June clouds may mean low Arctic sea ice in September: new research
Lowest sea ice minimum matches up with cloudy early summers in the Arctic
The red on this graph shows the amount of heat absorbed early in the season by clouds and the black shows Arctic sea ice concentration in September, in an image from a new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres.
New research suggests that cloud cover in June, as seen here in Kangiqsujuaq, may contribute to lower Arctic sea ice extent later on in the summer. (FILE PHOTO)
When you look up and see high clouds in early summer, the clouds may look pretty.
But, in the Arctic, these clouds appear to be linked to less sea ice cover on the Arctic Ocean in September and October, say a group of Korean researchers.
They found a connection between that high cloud cover over the Arctic in early summer months and low sea ice in the Arctic Ocean later in the season, according to a new Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres study from the Climate System Laboratory in Seoul, Korea.
Using satellite images of sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean from 2000 to 2012, researchers found less sea ice in September and October when the cloud cover had absorbed and magnified heat from the sun in May, June and July.
During those years, the sea ice extent in September and October remained higher when cloud cover in May to July was low.
In June 2007, 2011, and 2012, Arctic summer sea ice extent reached record-breaking lows by mid-September compared with other years — and that correlated with more early cloud cover in the Arctic during those years, the researchers found.
They suggest the new findings of a relationship between late summer Arctic sea ice extent and early cloud cover could change how models for how the impact of climate change on sea ice extent are developed.
“The models tend to over-emphasize internal sea ice processes in summer,” the researchers said in their abstract.
The fifth United Nations International Panel on Climate Change, released earlier this year, also said studies show that changes in cloud cover are “likely” to enhance global warming worldwide
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