Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast
Abstract The climatological characteristics of low‐level tropospheric temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast are examined from a 10‐year record of surface and upper‐air meteorological data at Barrow and Barter Island, Alaska. The meteorology at the two stations is found to be remarkabl...
Published in: | International Journal of Climatology |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
1990
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370100509 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.3370100509 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.3370100509 |
id |
crwiley:10.1002/joc.3370100509 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1002/joc.3370100509 2024-09-15T17:58:15+00:00 Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast Kahl, Jonathan D. 1990 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370100509 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.3370100509 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.3370100509 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor International Journal of Climatology volume 10, issue 5, page 537-548 ISSN 0899-8418 1097-0088 journal-article 1990 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370100509 2024-08-01T04:22:29Z Abstract The climatological characteristics of low‐level tropospheric temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast are examined from a 10‐year record of surface and upper‐air meteorological data at Barrow and Barter Island, Alaska. The meteorology at the two stations is found to be remarkably similar; surface‐based inversions occur nearly half of the time, but even in the winter months inversions are frequently based up to 200 m above the surface. Median inversion depths range from 250m to 850m, with median temperature differences across the inversion ranging from 2°C to 11°C. In March and April when the inversion is strongest, the lowest levels frequently erode. This indicates that the transient character of the inversion reduces its effectiveness as a barrier to vertical mixing. The inversion depth closely follows the annual cloud‐cover cycle, demonstrating that the development and maintenance of the inversion is a result of complex interactions between radiative forcing, synoptic activity, and sea‐ice dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barrow Barter Island Sea ice Alaska Wiley Online Library International Journal of Climatology 10 5 537 548 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The climatological characteristics of low‐level tropospheric temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast are examined from a 10‐year record of surface and upper‐air meteorological data at Barrow and Barter Island, Alaska. The meteorology at the two stations is found to be remarkably similar; surface‐based inversions occur nearly half of the time, but even in the winter months inversions are frequently based up to 200 m above the surface. Median inversion depths range from 250m to 850m, with median temperature differences across the inversion ranging from 2°C to 11°C. In March and April when the inversion is strongest, the lowest levels frequently erode. This indicates that the transient character of the inversion reduces its effectiveness as a barrier to vertical mixing. The inversion depth closely follows the annual cloud‐cover cycle, demonstrating that the development and maintenance of the inversion is a result of complex interactions between radiative forcing, synoptic activity, and sea‐ice dynamics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kahl, Jonathan D. |
spellingShingle |
Kahl, Jonathan D. Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast |
author_facet |
Kahl, Jonathan D. |
author_sort |
Kahl, Jonathan D. |
title |
Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast |
title_short |
Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast |
title_full |
Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast |
title_fullStr |
Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast |
title_sort |
characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the alaskan arctic coast |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1990 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370100509 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.3370100509 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.3370100509 |
genre |
Barrow Barter Island Sea ice Alaska |
genre_facet |
Barrow Barter Island Sea ice Alaska |
op_source |
International Journal of Climatology volume 10, issue 5, page 537-548 ISSN 0899-8418 1097-0088 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370100509 |
container_title |
International Journal of Climatology |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
537 |
op_container_end_page |
548 |
_version_ |
1810434655494602752 |