Articles | Volume 7, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-341-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-341-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Feb 2026
Research article |
| 17 Feb 2026
| 17 Feb 2026
Topographic effects of Svalbard on warm and moist air intrusions into the Central Arctic
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, Potsdam, Germany
Sonja Murto
Stockholm University and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Department of Meteorology, Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Florian Gebhardt
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, Potsdam, Germany
Ella Gilbert
British Antarctic Survey, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK
Annette Rinke
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A45, Potsdam, Germany
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Amanda Sellmaier, Ellen Damm, Torsten Sachs, Benjamin Kirbus, Inge Wiekenkamp, Annette Rinke, Falk Pätzold, Daiki Nomura, Astrid Lampert, and Markus Rex
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 17685–17700, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17685-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17685-2025, 2025
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This study presents continuous ship-borne measurements of methane (CH4) concentration and isotopic composition monitored during an ice drift expedition in 2020. Using trajectory analysis, we linked atmospheric CH4 variabilities to air mass pathways transported over open water or sea-ice. The study highlights the potential of ship-borne observations to fill significant data gaps in the high Arctic.
Yubing Cheng, Bin Cheng, Roberta Pirazzini, Amy R. Macfarlane, Timo Vihma, Wolfgang Dorn, Ruzica Dadic, Martin Schneebeli, Stefanie Arndt, and Annette Rinke
The Cryosphere, 19, 6001–6021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6001-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6001-2025, 2025
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We study snow density from the MOSAiC expedition. Several snow density schemes were tested and compared with observation. A thermodynamic ice model was employed to assess the impact of snow density and precipitation on the thermal regime of sea ice. The parameterized mean snow densities are consistent with observations. Increased snow density reduces snow and ice temperatures, promoting ice growth, while increased precipitation leads to warmer snow and ice temperatures and reduced ice thickness.
Ella Gilbert, José Abraham Torres-Alavez, Marte G. Hofsteenge, Willem Jan van de Berg, Fredrik Boberg, Ole Bøssing Christensen, Christiaan Timo van Dalum, Xavier Fettweis, Siddharth Gumber, Nicolaj Hansen, Christoph Kittel, Clara Lambin, Damien Maure, Ruth Mottram, Martin Olesen, Andrew Orr, Tony Phillips, Maurice van Tiggelen, Kristiina Verro, and Priscilla A. Mooney
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4214, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4214, 2025
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Here we present a new dataset – the PolarRES ensemble – of four state-of-the-art regional climate models, which capture the full complexity of Antarctica's climate. The ensemble out-performs other available tools, advancing our ability to explore Antarctic climate. While it still has limitations, the PolarRES ensemble offers a novel and exciting way of evaluating climate processes and features, and we encourage researchers to use the data, which are freely available.
Theresa Mathes, Heather Guy, John Prytherch, Julia Kojoj, Ian Brooks, Sonja Murto, Paul Zieger, Birgit Wehner, Michael Tjernström, and Andreas Held
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8455–8474, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8455-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8455-2025, 2025
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The Arctic is warming faster than the global average and an investigation of aerosol–cloud–sea ice interactions is crucial for studying its climate system. During the ARTofMELT Expedition 2023, particle and sensible heat fluxes were measured over different surfaces. Wide lead surfaces acted as particle sources, with the strongest sensible heat fluxes, while closed ice surfaces acted as particle sinks. In this study, methods to measure these interactions are improved, enhancing our understanding of Arctic climate processes.
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The Cryosphere, 19, 597–618, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-597-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-597-2025, 2025
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The Cryosphere, 18, 4053–4064, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4053-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4053-2024, 2024
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It is demonstrated that the explicit consideration of the cloud dependence of the snow surface albedo in a climate model results in a more realistic simulation of the surface albedo during the snowmelt period in late May and June. Although this improvement appears to be relatively insubstantial, it has significant impact on the simulated sea-ice volume and extent in the model due to an amplification of the snow/sea-ice albedo feedback, one of the main contributors to Arctic amplification.
Falco Monsees, Alexei Rozanov, John P. Burrows, Mark Weber, Annette Rinke, Ralf Jaiser, and Peter von der Gathen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9085–9099, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9085-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9085-2024, 2024
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Cyclones strongly influence weather predictability but still cannot be fully characterised in the Arctic because of the sparse coverage of meteorological measurements. A potential approach to compensate for this is the use of satellite measurements of ozone, because cyclones impact the tropopause and therefore also ozone. In this study we used this connection to investigate the correlation between ozone and the tropopause in the Arctic and to identify cyclones with satellite ozone observations.
Nicolaj Hansen, Andrew Orr, Xun Zou, Fredrik Boberg, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Ella Gilbert, Peter L. Langen, Matthew A. Lazzara, Ruth Mottram, Tony Phillips, Ruth Price, Sebastian B. Simonsen, and Stuart Webster
The Cryosphere, 18, 2897–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2897-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2897-2024, 2024
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We investigated a melt event over the Ross Ice Shelf. We use regional climate models and a firn model to simulate the melt and compare the results with satellite data. We find that the firn model aligned well with observed melt days in certain parts of the ice shelf. The firn model had challenges accurately simulating the melt extent in the western sector. We identified potential reasons for these discrepancies, pointing to limitations in the models related to representing the cloud properties.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-821, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-821, 2024
Preprint withdrawn
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We use a simple experiment to explore the non-CO2 impacts of aviation on climate, which are considerably larger than the impact of the sector’s carbon emissions alone. We show that the main effect of our experiments – which intend to mimic the effect of aircraft soot emissions reaching existing high-altitude cirrus clouds – is to extend cloud lifetime, thereby enhancing their effect on climate.
Evelyn Jäkel, Sebastian Becker, Tim R. Sperzel, Hannah Niehaus, Gunnar Spreen, Ran Tao, Marcel Nicolaus, Wolfgang Dorn, Annette Rinke, Jörg Brauchle, and Manfred Wendisch
The Cryosphere, 18, 1185–1205, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1185-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1185-2024, 2024
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The results of the surface albedo scheme of a coupled regional climate model were evaluated against airborne and ground-based measurements conducted in the European Arctic in different seasons between 2017 and 2022. We found a seasonally dependent bias between measured and modeled surface albedo for cloudless and cloudy situations. The strongest effects of the albedo model bias on the net irradiance were most apparent in the presence of optically thin clouds.
John Prytherch, Sonja Murto, Ian Brown, Adam Ulfsbo, Brett F. Thornton, Volker Brüchert, Michael Tjernström, Anna Lunde Hermansson, Amanda T. Nylund, and Lina A. Holthusen
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Klaus Dethloff, Wieslaw Maslowski, Stefan Hendricks, Younjoo J. Lee, Helge F. Goessling, Thomas Krumpen, Christian Haas, Dörthe Handorf, Robert Ricker, Vladimir Bessonov, John J. Cassano, Jaclyn Clement Kinney, Robert Osinski, Markus Rex, Annette Rinke, Julia Sokolova, and Anja Sommerfeld
The Cryosphere, 16, 981–1005, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-981-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-981-2022, 2022
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Sea ice thickness anomalies during the MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) winter in January, February and March 2020 were simulated with the coupled Regional Arctic climate System Model (RASM) and compared with CryoSat-2/SMOS satellite data. Hindcast and ensemble simulations indicate that the sea ice anomalies are driven by nonlinear interactions between ice growth processes and wind-driven sea-ice transports, with dynamics playing a dominant role.
Carolina Viceto, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Annette Rinke, Marion Maturilli, Alfredo Rocha, and Susanne Crewell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 441–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-441-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-441-2022, 2022
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We focus on anomalous moisture transport events known as atmospheric rivers (ARs). During ACLOUD and PASCAL, three AR events were identified: 30 May, 6 June, and 9 June 2017. We explore their spatio-temporal evolution and precipitation patterns using measurements, reanalyses, and a model. We show the importance of the following: Atlantic and Siberian pathways during spring–summer in the Arctic, AR-associated heat/moisture increase, precipitation phase transition, and high-resolution datasets.
Sonja Murto, Rodrigo Caballero, Gunilla Svensson, and Lukas Papritz
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 21–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-21-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-21-2022, 2022
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This study uses reanalysis data to investigate the role of atmospheric blocking, prevailing high-pressure systems and mid-latitude cyclones in driving high-Arctic wintertime warm extreme events. These events are mainly preceded by Ural and Scandinavian blocks, which are shown to be significantly influenced and amplified by cyclones in the North Atlantic. It also highlights processes that need to be well captured in climate models for improving their representation of Arctic wintertime climate.
Hélène Bresson, Annette Rinke, Mario Mech, Daniel Reinert, Vera Schemann, Kerstin Ebell, Marion Maturilli, Carolina Viceto, Irina Gorodetskaya, and Susanne Crewell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 173–196, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-173-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-173-2022, 2022
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Arctic warming is pronounced, and one factor in this is the poleward atmospheric transport of heat and moisture. This study assesses the 4D structure of an Arctic moisture intrusion event which occurred in June 2017. For the first time, high-resolution pan-Arctic ICON simulations are performed and compared with global models, reanalysis, and observations. Results show the added value of high resolution in the event representation and the impact of the intrusion on the surface energy fluxes.
Susanne Crewell, Kerstin Ebell, Patrick Konjari, Mario Mech, Tatiana Nomokonova, Ana Radovan, David Strack, Arantxa M. Triana-Gómez, Stefan Noël, Raul Scarlat, Gunnar Spreen, Marion Maturilli, Annette Rinke, Irina Gorodetskaya, Carolina Viceto, Thomas August, and Marc Schröder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4829–4856, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4829-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4829-2021, 2021
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Water vapor (WV) is an important variable in the climate system. Satellite measurements are thus crucial to characterize the spatial and temporal variability in WV and how it changed over time. In particular with respect to the observed strong Arctic warming, the role of WV still needs to be better understood. However, as shown in this paper, a detailed understanding is still hampered by large uncertainties in the various satellite WV products, showing the need for improved methods to derive WV.
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Short summary
This study investigates how Svalbard's mountains modulate warm and moist air mass intrusions into the central Arctic, where such events are key drivers of warm extremes. Using atmospheric modeling, air parcel trajectories and observations from the MOSAiC expedition for a case in April 2020 and a climatological analysis for springtime in 2000–2022, we show that Svalbard can alter winds, temperatures, clouds and surface energy fluxes hundreds of kilometers downstream over sea ice.
This study investigates how Svalbard's mountains modulate warm and moist air mass intrusions...
