 |
 |
|
|
|||||||
|
Surface Heat Budget SHEBA is a coordinated program to address the interaction
of the surface energy balance, atmospheric radiation, and clouds
over the Arctic Ocean. This program is designed to address two
questions important to accurate climate modeling. What are the
proper parameterizations of the ice-albedo feedback and
cloud-radiation feedback mechanisms?
|
||||||
|
Oregon State University |
|||||||
As part of the SHEBA project we studied Arctic
leads to determine the factors that control the flow of heat into
the upper Arctic Ocean and the use of this heat to melt ice during
the summer season. Leads play an important role in coupling the
atmosphere with the Arctic Ocean by providing direct contact between
the air and water and by providing a relatively clear window for
solar radiation to penetrate into the ocean. Our experiment was
designed to test the hypothesis that during the summer melting snow
and ice would form a persistent, freshwater layer at the surface of
the lead. Since approximately half of the solar insolation is
absorbed in the first meter, a shallow, freshwater surface layer
would retain heat near the surface, thereby enhancing lateral melt
of the surrounding ice. The ratio of side to bottom melt determines
the strength of an albedo-feedback mechanism which in turn controls
the evolution of the average surface area covered by ice and open
water.