Some results from a time‐dependent thermodynamic model of sea ice
TL;DR: In this paper, a one-dimensional thermodynamic model of sea ice is presented that includes the effects of snow cover, ice salinity, and internal heating due to penetration of solar radiation.
Abstract: A one-dimensional thermodynamic model of sea ice is presented that includes the effects of snow cover, ice salinity, and internal heating due to penetration of solar radiation. The incoming radiative and turbulent fluxes, oceanic heat flux, ice salinity, snow accumulation, and surface albedo are specified as functions of time. The model is applied to the central Arctic.
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University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign1, Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean2, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences3, University of Leeds4, University of Oslo5, United States Environmental Protection Agency6, University of Michigan7, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory8, German Aerospace Center9, United States Department of Energy10, Max Planck Society11, University of Tokyo12, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration13, Forschungszentrum Jülich14, Norwegian Meteorological Institute15, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay16, China Meteorological Administration17, Peking University18, Met Office19, Desert Research Institute20, Clarkson University21, Stanford University22, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts23, International Institute of Minnesota24, Goddard Institute for Space Studies25, Yale University26, University of Washington27, University of California, Irvine28
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provided an assessment of black-carbon climate forcing that is comprehensive in its inclusion of all known and relevant processes and that is quantitative in providing best estimates and uncertainties of the main forcing terms: direct solar absorption; influence on liquid, mixed phase, and ice clouds; and deposition on snow and ice.
Abstract: Black carbon aerosol plays a unique and important role in Earth's climate system. Black carbon is a type of carbonaceous material with a unique combination of physical properties. This assessment provides an evaluation of black-carbon climate forcing that is comprehensive in its inclusion of all known and relevant processes and that is quantitative in providing best estimates and uncertainties of the main forcing terms: direct solar absorption; influence on liquid, mixed phase, and ice clouds; and deposition on snow and ice. These effects are calculated with climate models, but when possible, they are evaluated with both microphysical measurements and field observations. Predominant sources are combustion related, namely, fossil fuels for transportation, solid fuels for industrial and residential uses, and open burning of biomass. Total global emissions of black carbon using bottom-up inventory methods are 7500 Gg yr−1 in the year 2000 with an uncertainty range of 2000 to 29000. However, global atmospheric absorption attributable to black carbon is too low in many models and should be increased by a factor of almost 3. After this scaling, the best estimate for the industrial-era (1750 to 2005) direct radiative forcing of atmospheric black carbon is +0.71 W m−2 with 90% uncertainty bounds of (+0.08, +1.27) W m−2. Total direct forcing by all black carbon sources, without subtracting the preindustrial background, is estimated as +0.88 (+0.17, +1.48) W m−2. Direct radiative forcing alone does not capture important rapid adjustment mechanisms. A framework is described and used for quantifying climate forcings, including rapid adjustments. The best estimate of industrial-era climate forcing of black carbon through all forcing mechanisms, including clouds and cryosphere forcing, is +1.1 W m−2 with 90% uncertainty bounds of +0.17 to +2.1 W m−2. Thus, there is a very high probability that black carbon emissions, independent of co-emitted species, have a positive forcing and warm the climate. We estimate that black carbon, with a total climate forcing of +1.1 W m−2, is the second most important human emission in terms of its climate forcing in the present-day atmosphere; only carbon dioxide is estimated to have a greater forcing. Sources that emit black carbon also emit other short-lived species that may either cool or warm climate. Climate forcings from co-emitted species are estimated and used in the framework described herein. When the principal effects of short-lived co-emissions, including cooling agents such as sulfur dioxide, are included in net forcing, energy-related sources (fossil fuel and biofuel) have an industrial-era climate forcing of +0.22 (−0.50 to +1.08) W m−2 during the first year after emission. For a few of these sources, such as diesel engines and possibly residential biofuels, warming is strong enough that eliminating all short-lived emissions from these sources would reduce net climate forcing (i.e., produce cooling). When open burning emissions, which emit high levels of organic matter, are included in the total, the best estimate of net industrial-era climate forcing by all short-lived species from black-carbon-rich sources becomes slightly negative (−0.06 W m−2 with 90% uncertainty bounds of −1.45 to +1.29 W m−2). The uncertainties in net climate forcing from black-carbon-rich sources are substantial, largely due to lack of knowledge about cloud interactions with both black carbon and co-emitted organic carbon. In prioritizing potential black-carbon mitigation actions, non-science factors, such as technical feasibility, costs, policy design, and implementation feasibility play important roles. The major sources of black carbon are presently in different stages with regard to the feasibility for near-term mitigation. This assessment, by evaluating the large number and complexity of the associated physical and radiative processes in black-carbon climate forcing, sets a baseline from which to improve future climate forcing estimates.
4,591 citations
DOI•
01 Jan 2004
2,201 citations
Cites methods from "Some results from a time‐dependent ..."
...The vertical salinity profile is prescribed based on the work of Maykut and Untersteiner [1971] to be S(w)= 1....
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01 Jan 1993
1,510 citations
944 citations
TL;DR: An overview of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) is presented in this paper, where the authors focus on new developments in the RAMS physics and computational algorithms since 1992 and summarize some of the recent applications of RAMS that includes synoptic-scale weather systems and climate studies, to small-scale research using RAMS configured as a large eddy simulation model or to even flow around urban buildings.
Abstract: ¶An overview of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) is presented. We focus on new developments in the RAMS physics and computational algorithms since 1992. We also summarize some of the recent applications of RAMS that includes synoptic-scale weather systems and climate studies, to small-scale research using RAMS configured as a large eddy simulation model or to even flow around urban buildings. The applications include basic research on clouds, cloud systems, and storms, examination of interactions between tropical deep convective systems and ocean circulations, simulations of tropical cyclones, extreme precipitation estimation, regional climatic studies of the interactions between the atmosphere and the biosphere or snow-covered land-surfaces, prototype realtime mesoscale numerical weather prediction, air pollution applications, and airflow around buildings.
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01 Jan 1961
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that during the summer seasons 1957 and 1958, an amount of 19.2 and 41.4 g/cm2 was lost by surface ablation on elevated dry surface and in meltwater ponds, respectively.
Abstract: Measurements during the drift of “US Drifting Station A” show an annual mass increase of old ice consisting of 12.5 g/cm2 snow and 52 g/cm2 bottom accretion. During the summer seasons 1957 and 1958 an amount of 19.2 and 41.4 g/cm2 respectively, was lost by surface ablation. The ratio of ablation on elevated “dry” surface and in meltwater ponds is 1:2.5. The average pond area was about 30%. Bottom ablation by heat transfer from the ocean was found to be 22 cm (July to Aug./Sept.). Methods of measuring mass changes are described. In view of their importance as a means of checking the computed heat budget their accuracy is discussed in detail. The heat budget is computed for a selected period during the height of the melt season. The average daily totals are, in cal/cm2: +142 from net short wave radiation −8 from net long wave radiation, +9 from turbulent heat transfer, and −11 from evaporation. The mean daily surface ablation is 0.8 cm. About 90% of it is due to the absorption of short wave radiation Only 62% of the total heat supply are transformed at the surface. 38% are transmitted into the ice and mainly used to increase the brine volume. The vertical distribution of this energy was used to compute the extinction coefficient for short wave radiation. From 40 to 150 cm depth it is 0.015 cm−1, somewhat smaller than that of glacier ice. The heat used during the summer to increase the brine volume in the ice acts as a reserve of latent heat during the cooling season. By the time an ice sheet of 300 cm thickness reaches its minimum temperature in March, 3000 cal/cm2 have been removed to freeze the brine in the interior of the ice and the meltwater ponds, and 1700 cal/cm2 to lower the ice temperature. Based upon the observed mass and temperature changes the total heat exchange at the upper and lower boundary is estimated. During the period May–August the upper boundary received 8.3 kcal/cm2, while during the period September–April 12.8 kcal/cm2 were given off to the atmosphere. The results are compared with those ofYakovlev, and considerable disagreement is found with respect to the amounts of heat involved in evaporation and in changes of ice temperature (“heat reserve”).
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