Real-time sea surface air temperature retrieval over Southern Ocean using AMSR-E data

The AMSR-E satellite data and in-situ data were applied to retrieve sea surface air temperature (Ta) over the Southern Ocean. The in-situ data were obtained from the 24~(th) -26~(th) Chinese Antarctic Expeditions during 2008-2010. First, Ta was used to analyze the relativity with the bright temperature (Tb) from the twelve channels of AMSR-E, and no high relativity was found between Ta and Tb from any of the channels. The highest relativity was 0.38 (with 23.8 GHz). The dataset for the modeling was obtained by using in-situ data to match up with Tb, and two methods were applied to build the retrieval model. In multi-parameters regression method, the Tbs from 12 channels were used to the model and the region was divided into two parts according to the latitude of 50°S. The retrieval results were compared with the in-situ data. The Root Mean Square Error (RMS) and relativity of high latitude zone were 0.96℃and 0.93, respectively. And those of low latitude zone were 1.29 ℃ and 0.96, respectively. Artificial neural network (ANN) method was applied to retrieve Ta.The RMS and relativity were 1.26 ℃ and 0.98, respectively.

Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature. II. Different reconstructions of the total solar irradiance variation and dependence on response time scale

We have previously placed the solar contribution to recent global warming in context using observations and without recourse to climate models. It was shown that all solar forcings of climate have declined since 1987. The present paper extends that analysis to include the effects of the various time constants with which the Earth’s climate system might react to solar forcing. The solar input waveform over the past 100 years is defined using observed and inferred galactic cosmic ray fluxes, valid for either a direct effect of cosmic rays on climate or an effect via their known correlation with total solar irradiance (TSI), or for a combination of the two. The implications, and the relative merits, of the various TSI composite data series are discussed and independent tests reveal that the PMOD composite used in our previous paper is the most realistic. Use of the ACRIM composite, which shows a rise in TSI over recent decades, is shown to be inconsistent with most published evidence for solar influences on pre-industrial climate. The conclusions of our previous paper, that solar forcing has declined over the past 20 years while surface air temperatures have continued to rise, are shown to apply for the full range of potential time constants for the climate response to the variations in the solar forcings.

An investigation into the impact of using various techniques to estimate Arctic surface air temperature anomalies

Time series of global and regional mean Surface Air Temperature (SAT) anomalies are a common metric used to estimate recent climate change. Various techniques can be used to create these time series from meteorological station data. The degree of difference arising from using five different techniques, based on existing temperature anomaly dataset techniques, to estimate Arctic SAT anomalies over land and sea ice were investigated using reanalysis data as a testbed. Techniques which interpolated anomalies were found to result in smaller errors than non-interpolating techniques relative to the reanalysis reference. Kriging techniques provided the smallest errors in estimates of Arctic anomalies and Simple Kriging was often the best kriging method in this study, especially over sea ice. A linear interpolation technique had, on average, Root Mean Square Errors (RMSEs) up to 0.55 K larger than the two kriging techniques tested. Non-interpolating techniques provided the least representative anomaly estimates. Nonetheless, they serve as useful checks for confirming whether estimates from interpolating techniques are reasonable. The interaction of meteorological station coverage with estimation techniques between 1850 and 2011 was simulated using an ensemble dataset comprising repeated individual years (1979-2011). All techniques were found to have larger RMSEs for earlier station coverages. This supports calls for increased data sharing and data rescue, especially in sparsely observed regions such as the Arctic.

Results of calculated surface air temperature anomaly of COSMOS Pliocene experiment 2 in NetCDF format

In this manuscript we describe the experimental procedure employed at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany in the preparation of the simulations for the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP). We present a description of the utilized Community Earth System Models (COSMOS, version: COSMOS-landveg r2413, 2009) and document the procedures that we applied to transfer the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Project mid-Pliocene reconstruction into model forcing fields. The model setup and spin-up procedure are described for both the paleo- and preindustrial (PI) time slices of PlioMIP experiments 1 and 2, and general results that depict the performance of our model setup for mid-Pliocene conditions are presented. The mid-Pliocene, as simulated with our COSMOS setup and PRISM boundary conditions, is both warmer and wetter in the global mean than the PI. The globally averaged annual mean surface air temperature in the mid-Pliocene standalone atmosphere (fully coupled atmosphere-ocean) simulation is 17.35 °C (17.82 °C), which implies a warming of 2.23 °C (3.40 °C) relative to the respective PI control simulation.

The Decrease in Summer Surface Water Temperature with Altitude in Swiss Alpine Lakes: A Comparison with Air Temperature Lapse Rates

Using miniature thermistors with integrated data loggers, the decrease in summer lake surface water temperature (LSWT) with increasing altitude a.s.l. was investigated in 10 Swiss Alpine lakes located between 613 m a.s.l. and 2339 m a.s.l. The LSWTs exhibit essentially the same short-term structure as regional air temperature, but are about 3 to 5°C higher than the air temperature at the altitude of the lake. LSWTs decrease approximately linearly with increasing altitude at a rate slightly greater than the surface air temperature lapse rate. Diel variations in LSWT are large, implying that single water temperature measurements are un- likely to be representative of the mean. Local factors will affect LSWT more than they affect air temperature, possibly resulting in severe distortion of the empirical relationship between the two. Several implications for paleoclimate reconstruction studies result. (1) Paleolimnologically reconstructed LSWTs are likely to be higher than the air temperatures prevailing at the altitude of the lake. (2) Lakes used for paleoclimate reconstruction should be selected to minimize local effects on LSWT. (3) The calibration of organism-specific quantitative paleotemperature inference models should not be based on single water temperature measurements. (4) Consideration should be given to calibrating such models directly against air temperature rather than water temperature. (5) The primary climate effect on the aquatic biota of high-altitude lakes may be mediated by the timing of the ice cover.

Separating the influence of projected changes in air temperature and wind on patterns of sea level change and ocean heat content

We present ocean model sensitivity experiments aimed at separating the influence of the projected changes in the “thermal” (near-surface air temperature) and “wind” (near-surface winds) forcing on the patterns of sea level and ocean heat content. In the North Atlantic, the distribution of sea level change is more due to the “thermal” forcing, whereas it is more due to the “wind” forcing in the North Pacific; in the Southern Ocean, the “thermal” and “wind” forcing have a comparable influence. In the ocean adjacent to Antarctica the “thermal” forcing leads to an inflow of warmer waters on the continental shelves, which is somewhat attenuated by the “wind” forcing. The structure of the vertically integrated heat uptake is set by different processes at low and high latitudes: at low latitudes it is dominated by the heat transport convergence, whereas at high latitudes it represents a small residual of changes in the surface flux and advection of heat. The structure of the horizontally integrated heat content tendency is set by the increase of downward heat flux by the mean circulation and comparable decrease of upward heat flux by the subgrid-scale processes; the upward eddy heat flux decreases and increases by almost the same magnitude in response to, respectively, the “thermal” and “wind” forcing. Regionally, the surface heat loss and deep convection weaken in the Labrador Sea, but intensify in the Greenland Sea in the region of sea ice retreat. The enhanced heat flux anomaly in the subpolar Atlantic is mainly caused by the “thermal” forcing.

Air Temperature Distribution and Energy-balance Modelling of a Debris-covered Glacier

Near-surface air temperature is an important determinant of the surface energy balance of glaciers and is often represented by a constant linear temperature gradients (TGs) in models. Spatiotemporal variability in 2 m air temperature was measured across the debris-covered Miage Glacier, Italy, over an 89 d period during the 2014 ablation season using a network of 19 stations. Air temperature was found to be strongly dependent upon elevation for most stations, even under varying meteorological conditions and at different times of day, and its spatial variability was well explained by a locally derived mean linear TG (MG–TG) of −0.0088°C m−1. However, local temperature depressions occurred over areas of very thin or patchy debris cover. The MG–TG, together with other air TGs, extrapolated from both on- and off-glacier sites, were applied in a distributed energy-balance model. Compared with piecewise air temperature extrapolation from all on-glacier stations, modelled ablation, using the MG–TG, increased by <1%, increasing to >4% using the environmental ‘lapse rate’. Ice melt under thick debris was relatively insensitive to air temperature, while the effects of different temperature extrapolation methods were strongest at high elevation sites of thin and patchy debris cover.

(Table 1) Characteristics of air temperature, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, nutrients, and total particulate matter for Admiralty Bay and Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica

Since the early 1990s, phytoplankton has been studied and monitored in Potter Cove (PC) and Admiralty Bay (AB), King George/25 de Mayo Island (KGI), South Shetlands. Phytoplankton biomass is typically low compared to other Antarctic shelf environments, with average spring - summer values below 1 mg chlorophyll a (Chl a)/m**3. The physical conditions in the area (reduced irradiance induced by particles originated from the land, intense winds) limit the coastal productivity at KGI, as a result of shallow Sverdrup's critical depths (Zc) and large turbulent mixing depths (Zt). In January 2010 a large phytoplankton bloom with a maximum of around 20 mg Chl a/m**3, and monthly averages of 4 (PC) and 6 (AB) mg Chl a/m**3, was observed in the area, making it by far the largest recorded bloom over the last 20 yr. Dominant phytoplankton species were the typical bloom-forming diatoms that are usually found in the western Antarctic Peninsula area. Anomalously cold air temperature and dominant winds from the eastern sector seem to explain adequate light : mixing environment. Local physical conditions were analyzed by means of the relationship between Zc and Zt, and conditions were found adequate for allowing phytoplankton development. However, a multiyear analysis indicates that these conditions may be necessary but not sufficient to guarantee phytoplankton accumulation. The relation between maximum Chl a values and air temperature suggests that bottom-up control would render such large blooms even less frequent in KGI under the warmer climate expected in the area during the second half of the present century.