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      The Impact of the Extreme Winter 2015/16 Arctic Cyclone on the Barents–Kara Seas

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          Abstract

          Atmospheric data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) were used to study an extreme warm and humid air mass transported over the Barents–Kara Seas region by an Arctic cyclone at the end of December 2015. Temperature and humidity in the region was ~10°C (>3 σ above the 2003–14 mean) warmer and ~1.4 g kg −1 (>4 σ above the 2003–14 mean) wetter than normal during the peak of this event. This anomalous air mass resulted in a large and positive flux of energy into the surface via the residual of the surface energy balance (SEB), compared to the weakly negative SEB from the surface to the atmosphere expected for that time of year. The magnitude of the downwelling longwave radiation during the event was unprecedented compared to all other events detected by AIRS in December/January since 2003. An approximate budget scaling suggests that this anomalous SEB could have resulted in up to 10 cm of ice melt. Thinning of the ice pack in the region was supported by remotely sensed and modeled estimates of ice thickness change. Understanding the impact of this anomalous air mass on a thinner, weakened sea ice state is imperative for understanding future sea ice–atmosphere interactions in a warming Arctic.

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Monthly Weather Review
                American Meteorological Society
                0027-0644
                1520-0493
                November 2016
                November 2016
                : 144
                : 11
                : 4279-4287
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
                [2 ]National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, and Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, University College London, London, United Kingdom
                Article
                10.1175/MWR-D-16-0234.1
                a17c41bc-a7f0-4e12-ad62-6903a508a0df
                © 2016
                History

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