Water vapor intrusions into the High Arctic during winter by J. G. Doyle et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., 38 (2011)

Geophysical Research Letters, 38 (2011) L12806; doi:10.1029/2011GL047493

Water vapor intrusions into the High Arctic during winter

Key Points

• Water vapor intrusions into the High Arctic are frequent in the winter
• Intrusions have a complicated vertical structure which can reach the surface
• Intrusions have a significant surface radiative impact

J. G. Doyle (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), G. Lesins (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), C. P. Thackray (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), C. Perro (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), G. J. Nott (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), T. J. Duck (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), R. Damoah (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) and J. R. Drummond (Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)

Abstract

The meridional transport of water vapor into the High Arctic, accompanied by dry enthalpy and clouds, impacts the surface radiative forcing. The evolution of one such moist intrusion over 9–11 February 2010 is presented. The event is analyzed using a unique blend of measurements including a new pan-Arctic retrieval of column water vapor from the Microwave Humidity Sounders, water vapor profiles from a Raman lidar and a ground-based microwave radiometer at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL), in Eureka (80° N, 86° W), on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. A radiation model reveals the intrusion is associated with a 17 W m⁻² average increase in downwelling longwave irradiance. Optically thin clouds, as observed by the lidar, contribute a further 20 W m⁻² to the downwelling longwave irradiance at their peak. Intrusion events are shown to be a regular occurrence in the Arctic winter with implications for the understanding of the mechanisms driving Arctic Amplification.

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Received 18 March 2011; accepted 12 May 2011; published 29 June 2011.

Citation: Doyle, J. G., G. Lesins, C. P. Thackray, C. Perro, G. J. Nott, T. J. Duck, R. Damoah, and J. R. Drummond. (2011). Water vapor intrusions into the High Arctic during winter, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L12806, doi:10.1029/2011GL047493.

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