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...
Published in: | Atmosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 |
id |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2073-4433/8/12/253/ |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2073-4433/8/12/253/ 2023-08-20T04:04:37+02:00 On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska Gerd Wendler Telayna Gordon Martin Stuefer agris 2017-12-15 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Climatology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Atmosphere; Volume 8; Issue 12; Pages: 253 Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center Text 2017 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 2023-07-31T21:19:02Z 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. Text Arctic Climate change Global warming north slope Alaska MDPI Open Access Publishing Arctic Pacific Atmosphere 8 12 253 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center |
spellingShingle |
Alaska precipitation climate climate change temperature Pacific Decadal Oscillation Alaska Climate Research Center 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 |
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 |
Text |
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 |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 |
op_coverage |
agris |
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; Volume 8; Issue 12; Pages: 253 |
op_relation |
Climatology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120253 |
container_title |
Atmosphere |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
253 |
_version_ |
1774715000593580032 |