Modelling and observations of the atmospheric boundary layer of the Arctic marginal ice zone

Davies, Rhiannon (2017) Modelling and observations of the atmospheric boundary layer of the Arctic marginal ice zone. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The Arctic is undergoing big changes, there has been a reduction in sea ice extent
and an increase in the amount of thinner, newer ice. This changing surface causes
challenges to numerical weather prediction and climate simulation, due to the very
interconnected nature of the surface and atmosphere in the Arctic.
Changes to the surface may impact on the air temperature, the surface fluxes of
heat and moisture and the microphysics of clouds amongst others. These areas could
also, in turn, change the surface. The Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) is the area of the sea
ice which is between the open water and solid ice, and is characterised by a complex
and constantly changing ice surface.
The impact of thinning ice in the MIZ was investigated using a series of idealised
modelling experiments, and it was found that thinner sea ice in the MIZ would
increase the surface temperature and fluxes of heat. In turn this causes the clouds,
which formover the open water, to formcloser to the ice edge. The clouds were found
to be thinner for the experiments with thinner ice, which resulted in them allowing
more shortwave radiation to reach the surface. This result implies that thinning
sea ice would act to further thin sea ice. Using observations from the Aerosol-
Clouds Coupling And Climate Interactions in the Arctic (ACCACIA) campaign, two
sets of model sensitivity studies were undertaken to test which boundary layer
parametrisation schemes would performbetter.
It was discovered that the boundary layer in the model is more sensitive to the
surface representation rather than the choice of boundary layer scheme. These results
point to the need for more work, both observations and modelling, on the sea ice and
its impact on the atmosphere in order to better predict the changes the Arctic and the
planet will undergo with a changing climate.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Users 4971 not found.
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2017 14:29
Last Modified:	06 Jul 2017 14:29
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/64046
DOI:

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