On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska
Alaska observes very large differences in precipitation throughout the state; southeast Alaska experiences consistently wet conditions, while northern Arctic Alaska observes very dry conditions. The maximum mean annual precipitation of 5727 mm is observed in the southeastern panhandle at Little Port...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3b0a5f3f62b34d40a19cef9617f6e13d 2023-05-15T15:06:06+02:00 On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska Gerd Wendler Telayna Gordon Martin Stuefer 2017-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 https://doaj.org/article/3b0a5f3f62b34d40a19cef9617f6e13d EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/8/12/253 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4433 2073-4433 doi:10.3390/atmos8120253 https://doaj.org/article/3b0a5f3f62b34d40a19cef9617f6e13d Atmosphere, Vol 8, Iss 12, p 253 (2017) Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 2022-12-31T13:55:56Z Alaska observes very large differences in precipitation throughout the state; southeast Alaska experiences consistently wet conditions, while northern Arctic Alaska observes very dry conditions. The maximum mean annual precipitation of 5727 mm is observed in the southeastern panhandle at Little Port Arthur, while the minimum of 92 mm occurs on the North Slope at Kuparuk. Besides explaining these large differences due to geographic and orographic location, we discuss the changes in precipitation with time. Analyzing the 18 first-order National Weather Service stations, we found that the total average precipitation in the state increased by 17% over the last 67 years. The observed changes in precipitation are furthermore discussed as a function of the observed temperature increase of 2.1 °C, the mean temperature change of the 18 stations over the same period. This observed warming of Alaska is about three times the magnitude of the mean global warming and allows the air to hold more water vapor. Furthermore, we discuss the effect of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which has a strong influence on both the temperature and precipitation in Alaska. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Global warming north slope Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Pacific Atmosphere 8 12 253 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Gerd Wendler Telayna Gordon Martin Stuefer On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska |
topic_facet |
Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Alaska observes very large differences in precipitation throughout the state; southeast Alaska experiences consistently wet conditions, while northern Arctic Alaska observes very dry conditions. The maximum mean annual precipitation of 5727 mm is observed in the southeastern panhandle at Little Port Arthur, while the minimum of 92 mm occurs on the North Slope at Kuparuk. Besides explaining these large differences due to geographic and orographic location, we discuss the changes in precipitation with time. Analyzing the 18 first-order National Weather Service stations, we found that the total average precipitation in the state increased by 17% over the last 67 years. The observed changes in precipitation are furthermore discussed as a function of the observed temperature increase of 2.1 °C, the mean temperature change of the 18 stations over the same period. This observed warming of Alaska is about three times the magnitude of the mean global warming and allows the air to hold more water vapor. Furthermore, we discuss the effect of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which has a strong influence on both the temperature and precipitation in Alaska. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gerd Wendler Telayna Gordon Martin Stuefer |
author_facet |
Gerd Wendler Telayna Gordon Martin Stuefer |
author_sort |
Gerd Wendler |
title |
On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska |
title_short |
On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska |
title_full |
On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska |
title_fullStr |
On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska |
title_sort |
on the precipitation and precipitation change in alaska |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 https://doaj.org/article/3b0a5f3f62b34d40a19cef9617f6e13d |
geographic |
Arctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Pacific |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Global warming north slope Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Global warming north slope Alaska |
op_source |
Atmosphere, Vol 8, Iss 12, p 253 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/8/12/253 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4433 2073-4433 doi:10.3390/atmos8120253 https://doaj.org/article/3b0a5f3f62b34d40a19cef9617f6e13d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 |
container_title |
Atmosphere |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
253 |
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1766337754237501440 |