Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Ice-Albedo Feedback Processes in the Arctic Basin

• Main Authors: Maykut, Gary A, Grenfell, Thomas C
• Other Authors: WASHINGTON UNIV SEATTLE DEPT OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Meteorology; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *ALBEDO; *FEEDBACK; *SEA ICE; ARCTIC OCEAN; CLIMATE; CLIMATE CHANGE; HEAT FLUX; ICE FORMATION; MASS; MELTING; PACK ICE; SEASONAL VARIATIONS; SUMMER; THICKNESS; ICE COVER; ICE MASS BALANCE; ICE PACK; MASS FLUX; MELT PONDS; SHORTWAVE RADIATION; SURFACE MELT WATER; UPPER OCEAN; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; albedo; Arctic Basin; Climate change; Ice; ice pack; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA615526; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA615526

Our overall goal is to develop a quantitative understanding of processes that collectively make up the ice-albedo feedback mechanism. This mechanism is generally believed to be a key factor in amplifying natural variations within the earth's climate system. Central to achieving this understanding is learning more about how shortwave radiation is absorbed and distributed in the ice pack and upper ocean, and how this distribution affects the regional heat and mass balance of the ice cover. Complicating the problem are a variety of issues related to the extreme sub-grid scale variability of the Arctic ice cover and to how such variability can be accounted for in large-scale models. Our long-term goal is to develop accurate formulations of major ice-albedo feedback processes in a form suitable for inclusion in climate and general circulation models.