24Airsea Simulating Cloud Radiative Forcing with WRF During Arctic Winter Sea Ice Extremes

The Arctic is one of the most sensitive and complex systems on Earth because it is subject to a dry atmosphere, high surface albedo, and pronounced seasonal changes. Arctic clouds, specifically low-level clouds, play a significant role in the yearly melting and formation of sea ice through the emission of longwave radiation and the reflection of incoming shortwave radiation. As the Arctic continues to warm faster than any other region on Earth, scientific understanding of ice-albedo and cloud-radiative feedback continues to evolve while researchers investigate the implication of decreasing fall and spring sea ice growth. Consensus shows that decreasing sea ice growth alters surface albedo, impacting cloud type and changing net cloud-radiative forcing (CRF), however it is hard to quantify CRF and current studies largely focus on fall months when sea ice extent is at a minimum. To further investigate this, we employ the ECMWF Reanalysis (ERA5) and the Weather Forecasting and Research Model Advanced Research WRF (ARW) to simulate Pan-Arctic CRF from 60-90 N at 6km resolution for the months of January and February, when sea ice extent is approaching its maximum, for the years 2017 (minimum extent), 2000 (median extent, calculated using March values), and 1979 (maximum extent).