Atmospheric contribution to hydrologic variations in the Arctic

Walsh, John E.; Zhou, Xin; Portis, Diane H.; Serreze, Mark C.

doi:10.1080/07055900.1994.9649520

Cited by 106 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The presence of Aleutian lows does not necessarily mean it will rain north of Great Slave Lake. The differences between 1998 and 1999 highlight the substantial variability in moisture convergence over the Mackenzie Basin in autumn (Walsh et al, 1994). The pathway by which moisture approaches the eastern Mackenzie Basin is at levels of the atmosphere near 850 hPa (Walsh et al, 1994), but may be as high as 700 hPa (Liu et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The differences between 1998 and 1999 highlight the substantial variability in moisture convergence over the Mackenzie Basin in autumn (Walsh et al, 1994). The pathway by which moisture approaches the eastern Mackenzie Basin is at levels of the atmosphere near 850 hPa (Walsh et al, 1994), but may be as high as 700 hPa (Liu et al, 2002). Evaluation of National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data (Kalnay et al, 1996) demonstrates that in August and September of 1998 the 850 hPa zonal winds out of the Pacific consistently passed over the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Western Cordillera towards Lake Athabasca, as during the 31 August 1998 event (Figure 8).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The moisture influx associated with low-pressure systems and cyclogenesis has been identified as very important to the atmospheric water budget of the Mackenzie Basin (Walsh et al, 1994). Spence and Rouse (2002) illustrated the hydrological importance of the timing and magnitude of wet conditions in the late summer and autumn in the Canadian Shield physiographic region of the Mackenzie Basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autumn synoptic conditions and rainfall in the subarctic Canadian Shield of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Spence

Rausch

2005

Int. J. Climatol.

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Autumn precipitation is important to the annual water budget and spring streamflow magnitude in the subarctic Canadian Shield portion of the Mackenzie Basin in northwestern Canada. The objective of this study is to improve understanding of the synoptic mechanisms generating this autumn precipitation by investigating a wet (1998) and a dry (1999) autumn over a portion of this region north of Great Slave Lake. Seven synoptic map patterns were identified using a hybrid manual-revised Kirchhofer correlation methodology. Cyclones were found to be the most important map pattern providing autumn rainfall. These cyclones tend to occur 2 to 3 days following the presence of a low in the Gulf of Alaska near the Aleutian Islands. The results of this study corroborate past research that shows Pacific atmospheric moisture transported inland provides the source for much of the cyclonic rainfall in the Mackenzie Basin. Aleutian lows, which encourage this transportation, were as common in 1998 as in 1999, but the mechanisms necessary to transfer moisture to the North Great Slave region were more entrenched in 1998 than in 1999. Winds along storm tracks through the region were weaker and more dispersed in 1999. In addition, conditions for cyclogenesis in the region were less favourable in 1999.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autumn synoptic conditions and rainfall in the subarctic Canadian Shield of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Spence

Rausch

2005

Int. J. Climatol.

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“…Moisture is important in mediating the impacts of climatic change in the Arctic for several reasons, some of which are unique to high latitudes. First, atmospheric circulation patterns and the low saturation vapor pressure of cold air restrict precipitation in polar regions (Walsh et al, 1994). Second, the amount and phase state of water at the often-frozen tundra surface determine surface energy budgets to a greater extent than they do at lower latitudes .…”

Section: Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of an arctic landscape to Lateglacial and early Holocene climatic changes: the importance of moisture

Mann

Peteet

Reanier³

et al. 2002

Quaternary Science Reviews

116

132

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Many of the physical and biological processes that characterize arctic ecosystems are unique to high latitudes, and their sensitivities to climate change are poorly understood. Stratigraphic records of land-surface processes and vegetation change in the Arctic Foothills of northern Alaska reveal how tundra landscapes responded to climatic changes between 13,000 and 8000 14 C yr BP. Peat deposition began and shrub vegetation became widespread ca. 12,500 14 C yr BP, probably in response to the advent of warmer and wetter climate. Increased slope erosion caused rapid alluviation in valleys, and Populus trees spread northward along braided floodplains before 11,000 14 C yr BP. Lake levels fell and streams incised their floodplains during the Younger Dryas (YD) (11,000-10,000 14 C yr BP). A hiatus in records of Populus suggest that its geographic range contracted, and pollen records of other species suggest a cooler and drier climate during this interval. Basal peats dating to the YD are rare, suggesting that rates of paludification slowed. Immediately after 10,000 14 C yr BP, lake levels rose, streams aggraded rapidly again, intense solifluction occurred, and Populus re-invaded the area. Moist acidic tundra vegetation was widespread by 8500 14 C yr BP along with wet, organic-rich soils. Most of these landscape-scale effects of climatic change involved changes in moisture. Although low temperature is the most conspicuous feature of arctic climate, shifts in effective moisture may be the proximate cause for many of the impacts that climate change has in arctic regions. r

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“…The role of these systems is particularly important in the context of climate change, for several reasons. First, the Arctic Ocean's freshwater budget has a strong influence on the convective regime of the North Atlantic, implicated in the stability of the climate regime [Delworth et al, 1993]; the freshwater budget is dependent to a relatively high degree on land surface runoff, and hence the balance of precipitation and evaporation over the high-latitude land areas [Walsh et al, 1994]. Second, land surface exchange processes concern not only exchanges of energy and moisture but also exchanges of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow‐albedo feedback and the spring transition in a regional climate system model: Influence of land surface model

Lynch¹,

McGinnis²,

Bailey³

1998

J. Geophys. Res.

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Abstract. Using the Arctic regional climate system model (ARCSYM), we investigate the spring seasonal transition and mechanisms controlling snowmelt over a domain covering the northern half of Alaska. Annual simulations for 1992 comparing the BiosphereAtmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) and the land surface model scheme (LSM) show that the BATS experiment enters the spring transition with respect to the large-scale atmospheric regime approximately one month earlier than observed climate and the LSM experiment transitions a month later than observed, even though the air temperature in the LSM experiment is generally warmer than in the BATS experiment. A more detailed examination reveals that each simulation commences and completes the snowmelt period at about the same time but that the LSM snowmelt is more rapid than in the BATS experiment. Controlling the snowmelt is the initial snowpack depth and the surface energy budget, both of which involve a complex series of feedbacks between shortwave and longwave radiation, cloud, surface turbulent fluxes, and vegetation. The snowmelt over tundra regions dominates the more rapid snowmelt seen in the LSM simulation. It is determined that the most crucial differences between the BATS and the LSM schemes are the partitioning of net ground heat flux between patches of snow and bare ground and the formulation of snow albedo. IntroductionThe complex heterogeneity of the high-latitude land surface, with its associated ecosystems and its interactions with atmospheric processes, is an important factor in determining the role and significance of land surface exchange processes in global climate. The role of these systems is particularly important in the context of climate change, for several reasons. First, the Arctic Ocean's freshwater budget has a strong influence on the convective regime of the North Atlantic, implicated in the stability of the climate regime [Delworth et al., 1993]; the freshwater budget is dependent to a relatively high degree on land surface runoff, and hence the balance of precipitation and evaporation over the high-latitude land areas [Walsh et al., 1994]. Second, land surface exchange processes concern not only exchanges of energy and moisture but also exchanges of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Per- In this paper we focus on the simulation of the seasonal cycle of the lower troposphere and, in particular, the snow cover during the spring transition. As elaborated above, an accurate and physically based representation of land surface exchanges, precipitation, clouds, and radiative transfer is required to simulate snow cover properly. In addition, these processes are highly dependent on scale, because of the variability of topography and heterogeneity of vegetation over areas much smaller than a general circulation model ( The sea ice concentration is specified using observations derived from special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) data. The sea ice thickness and surface fluxes are calculated using the sea ice thermodynamics component...

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Atmospheric contribution to hydrologic variations in the Arctic

Abstract: High-latitude rawinsonde data for 18 years (1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)

Cited by 106 publications

References 21 publications

Autumn synoptic conditions and rainfall in the subarctic Canadian Shield of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Autumn synoptic conditions and rainfall in the subarctic Canadian Shield of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Responses of an arctic landscape to Lateglacial and early Holocene climatic changes: the importance of moisture

Snow‐albedo feedback and the spring transition in a regional climate system model: Influence of land surface model

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