Abstract

Abstract Cloud properties from the newly extended Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Polar Pathfinder (APP-x) dataset were incorporated into the atmospheric component of the Arctic Regional Climate System Model (ARCSyM) in order to improve the simulation of the Antarctic surface energy balance. A method for using the APP-x cloud properties in 48-h model simulations is presented. In the experiments, the model cloud fields were altered via the water vapor mixing ratio using cloud properties from the APP-x dataset. Significant improvements in monthly mean downwelling longwave radiation at the surface were observed relative to surface measurements. In the austral summer, the use of the APP-x dataset resulted in improvements as large as 30 W m−2 at the South Pole when compared to model results without APP-x clouds. However, only a very small improvement was seen in the turbulent heat fluxes and the surface temperature. It was also found that the satellite data can be used to shorten the model “sp...

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