The two radiative states of the Arctic atmosphere and their impacts on the surface energy budget of sea ice

Details

• Journal Title:
  Elem Sci Anth
• Personal Author:
  Shupe, Matthew D. ; Persson, P. Ola G. ; Cox, Christopher J. ; Gallagher, Michael R. ; Solomon, Amy ; Sledd, Anne ; Blomquist, Byron ; Brooks, Ian M. ; Costa, David ; Osborn, Jackson ; Perovich, Don ; Riihimaki, Laura D. ; Uttal, Taneil
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) ; GML (Global Monitoring Laboratory) ; NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information) ; PSL (Physical Sciences Laboratory)
• Description:
  The surface energy budget (SEB) is a central regulator of Arctic climate and sea ice evolution, yet its processes remain poorly constrained due to sparse observations and complex, coupled surface-atmosphere interactions. This study leverages year-long measurements from the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) to provide the most comprehensive assessment to date of the central Arctic SEB and its modulation by atmospheric variability. Ship- and ice-based observations from October 2019 to September 2020 were used to directly measure or tightly constrain each term of the SEB, leading to exceptional energetic closure with the seasonal snow and ice mass balance. The analysis reveals strong seasonal transitions in atmosphere-surface energy transfer that are modulated by the atmospheric state and constrained by the ability of the surface temperature to respond. Classification of the atmosphere into its two dominant radiative states—the semi-transparent (ST) and opaque (OP)—highlights the central role of synoptic-scale variability in clouds. The ST atmospheric state dominated the long winter ice growth season, with limited cloudiness supporting persistent surface radiative cooling and ice growth. The OP state, associated with liquid-containing or thick ice clouds, became dominant in spring, with the combination of increased solar heating and cloud surface longwave warming driving ice and snow melt. Eddy covariance versus bulk approaches for deriving surface turbulent heat fluxes provide vastly different perspectives on the role of turbulence in modulating the SEB. These results establish a high-quality benchmark dataset for Arctic SEB studies and demonstrate how the balance of atmospheric radiative states exerts a first-order control on the annual evolution of the sea ice. The findings have broad implications for advancing observing technologies, understanding Arctic amplification, improving climate models, and predicting future sea ice change.
• Source:
  Elem Sci Anth, 14(1)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2025.00100
• ISSN:
  2325-1026
• Format:
  pdf
• Publisher:
  University of California Press
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC BY
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2e156950309e9ae8267338c1f063bdc4c8c70b1ad194d1eddd8f1dca8a8041b708fd68ff0d0b2c4b444c42fffb83d397a4c6642e78df421cec7b9d73ff595721
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/73318/noaa_73318_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.76 MB ]