Influence of atmospheric rivers and associated weather systems on precipitation in the Arctic ...

• Main Authors: Lauer, Melanie, Rinke, Annette, Gorodetskaya, Irina, Sprenger, Michael, Mech, Mario, Crewell, Susanne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2023
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000627802; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/627802

In this study, we analyse the contribution of atmospheric rivers (ARs), cyclones, and fronts to the total precipitation in the Arctic. We focus on two distinct periods of different weather conditions from two airborne campaigns: ACLOUD (Arctic Cloud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar day; May/June 2017) and AFLUX (Aircraft campaign Arctic Boundary Layer Fluxes; March/April 2019). Both campaigns covered the northern North Atlantic sector, the area in the Arctic that is affected by the highest precipitation rates. Using ERA5 reanalysis, we identify pronounced regional anomalies with enhanced precipitation rates compared to the climatology during ACLOUD due to these weather systems, whereas during AFLUX enhanced precipitation rates occur over most of the area. We have established a new methodology that allows us to analyse the contribution of ARs, cyclones, and fronts to precipitation rates based on ERA5 reanalysis and different detection algorithms. Here, we distinguish whether these systems ... : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 23 (15) ...