The Arctic climate system

Title:

Personal Author:

Serreze, Mark C.

Series:

Cambridge atmospheric and space science series

Publication Information:

Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 2005

ISBN:

9780521814188

Subject Term:

Arctic regions -- Climate

Added Author:

Barry, Roger Graham

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010148325	QC994.8 S47 2005	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown
Searching... PSZ KL	30000010159834	QC994.8 S47 2005	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown

The Arctic can be viewed as an integrated system, characterised by intimate couplings between its atmosphere, ocean and land, linked in turn to the larger global system. This comprehensive, up-to-date assessment begins with an outline of early Arctic exploration and the growth of modern research. Using an integrated systems approach, subsequent chapters examine the atmospheric heat budget and circulation, the surface energy budget, the hydrologic cycle and interactions between the ocean, atmosphere and sea ice cover. Reviews of recent directions in numerical modelling and the characteristics of past Arctic climates set the stage for detailed discussion of recent climate variability and trends, and projected future states. Throughout, satellite remote sensing data and results from recent major field programs are used to illustrate key processes. The Arctic Climate System provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of the subject for researchers and advanced students in a wide range of disciplines.

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Climate change in the Arctic is a bellwether for Earth's global climate system. For example, the effects of warming in the Arctic, including glacier and sea ice melting, will have significant impacts worldwide through modification of thermohaline ocean circulation, changes in surface albedo, and carbon dioxide and methane release from the methane hydrate layer and melting permafrost. Moreover, changes in the Arctic affect physical and biological systems both within and outside the region. This updated edition (CH, Sep'06, 44-0373) offers a general review of the Arctic climate system, its link to the rest of the world, and the environmental changes occurring therein. A recurring theme is change, and a historical perspective introduces early Arctic exploration followed by the growth of systematic observations and the emergence of the modern research area. In the technical chapters, Serreze and Barry (both, Univ. of Colorado Boulder) address a wide range of topics that include atmospheric and ocean energy budgets, atmospheric circulation, the surface energy budget, the hydrologic budget, atmosphere-ocean interactions, and regional climate regimes. Concluding chapters on climatic modeling, a review of paleoclimates, and an assessment of future uncertainties in the Arctic are also well considered. Part of the "Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science" series. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Roberto Antonio Delgado, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xii
List of Abbreviations	p. xiii
1 The evolution of knowledge about the Arctic and its climate	p. 1
1.1 Historical exploration	p. 4
1.2 The beginning of systematic observations	p. 10
1.3 The modern era	p. 12
2 Physical characteristics and basic climatic features	p. 17
2.1 The Arctic ocean	p. 19
2.2 The Arctic lands	p. 30
2.3 Basic climatic elements	p. 37
3 The basic atmospheric heat budget	p. 55
3.1 The Arctic and the global heat budget	p. 56
3.2 The basic Arctic heat budget	p. 60
3.3 Further analysis of F[subscript wall]	p. 69
4 The atmospheric circulation	p. 74
4.1 Historical perspective	p. 75
4.2 The stratospheric circulation	p. 79
4.3 The Arctic tropopause	p. 90
4.4 The mid-tropospheric circulation	p. 92
4.5 Surface and near-surface circulation	p. 94
4.6 Polar Lows	p. 106
5 The surface energy budget	p. 110
5.1 The energy balance equations	p. 111
5.2 The downward solar radiation flux	p. 115
5.3 Surface albedo	p. 120
5.4 Longwave radiation fluxes	p. 125
5.5 Distribution of net radiation	p. 127
5.6 Cloud radiative forcing	p. 128
5.7 Radiation fluxes from surface observations: examples from SHEBA	p. 131
5.8 Partitioning of net radiation	p. 131
5.9 Skin temperature, SAT and vertical structure	p. 137
5.10 Radiation-climate feedbacks	p. 143
6 Precipitation, net precipitation and river discharge	p. 147
6.1 Precipitation	p. 148
6.2 Evapo-transpiration and net precipitation	p. 156
6.3 Mean annual cycles for the major terrestrial drainages	p. 162
6.4 River discharge and runoff	p. 166
7 Arctic ocean-sea ice-climate interactions	p. 177
7.1 Sea ice formation, growth and melt	p. 179
7.2 Mean circulation, ice zones and concentration	p. 183
7.3 Sea ice motion	p. 190
7.4 Examples of large-scale ocean-sea ice-climate interactions	p. 197
7.5 The Fram Strait outflow and the thermohaline circulation	p. 204
8 Climate regimes of the Arctic	p. 208
8.1 The Greenland Ice Sheet	p. 209
8.2 Polar desert	p. 217
8.3 Maritime Arctic	p. 220
8.4 Central Arctic Ocean	p. 223
8.5 Mountains and uplands	p. 226
8.6 Urban modifications of local climate	p. 228
9 Modeling the Arctic climate system	p. 229
9.1 General model types	p. 230
9.2 Single-column models	p. 232
9.3 Land surface models	p. 237
9.4 Sea ice and ice-ocean models	p. 240
9.5 Global climate models	p. 245
9.6 Regional climate models	p. 252
9.7 Numerical weather prediction models	p. 255
9.8 Ecosystem models	p. 258
9.9 Summary of model errors	p. 260
10 Arctic paleoclimates	p. 262
10.1 The distant past	p. 263
10.2 Paleoclimate records for the Quaternary	p. 266
10.3 Features of the Quaternary	p. 269
10.4 Rapid climate shifts	p. 276
10.5 Regional aspects of the LGM	p. 279
10.6 Deglaciation	p. 283
10.7 The Holocene	p. 287
11 Recent climate variability, trends and the future	p. 291
11.1 Setting the stage	p. 292
11.2 Summary of observed variability and change	p. 295
11.3 The NAO and AO	p. 306
11.4 The NAO/AO framework: merits and shortcomings	p. 312
11.5 Related multiyear climate variability	p. 324
11.6 The future	p. 326
References	p. 335
List of selected websites	p. 377
Index	p. 378

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Table of Contents