMS) difference between the sample albedos grew as the solar zenith angle (SZA) increased. The RMS differences that were purely due to differential Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BRF) anisotropic corrections ( σ A D M ) were estimated to be less than 4% for overcast ocean and overcast snow/ice when the SZA ≤ 70°. The significant agreement between the CERES and MISR strongly increased our confidence in using the instruments overcast cloud albedos in Arctic studies. Nevertheless, there was less agreement in the cloud albedos for larger solar zenith angles, where the RMS differences of σ A D M reached 13.5% for overcast ocean scenes when the SZA > 80°. Additionally, inconsistencies between the CERES and MISR scene identifications were examined, resulting in an overall recommendation for improvements to the MISR snow/ice mask and a rework of the MISR Albedo Cloud Designation (ACD) field by incorporating known strengths of the standard MISR cloud masks.

Download Full-text

Assessment of Sea Ice Albedo Radiative Forcing and Feedback over the Northern Hemisphere from 1982 to 2009 Using Satellite and Reanalysis Data

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-14-00389.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 1248-1259 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Yunfeng Cao ◽

Shunlin Liang ◽

Xiaona Chen ◽

Tao He

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Northern Hemisphere ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Surface Albedo ◽

Kernel Method ◽

Critical Role ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Reanalysis Data ◽

Albedo Feedback

Abstract The decreasing surface albedo caused by continuously retreating sea ice over Arctic plays a critical role in Arctic warming amplification. However, the quantification of the change in radiative forcing at top of atmosphere (TOA) introduced by the decreasing sea ice albedo and its feedback to the climate remain uncertain. In this study, based on the satellite-retrieved long-term surface albedo product CLARA-A1 (Cloud, Albedo, and Radiation dataset, AVHRR-based, version 1) and the radiative kernel method, an estimated 0.20 ± 0.05 W m−2 sea ice radiative forcing (SIRF) has decreased in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) owing to the loss of sea ice from 1982 to 2009, yielding a sea ice albedo feedback (SIAF) of 0.25 W m−2 K−1 for the NH and 0.19 W m−2 K−1 for the entire globe. These results are lower than the estimate from another method directly using the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) broadband planetary albedo. Further data analysis indicates that kernel method is likely to underestimate the change in all-sky SIRF because all-sky radiative kernels mask too much of the effect of sea ice albedo on the variation of cloudy albedo. By applying an adjustment with CERES-based estimate, the change in all-sky SIRF over the NH was corrected to 0.33 ± 0.09 W m−2, corresponding to a SIAF of 0.43 W m−2 K−1 for NH and 0.31 W m−2 K−1 for the entire globe. It is also determined that relative to satellite surface albedo product, two popular reanalysis products, ERA-Interim and MERRA, severely underestimate the changes in NH SIRF in melt season (May–August) from 1982 to 2009 and the sea ice albedo feedback to warming climate.

Download Full-text

Evaluating atmospheric rivers and their influence on precipitation in the Arctic - comparing observational with reanalysis data

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2506 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melanie Lauer ◽

Annette Rinke ◽

Irina Gorodetskaya ◽

Susanne Crewell

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Water Vapour ◽

Moisture Transport ◽

Collaborative Research ◽

Surface Processes ◽

Research Center ◽

The Arctic ◽

Arctic Amplification ◽

Feedback Mechanisms ◽

Atmospheric Rivers

The Arctic as a whole has been experiencing significant warming and moistening with several potential factors at play. In general, the warming amplifies the Arctic hydrological cycle. There are two processes which could affect the water vapour content in the Arctic. These are the enhanced local evaporation due to reduced sea-ice concentration and extent and the modified poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes due to changing circulation patterns. An important contribution to the total poleward moisture transport comes from Atmospheric rivers (ARs). ARs have rare occurrence but are associated with anomalously high moisture transport compared to tropical cyclones. ARs are typically associated with not only moisture but also with significant heat advection. They can bring precipitation as rain and/or snow. Moreover, additional feedbacks can occur: the warming effect of the ARs on the surface, coupled with rain lowering surface albedo, can cause thinning and melting of Arctic sea ice and snow. This, in turn, could increase the relative role of the local evaporation compared to the moisture transported from lower latitudes.In this study, we investigate the relationship between the poleward moisture transport by ARs and the precipitation in the Arctic. The focus is on AR events during the ACLOUD (May/June 2017) and AFLUX (March/April 2018) campaign within the Collaborative Research Center &#8220;Arctic Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and Surface Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms (AC)3&#8221;. For these campaigns, existing AR catalogues with the input of ERA5 reanalyses are used to detect AR events. Six ARs are detected: two coming from Siberia and four from the Atlantic.These AR events are analysed in terms of the macro- and microphysical precipitation properties, including frequency, intensity, and type of precipitation (rain or snow). &#160;For this purpose, we use ERA5 reanalyses data for the water vapour transport, precipitation amount and type, rain and snow profiles (convective, large-scale, total), as well as vertical profile of hydrometeors. Reanalysis products are evaluated using a set of observational data (satellite data and ground-based remote sensing measurements). This new multi-parameter, multi-dataset set will allow to investigate the occurrence of ARs and its influence on precipitation in the Arctic for the last decades.&#160;&#8220;We gratefully acknowledge the funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) &#8211;Projektnummer 268020496 &#8211;TRR 172, within the Transregional Collaborative Research Center &#8220;ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms (AC)3.&#8220;

Download Full-text

Characteristics of the Reanalysis and Satellite-Based Surface Net Radiation Data in the Arctic

Journal of Sensors ◽

10.1155/2020/8825870 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Minji Seo ◽

Hyun-Cheol Kim ◽

Kyeong-Sang Lee ◽

Noh-Hun Seong ◽

Eunkyung Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Global Climate ◽

Radiant Energy ◽

Energy System ◽

Reanalysis Data ◽

The Arctic ◽

Observation Data ◽

Similar Data ◽

Net Radiation ◽

Radiation Data ◽

Ground Observation

In this study, we compared four net radiation products: the fifth generation of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate (ERA5), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF), and Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX), based on ground observation data and intercomparison data. ERA5 showed the highest accuracy, followed by EBAF, GEWEX, and NCEP. When analyzing the validation grid, ERA5 showed the most similar data distribution to ground observation data. Different characteristics were observed between the reanalysis data and satellite data. In the case of satellite-based data, the net radiation value tended to increase at high latitudes. Compared with the reanalysis data, Greenland and the central Arctic appeared to be overestimated. All data were highly correlated, with a difference of 6–21 W/m2 among the products examined in this study. Error was attributed mainly to difficulties in predicting long-term climate change and having to combine net radiation data from several sources. This study highlights criteria that may be helpful in selecting data for future climate research models of this region.

Download Full-text