scholarly journals Arctic Snow Isotope Hydrology: A Comparative Snow-Water Vapor Study

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Pertti Ala-aho ◽  
Jeffrey M. Welker ◽  
Hannah Bailey ◽  
Stine Højlund Pedersen ◽  
Ben Kopec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Cycle ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Moisture Sources ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Winter Time ◽  
Alaskan Tundra

The Arctic’s winter water cycle is rapidly changing, with implications for snow moisture sources and transport processes. Stable isotope values (δ18O, δ2H, d-excess) of the Arctic snowpack have potential to provide proxy records of these processes, yet it is unclear how well the isotope values of individual snowfall events are preserved within snow profiles. Here, we present water isotope data from multiple taiga and tundra snow profiles sampled in Arctic Alaska and Finland, respectively, during winter 2018–2019. We compare the snowpack isotope stratigraphy with meteoric water isotopes (vapor and precipitation) during snowfall days, and combine our measurements with satellite observations and reanalysis data. Our analyses indicate that synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation and regional sea ice coverage are key drivers of the source, amount, and isotopic composition of Arctic snowpacks. We find that the western Arctic tundra snowpack profiles in Alaska preserved the isotope values for the most recent storm; however, post depositional processes modified the remaining isotope profiles. The overall seasonal evolution in the vapor isotope values were better preserved in taiga snow isotope profiles in the eastern Arctic, where there is significantly less wind-driven redistribution than in the open Alaskan tundra. We demonstrate the potential of the seasonal snowpack to provide a useful proxy for Arctic winter-time moisture sources and propose future analyses.

scholarly journals A Source–Receptor Perspective on the Polar Hydrologic Cycle: Sources, Seasonality, and Arctic–Antarctic Parity in the Hydrologic Cycle Response to CO2 Doubling

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (24) ◽  
pp. 9999-10017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansi K. A. Singh ◽  
Cecilia M. Bitz ◽  
Aaron Donohoe ◽  
Philip J. Rasch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Hydrologic Cycle ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Moisture Sources ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Transport Length

Numerical water tracers implemented in a global climate model are used to study how polar hydroclimate responds to CO2-induced warming from a source–receptor perspective. Although remote moisture sources contribute substantially more to polar precipitation year-round in the mean state, an increase in locally sourced moisture is crucial to the winter season polar precipitation response to greenhouse gas forcing. In general, the polar hydroclimate response to CO2-induced warming is strongly seasonal: over both the Arctic and Antarctic, locally sourced moisture constitutes a larger fraction of the precipitation in winter, while remote sources become even more dominant in summer. Increased local evaporation in fall and winter is coincident with sea ice retreat, which greatly augments local moisture sources in these seasons. In summer, however, larger contributions from more remote moisture source regions are consistent with an increase in moisture residence times and a longer moisture transport length scale, which produces a robust hydrologic cycle response to CO2-induced warming globally. The critical role of locally sourced moisture in the hydrologic cycle response of both the Arctic and Antarctic is distinct from controlling factors elsewhere on the globe; for this reason, great care should be taken in interpreting polar isotopic proxy records from climate states unlike the present.

scholarly journals The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz Schirrmeister ◽  
Elisabeth Dietze ◽  
Heidrun Matthes ◽  
Guido Grosse ◽  
Jens Strauss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
Modeling Analysis ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Ice Complex

Abstract. The late Pleistocene Yedoma Ice Complex is an ice-rich and organic-bearing type of permafrost deposit widely distributed across Beringia and is assumed to be especially prone to deep degradation with warming temperature, which is a potential tipping point of the climate system. To better understand Yedoma formation, its local characteristics, and its regional sedimentological composition, we compiled the grain-size distributions (GSDs) of 771 samples from 23 Yedoma locations across the Arctic; samples from sites located close together were pooled to form 17 study sites. In addition, we studied 160 samples from three non-Yedoma ice-wedge polygon and floodplain sites for the comparison of Yedoma samples with Holocene depositional environments. The multimodal GSDs indicate that a variety of sediment production, transport, and depositional processes were involved in Yedoma formation. To disentangle these processes, a robust endmember modeling analysis (rEMMA) was performed. Nine robust grain-size endmembers (rEMs) characterize Yedoma deposits across Beringia. The study sites of Yedoma deposits were finally classified using cluster analysis. The resulting four clusters consisted of two to five sites that are distributed randomly across northeastern Siberia and Alaska, suggesting that the differences are associated with rather local conditions. In contrast to prior studies suggesting a largely aeolian contribution to Yedoma sedimentation, the wide range of rEMs indicates that aeolian sedimentation processes cannot explain the entire variability found in GSDs of Yedoma deposits. Instead, Yedoma sedimentation is controlled by local conditions such as source rocks and weathering processes, nearby paleotopography, and diverse sediment transport processes. Our findings support the hypothesis of a polygenetic Yedoma origin involving alluvial, fluvial, and niveo-aeolian transport; accumulation in ponding waters; and in situ frost weathering as well as postdepositional processes of solifluction, cryoturbation, and pedogenesis. The characteristic rEM composition of the Yedoma clusters will help to improve how grain-size-dependent parameters in permafrost models and soil carbon budgets are considered. Our results show the characteristic properties of ice-rich Yedoma deposits in the terrestrial Arctic. Characterizing and quantifying site-specific past depositional processes is crucial for elucidating and understanding the trajectories of this unique kind of ice-rich permafrost in a warmer future.

scholarly journals Arctic hydroclimate variability during the last 2000 years: current understanding and research challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans W. Linderholm ◽  
Marie Nicolle ◽  
Pierre Francus ◽  
Konrad Gajewski ◽  
Samuli Helama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Hydroclimate Variability

Abstract. Reanalysis data show an increasing trend in Arctic precipitation over the 20th century, but changes are not homogenous across seasons or space. The observed hydroclimate changes are expected to continue and possibly accelerate in the coming century, not only affecting pan-Arctic natural ecosystems and human activities, but also lower latitudes through the atmospheric and ocean circulations. However, a lack of spatiotemporal observational data makes reliable quantification of Arctic hydroclimate change difficult, especially in a long-term context. To understand Arctic hydroclimate and its variability prior to the instrumental record, climate proxy records are needed. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current understanding of Arctic hydroclimate during the past 2000 years. First, the paper reviews the main natural archives and proxies used to infer past hydroclimate variations in this remote region and outlines the difficulty of disentangling the moisture from the temperature signal in these records. Second, a comparison of two sets of hydroclimate records covering the Common Era from two data-rich regions, North America and Fennoscandia, reveals inter- and intra-regional differences. Third, building on earlier work, this paper shows the potential for providing a high-resolution hydroclimate reconstruction for the Arctic and a comparison with last-millennium simulations from fully coupled climate models. In general, hydroclimate proxies and simulations indicate that the Medieval Climate Anomaly tends to have been wetter than the Little Ice Age (LIA), but there are large regional differences. However, the regional coverage of the proxy data is inadequate, with distinct data gaps in most of Eurasia and parts of North America, making robust assessments for the whole Arctic impossible at present. To fully assess pan-Arctic hydroclimate variability for the last 2 millennia, additional proxy records are required.

scholarly journals The ground-based FTIR network's potential for investigating the atmospheric water cycle

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 3427-3442 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Schneider ◽  
K. Yoshimura ◽  
F. Hase ◽  
T. Blumenstock
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Hadley Circulation ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Atmospheric Water ◽  
Arctic Oscillation Index ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation

Abstract. We present tropospheric H216O and HD16O/H216O vapour profiles measured by ground-based FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectrometers between 1996 and 2008 at a northern hemispheric subarctic and subtropical site (Kiruna, Northern Sweden, 68° N and Izaña, Tenerife Island, 28° N, respectively). We compare these measurements to an isotope incorporated atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). If the model is nudged towards meteorological fields of reanalysis data the agreement is very satisfactory on time scales ranging from daily to inter-annual. Taking the Izaña and Kiruna measurements as an example we document the FTIR network's unique potential for investigating the atmospheric water cycle. At the subarctic site we find strong correlations between the FTIR data, on the one hand, and the Arctic Oscillation index and the northern Atlantic sea surface temperature, on the other hand. The Izaña FTIR measurements reveal the importance of the Hadley circulation and the Northern Atlantic Oscillation index for the subtropical middle/upper tropospheric water balance. We document where the AGCM is able to capture these complexities of the water cycle and where it fails.

Lagrangian detection of moisture sources for an arid region in Northeast Greenland: relations to the North-Atlantic Oscillation and temporal trends from 1979 to 2017

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilian Schuster ◽  
Fabien Maussion ◽  
Lukas Langhamer ◽  
Gina E. Moseley
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Arid Region ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Moisture Source ◽  
Moisture Sources

<p>Northeast Greenland is predicted to be one of the most sensitive terrestrial areas of the Arctic to anthropogenic climate change, resulting in an increase in temperature that is much greater than the global average. Associated with this temperature rise, precipitation is also expected to increase as a result of increased evaporation from an ice-free Arctic Ocean. In recent years, numerous palaeoclimate projects have begun working in the region with the aim of improving our understanding of how this highly-sensitive region responds to a warmer world. However, a lack of meteorological stations within the area makes it difficult to place the palaeoclimate records in the context of modern climate.</p><p>This study aims to improve our understanding of precipitation and moisture source dynamics over a small arid region located at 80 °N in Northeast Greenland. This region hosts many speleothem-containing caves that are being studied in the framework of the Greenland Caves Project (greenlandcavesproject.org). The origin of water vapour for precipitation over the study site is detected by a Lagrangian moisture source diagnostic, which is applied to reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA-Interim) from 1979 to 2017.</p><p>While precipitation amounts are relatively constant during the year, the regional moisture sources display a strong seasonality. The most dominant winter moisture sources are the ice-free North Atlantic ocean above 45 °N, while in summer the patterns shift towards more local and North Eurasian continental sources. During positive North-Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phases evaporation and moisture transport from the Norwegian Sea is stronger, resulting in larger and more variable precipitation amounts. Although the annual mean temperature in the study region has increased by 0.7 °C dec <sup>-1</sup> (95% confidence interval [0.4, 1.0] °C dec <sup>-1</sup> ) according to ERA-Interim data, we do not detect any change in the amount of precipitation with the exception of autumn where precipitation increases by 8.2 [0.8, 15.5] mm dec <sup>-1</sup> over the period. This increase is consistent with future predicted Arctic precipitation change.</p>

scholarly journals Interannual Variability and Trends in Sea Surface Temperature, Lower and Middle Atmosphere Temperature at Different Latitudes for 1980–2019

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Jakovlev ◽  
Sergei P. Smyshlyaev ◽  
Vener Y. Galin
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Impact

The influence of sea-surface temperature (SST) on the lower troposphere and lower stratosphere temperature in the tropical, middle, and polar latitudes is studied for 1980–2019 based on the MERRA2, ERA5, and Met Office reanalysis data, and numerical modeling with a chemistry-climate model (CCM) of the lower and middle atmosphere. The variability of SST is analyzed according to Met Office and ERA5 data, while the variability of atmospheric temperature is investigated according to MERRA2 and ERA5 data. Analysis of sea surface temperature trends based on reanalysis data revealed that a significant positive SST trend of about 0.1 degrees per decade is observed over the globe. In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the trend (about 0.2 degrees per decade) is 2 times higher than the global average, and 5 times higher than in the Southern Hemisphere (about 0.04 degrees per decade). At polar latitudes, opposite SST trends are observed in the Arctic (positive) and Antarctic (negative). The impact of the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon on the temperature of the lower and middle atmosphere in the middle and polar latitudes of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres is discussed. To assess the relative influence of SST, CO2, and other greenhouse gases’ variability on the temperature of the lower troposphere and lower stratosphere, numerical calculations with a CCM were performed for several scenarios of accounting for the SST and carbon dioxide variability. The results of numerical experiments with a CCM demonstrated that the influence of SST prevails in the troposphere, while for the stratosphere, an increase in the CO2 content plays the most important role.

scholarly journals Sediment transport processes across the Tibetan Plateau inferred from robust grain-size end members in lake sediments

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Dietze ◽  
F. Maussion ◽  
M. Ahlborn ◽  
B. Diekmann ◽  
K. Hartmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
Northerly Wind ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
End Members

Abstract. Grain-size distributions offer powerful proxies of past environmental conditions that are related to sediment sorting processes. However, they are often of multimodal character because sediments can get mixed during deposition. To facilitate the use of grain size as palaeoenvironmental proxy, this study aims to distinguish the main detrital processes that contribute to lacustrine sedimentation across the Tibetan Plateau using grain-size end-member modelling analysis. Between three and five robust grain-size end-member subpopulations were distinguished at different sites from similarly–likely end-member model runs. Their main modes were grouped and linked to common sediment transport and depositional processes that can be associated with contemporary Tibetan climate (precipitation patterns and lake ice phenology, gridded wind and shear stress data from the High Asia Reanalysis) and local catchment configurations. The coarse sands and clays with grain-size modes >250 μm and <2 μm were probably transported by fluvial processes. Aeolian sands (~200 μm) and coarse local dust (~60 μm), transported by saltation and in near-surface suspension clouds, are probably related to occasional westerly storms in winter and spring. Coarse regional dust with modes ~25 μm may derive from near-by sources that keep in longer term suspension. The continuous background dust is differentiated into two robust end members (modes: 5–10 and 2–5 μm) that may represent different sources, wind directions and/or sediment trapping dynamics from long-range, upper-level westerly and episodic northerly wind transport. According to this study grain-size end members of only fluvial origin contribute small amounts to mean Tibetan lake sedimentation (19± 5%), whereas local to regional aeolian transport and background dust deposition dominate the clastic sedimentation in Tibetan lakes (contributions: 42 ± 14% and 51 ± 11%). However, fluvial and alluvial reworking of aeolian material from nearby slopes during summer seems to limit end-member interpretation and should be crosschecked with other proxy information. If not considered as a stand-alone proxy, a high transferability to other regions and sediment archives allows helpful reconstructions of past sedimentation history.

EL NINO EFFECTS ON THE ARCTIC STRATOSPHERE ACCORDING TO CMIP5 MODELS AND REANALYSIS

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-23
Author(s):  
M. A. Kolennikova ◽  
◽  
P. N. Vargin ◽  
D. Yu. Gushchina ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Coupled Climate Models

The response of the Arctic stratosphere to El Nio is studied with account of its Eastern and Central Pacific types for the period of 1950-2005. The study is based on the regression and composite analysis using the simulations with six CMIP5 coupled climate models and reanalysis data.

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