A solar eclipse seen from the High Arctic during the period of midnight sun: effects on the local meteorology

Abstract

The solar eclipse on 1 August 2008 was studied on Svalbard (93% totality), an archipelago in the High Arctic, where midnight sun had been present for several months. Simultaneous observations over land and over a large fjord showed that the eclipse triggered downslope winds in the valleys surrounding the fjord, thereby creating low-level clouds over the water. These clouds were later advected in over land and created a fog that lasted for 3 days, grounding all air traffic to and from Svalbard. The atmospheric response was otherwise much slower and weaker over water than over land. Over land, the wind speed decreased, the atmospheric stability changed from unstable to stable and the air temperature sank by 0.3–1.5°C, while over the fjord no clear minima in these parameters could be found.