The Impact of Warm and Moist Airmass Perturbations on Arctic Mixed-Phase Stratocumulus

Abstract

AbstractThe Arctic is known to be particularly sensitive to climate change. This Arctic amplification has partially been attributed to poleward atmospheric heat transport in the form of airmass intrusions. Locally, such airmass intrusions can introduce moisture and temperature perturbations. The effect of airmass perturbations on boundary layer and cloud changes and their impact on the surface radiative balance has received increased attention, especially over sea ice with regard to sea ice melt. Utilizing cloud-resolving model simulations, this study addresses the impact of airmass perturbations occurring at different altitudes on stratocumulus clouds for open-ocean conditions. It is shown that warm and moist airmass perturbations substantially affect the boundary layer and cloud properties, even for the relatively moist environmental conditions over the open ocean. The cloud response is driven by temperature inversion adjustments and strongly depends on the perturbation height. Boundary layer perturbations weaken and raise the inversion, which destabilizes the lower troposphere and involves a transition from stratocumulus to cumulus clouds. In contrast, perturbations occurring in the lower free troposphere lead to a lowering but strengthening of the temperature inversion, with no impact on cloud fraction. In simulations where free-tropospheric specific humidity is further increased, multilayer mixed-phase clouds form. Regarding energy balance changes, substantial surface longwave cooling arises out of the stratocumulus break-up simulated for boundary layer perturbations. Meanwhile, the net surface longwave warming increases resulting from thicker clouds for airmass perturbations occurring in the lower free troposphere.