CLIMATE AND THE HEAT BUDGET OF THE CENTRAL ARCTIC

• Main Author: Fletcher,J. O.
• Other Authors: RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CALIF
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1965
• Subjects: (*CLIMATE; ARCTIC REGIONS); (*ARCTIC REGIONS; CLIMATE); ATMOSPHERES; ARCTIC OCEAN; ICE ISLANDS; THERMAL PROPERTIES; MARINE METEOROLOGY; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Canada; Central Arctic; glacier*
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0622986; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0622986

A detailed assessment is presented of each component of the heat budgets for the surface and for the earth-atmosphere system in the central Arctic, for both an icecovered and an ice-free ocean. These estimates suggest that the annual heat balance at the surface for an icefree Arctic would be near zero rather than strongly positive as suggested by Donn and Shaw. The sources of this discrepancy are identified and discussed. The annual patterns of atmospheric cooling for both present and icefree conditions are obtained as residuals. The relation of these patterns to general atmospheric circulation and glacier accumulation is discussed, with the conclusion that an open Arctic Ocean would be conducive to glacier accumulation in Canada and Scandinavia. (Author)