Following moist intrusions into the Arctic using SHEBA observations in a Lagrangian perspective

• Published in: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
• Main Authors: Ali, S. Mubashshir, Pithan, Felix
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: ddc:551.5; air mass transformation; Arctic; cloudy state; moist air intrusion; polar atmosphere; SHEBA; Arctic Ocean; Sea ice; Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3859; http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/9116

Warm and moist air masses are transported into the Arctic from lower latitudes throughout the year. Especially in winter, such moist intrusions (MIs) can trigger cloud formation and surface warming. While a typical cloudy state of the Arctic winter boundary layer has been linked to the advection of moist air masses, direct observations of the transformation from moist midlatitude to dry Arctic air are lacking. Here, we have used observations from the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project to compile Eulerian observations along the trajectories of warm and cold air masses in a Lagrangian sense, showing the cooling and drying of air masses over sea ice and moistening over the open ocean. Air masses originating mostly over open water generate cloudy conditions over the observation site, whereas air masses originating over continents or sea ice generate radiatively clear conditions. We recommend using our case-studies and the method of linking expeditions to station soundings via back-trajectories for modelling work in future campaigns.