This award is part of the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program, a U.S. Global Change Program. The research program will focus existing documentation of the variability of water vapor-related fields over the Arctic on seasonal and longer time scales, to identify contributions to this variability form sub-portions of the region, and to relate this variability to synoptic activity. Knowledge of the distribution of water vapor over both Arctic land and ocean areas is needed for improving satellite-derived estimates of surface energy fluxes, snow depth and extent, and sea ice conditions. In terms of climate change, alterations of the flux of atmospheric moisture into the Arctic may influence Arctic surface radiation budgets through effects on atmospheric emissivity, cloud cover and snowfall. Associated changes in precipitation may influence surface runoff, with subsequent impacts on sea ice production and upper ocean salinities.
