Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport
The timing of melt onset affects the surface energy uptake throughout the melt season. Yet the processes triggering melt and causing its large interannual variability are not well understood. Here we show that melt onset over Arctic sea ice is initiated by positive anomalies of water vapor, clouds,...
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ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:1520429 2023-12-24T10:13:29+01:00 Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport Mortin, J Svensson, G Graversen, RG Kapsch, M-L Stroeve, JC Boisvert, LN 2016-06-28 text https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/1/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20VoR.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/2/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20supplementary%20file.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/ eng eng AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/1/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20VoR.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/2/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20supplementary%20file.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/ open Geophysical Research Letters , 43 (12) pp. 6636-6642. (2016) Arctic sea ice melt onset remote sensing climate variability polar meteorology Article 2016 ftucl 2023-11-27T13:07:32Z The timing of melt onset affects the surface energy uptake throughout the melt season. Yet the processes triggering melt and causing its large interannual variability are not well understood. Here we show that melt onset over Arctic sea ice is initiated by positive anomalies of water vapor, clouds, and air temperatures that increase the downwelling longwave radiation (LWD) to the surface. The earlier melt onset occurs; the stronger are these anomalies. Downwelling shortwave radiation (SWD) is smaller than usual at melt onset, indicating that melt is not triggered by SWD. When melt occurs early, an anomalously opaque atmosphere with positive LWD anomalies preconditions the surface for weeks preceding melt. In contrast, when melt begins late, clearer than usual conditions are evident prior to melt. Hence, atmospheric processes are imperative for melt onset. It is also found that spring LWD increased during recent decades, consistent with trends toward an earlier melt onset. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Sea ice University College London: UCL Discovery Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic sea ice melt onset remote sensing climate variability polar meteorology |
spellingShingle |
Arctic sea ice melt onset remote sensing climate variability polar meteorology Mortin, J Svensson, G Graversen, RG Kapsch, M-L Stroeve, JC Boisvert, LN Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
topic_facet |
Arctic sea ice melt onset remote sensing climate variability polar meteorology |
description |
The timing of melt onset affects the surface energy uptake throughout the melt season. Yet the processes triggering melt and causing its large interannual variability are not well understood. Here we show that melt onset over Arctic sea ice is initiated by positive anomalies of water vapor, clouds, and air temperatures that increase the downwelling longwave radiation (LWD) to the surface. The earlier melt onset occurs; the stronger are these anomalies. Downwelling shortwave radiation (SWD) is smaller than usual at melt onset, indicating that melt is not triggered by SWD. When melt occurs early, an anomalously opaque atmosphere with positive LWD anomalies preconditions the surface for weeks preceding melt. In contrast, when melt begins late, clearer than usual conditions are evident prior to melt. Hence, atmospheric processes are imperative for melt onset. It is also found that spring LWD increased during recent decades, consistent with trends toward an earlier melt onset. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mortin, J Svensson, G Graversen, RG Kapsch, M-L Stroeve, JC Boisvert, LN |
author_facet |
Mortin, J Svensson, G Graversen, RG Kapsch, M-L Stroeve, JC Boisvert, LN |
author_sort |
Mortin, J |
title |
Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
title_short |
Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
title_full |
Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
title_fullStr |
Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
title_full_unstemmed |
Melt onset over Arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
title_sort |
melt onset over arctic sea ice controlled by atmospheric moisture transport |
publisher |
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/1/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20VoR.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/2/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20supplementary%20file.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/ |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Sea ice |
op_source |
Geophysical Research Letters , 43 (12) pp. 6636-6642. (2016) |
op_relation |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/1/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20VoR.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/2/Mortin_et_al%20Melt%20onset%20over%20Arctic%20sea%20ice%20controlled%20by%20atmospheric%20moisture%20transport%20supplementary%20file.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520429/ |
op_rights |
open |
_version_ |
1786183158284156928 |