Extended Abstract (256K)P1.6
Turbulent exchange over the Arctic Icecap
Cathryn E. Birch, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom; and I. M. Brooks and M. Tjernstrom
Climate change due to the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases is predicted to be more pronounced in the Arctic region than over lower latitudes. This is mainly due to several feedback processes, such as the ice-albedo feedback. It is important to have the modelling capacity to simulate and predict these changes. At present global and regional scale climate models perform poorly over the Arctic icecap, especially in terms of flux parameterizations and the representation of clouds, leading to significant errors in the surface energy balance. This causes uncertainties in the prediction of future climate. This study aims to identify the reasons for the poor performance and ultimately, to improve upon them. Measurements of turbulent fluxes and near-surface profiles of mean meteorological parameters, obtained over an ice floe in the central Arctic Ocean during the Arctic Ocean Experiment 2001, are examined and compared with the output from the UK MetOffice Unified model.
Poster Session 1, Poster Session
Tuesday, 21 August 2007, 3:00 PM-5:00 PM, Hawthorne-Sellwood
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