SGER: Evaluation of a New Method to Retrieve Horizontal Heat and Moisture Transport from Satellite Sounder Products in the Arctic

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

High latitudes are recognized as climatically sensitive and poorly understood components of the Earth's climate system. The transport of heat and moisture in the atmosphere constitutes the primary link between the Arctic and the global circulation system, yet owing to the dearth of conventional data in the central Arctic, little is known about the quantities, pathways, and interactions of energy and moisture after they enter the region. New data sets offer an exciting opportunity to observe the Arctic climate by providing measurements of atmospheric and surface quantities at (100-km)2 spatial resolution for two decades. This project will exploit observations from unique and recently available satellite-derived products to evaluate a new method to compute atmospheric heating caused by the convergence of horizontally transported sensible heat and moisture. Preliminary calculations suggest that these quantities have, indeed, changed significantly during the 20-year record of observations, with varying magnitudes and signs in different regions of the Arctic.