Our tool offers an intuitive and interactive experience. To explore processes such as cloud-aerosol interactions (1), lead flux (2), or impacts such as boreal forest fires (A), simply click on the corresponding number or letter. A pop-up window will appear, providing you with an explanation of the processes you selected. To switch between the two Polar Regions, click on the globe in the upper right corner.
Aerosol particles change cloud properties by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particles, thus influencing the Arctic climate system.
PolarRES is developing a better understanding of cloud and aerosol processes in the Arctic to improve climate models. Special attention will be paid to open water within the sea ice zone (polynyas, leads) and associated aerosol sources and their interactions with clouds.
Sea ice, including snow on top of it, is primarily driven by winds. As a result, sea ice is typically being formed in a different location than where it melts. Additionally, snow drifts with wind forming sastruga and a portion ending to open water between ice floes. In the Arctic, it is common that in compact ice fields ice is compressed, deformed and pressure ridges are formed.
The ABL is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere, which reacts to changes in Earth surface properties (such surface temperature and roughness) on time scales shorter than a day. In the Arctic, the ABL depth varies from a few tens of metres to 1 km. The state of the ABL depends on the radiative and turbulent energy fluxes at the Earth’s surface and on the heat conduction from the snow, ice or ground. Over snow and ice in the Arctic, the ABL is often stably stratified, but over areas of open sea a convective ABL is typical.
Momentum flux refers to the transfer of energy from the wind physically pushing against the water as it blows over the ice-ocean surface.
The rate of addition of pure water to (or its removal from) the ocean surface, by exchanges with the atmosphere (evaporation, E; and precipitation, P) and by input from the land (runoff, R).
The sinking of water masses, closely associated with convection, which is a vertical mixing process. It serves an important role on the global climate system by redistributing heat near the surface and regulating carbon storage at depth.
Molecules of CO2 enter the ocean by diffusing into the sea surface waters and dissolving, a physio-chemical process. The amount of CO2 that diffuses and dissolves in the sea surface water depends on variables such as wind, sea surface mixing, concentrations of CO2, and the temperature of the water.
CO2 is part of a large natural cycle and fluxes between different reservoirs on timescales from milliseconds to millions of years. In pre-industrial times there was a small flux of CO2 from the ocean to the atmosphere, but the strong increase of CO2 in the atmosphere means that the flux is now into the ocean. It is, however, not spatially uniform and the CO2 flux into the ocean is strongest in the polar regions.
Vertical zone in the oceanic water column in which salinity changes rapidly with depth, located below the well-mixed, uniformly saline surface water layer.
The balance between the amount of solar radiation reflected and absorbed by the Earth's surface, which is determined by albedo, plays an essential role in regulating global temperature and climate. The positive albedo feedback due to the reduction of sea ice and more open water (lower albedo, less reflection of solar radiation) is one of the main drivers of the so-called Arctic warming amplification.
By coupling at high resolution polar regional atmospheric climate models with regional ocean models, PolarRES is developing a better understanding and quantifications of how the sea-ice-atmosphere interactions, including the albedo feedback, will enhance the Arctic warming.
As ice melts, the liquid water collects in depressions on the surface and deepens them, forming these melt ponds in the Arctic. These fresh water ponds are separated from the salty sea below and around it, until breaks in the ice merge the two.
The dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and the troposphere (via various atmospheric waves and the large-scale circulation) is an important source of atmospheric variability, as well as extreme weather.
Unlike waves that break along the shore, Rossby waves are huge, undulating movements of air masses that stretch horizontally across the planet for thousands of kilometers.
Wildfires in the Boreal Region release stored carbon, leading to large emissions of greenhouse gases. Additionally, since many societies and cities are located very close to Boreal Forests, wildfires induced by climate change are a direct threat to human activities and societies.
Land–atmosphere interactions in sub-polar and alpine climates in the CORDEX Flagship Pilot Study Land Use and Climate Across Scales (LUCAS) models – Part 2: The role of changing vegetationBoreal Forest Fires
A marine ecosystem is made up of a wide variety of organisms, including fish, plants, plankton, and other marine life, that interact with each other and their environment to form a complex web of life. These ecosystems provide many important benefits to humans, including food, recreation, and regulation of the Earth's climate.
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern OceanImpacts of strong wind events on sea ice and water mass properties in Antarctic coastal polynyasMarine Ecosystems
Permafrost thaw refers to the thawing of soil and rock that has been frozen for at least two consecutive years, while thermokarst refers to the land subsidence or collapse that can occur when permafrost thaws and the ground settles, leading to changes in the landscape and impacts on ecosystems and infrastructure.
Land–atmosphere interactions in sub-polar and alpine climates in the CORDEX Flagship Pilot Study Land Use and Climate Across Scales (LUCAS) models – Part 2: The role of changing vegetationPermafrost Thaw
The use of Arctic sea routes for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia, which are made more accessible by the melting of sea ice caused by climate change. This shipping route offers a potentially shorter and more economical alternative to traditional routes, but also presents unique challenges and risks due to the harsh Arctic environment.
Nuclear testing between 1957 and 1963 has deposited long-lived radionuclides on sea ice.Melting sea ice could result in the release of these long-lived radionuclides to the sea and threaten global human health.
Aerosol particles change cloud properties by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particles, thus influencing the Antarctic climate system.
PolarRES is investigating the importance of persistent localised areas of open water as sources of aerosols (e.g., polynyas and leads) and their potential to alter properties such as cloud droplet number, and whether this has an impact on clouds and subsequently the climate.
The balance between the amount of solar radiation reflected and absorbed by the Earth's surface, which is determined by albedo, plays an essential role in regulating global temperature and climate. The positive albedo feedback due to the reduction of sea ice and more open water (lower albedo, less reflection of solar radiation) is one of the main drivers of the so-called Arctic warming amplification.
By coupling at high resolution polar regional atmospheric climate models with regional ocean models, PolarRES is developing a better understanding and quantifications of how the sea-ice-atmosphere interactions, including the albedo feedback, will enhance the Arctic warming.
Sea ice, including snow on top of it, is primarily driven by winds. As a result, sea ice is typically being formed in a different location than where it melts. Additionally, snow drifts with wind forming sastruga and a portion ending to open water between ice floes. In the Antarctic, it is common that ice motion is divergent and the role of internal ice stress is small.
The ABL is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere, which reacts to changes in Earth surface properties (such surface temperature and roughness) on time scales shorter than a day. In the Antarctic, the ABL depth varies from a few tens of hundred metres to 1 km. The state of the ABL depends on the radiative and turbulent energy fluxes at the Earth’s surface and on the heat conduction from the snow, ice or ground. Over snow and ice in the Antrctic, the ABL is often stably stratified (weak turbulence), but over areas of open water (coastal polynyas and leads in the sea ice zone, and glacial lakes on the continent) a convective ABL (stronger turbulence) is typical.
The coastal zone of the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica are influenced by extreme precipitation, temperature, and surface melt episodes, which are poorly understood. The objective of PolarRES work is to disentangle the role of large-scale forcing (i.e., warm/moist air advection) versus local dynamics (e.g., induced by the complex coastal orography).
In coastal polynyas, the latent heat from forming sea ice is discharged to cold winter atmosphere. At the same time, brine is rejected from forming sea ice to the upper ocean where, together with the freezing temperatures, the formation of the densest watermass in the World Ocean, the Antarctic Bottom Water occurs. This water mass is an important component of the global overturning circulation.
The katabatic wind is a drainage wind, a wind that carries high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity.
The process of decreasing ocean pH, and carbonate ion content, occurring when CO2 gas reacts with sea water. Ocean acidification is today a problem due to the high rate of increase in atmospheric CO2, and the ocean’s inability to replenish the carbonate ion reservoir quickly enough. Ocean acidification is in particular a problem for a variety of calcifying marine organisms, such as coccolithophores and corals, bivalves, fish, and crustaceans, which will struggle to form and repair their exoskeletons.
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern Ocean
The basal melt of ice shelves is a key factor governing ice discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The melting point of water decreases under pressure, meaning that water melts at a lower temperature under thicker glaciers.
Coastal polynyas represent areas of increased biological productivity in ice-covered seas and form a vital habitat for many Antarctic species. The life cycles of many zooplankton, marine mammals, and seabirds are closely associated with the timing of their opening and closing.
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern Ocean
Antarctic bottom water is an important water mass that forms on the Antarctic continental shelf as a cold, dense residual brine during the formation of sea ice.
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern Ocean
The rate of exchange of CO2 between Earth's surface and the atmosphere.
The polar jet stream is a belt of powerful upper-level winds that sits atop the polar front. The winds are strongest in the tropopause, which is the upper boundary of the troposphere, and move in a generally westerly direction in mid-latitudes.
A large-scale low pressure system between ~10-50 km altitude centred over the pole. This feature is characterised by westerly winds surrounding the Antarctic continent for much of the year, except in summer. The polar vortex is likely to strengthen in the future due to an enhanced pole-to-equator temperature gradient, as well as breakdown later in late spring/early summer, but climate models disagree by how much. This impacts the strength and location of the jet stream in the troposphere, which in turn influences the climate change response in the Antarctic.
The Southern Ocean flows clockwise around the Antarctic continent and is dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This is the worlds coldest, biggest, and fastest current, and the only current that flows completely around the globe. The ACC is characterised by a series of frontal systems, which separate the colder surface waters of the Southern Ocean from the warmer waters and oceans north of it. These physical features are key drivers of biology and ecological connectivity across the Southern Ocean, signifying the vulnerability of Southern Ocean biota, including zooplankton, to climate change.
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern Ocean
The dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and the troposphere (via various atmospheric waves and the large-scale circulation) is an important source of atmospheric variability, as well as extreme weather.
A marine ecosystem is made up of a wide variety of organisms, including fish, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and other marine life, that interact with each other and their environment to form a complex web of life. These ecosystems provide many important benefits to humans, including food, recreation, and regulation of the Earth's climate.
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern OceanImpacts of strong wind events on sea ice and water mass properties in Antarctic coastal polynyasMarine Ecosystems
