An analysis of the characteristics of precipitation in the Northeast passage and its relationship with sea ice

Abstract

Precipitation is an important part of the atmospheric circulation in the Arctic and is of great significance to the energy budget and hydrological characteristics of the Arctic region. The distribution of precipitation affects the exchange of energy, which then affects the Arctic sea ice indirectly. Arctic precipitation impacts the sea surface albedo, which leads to changes in the sea ice concentration (SIC) and the energy exchange between the sea, ice, and air. In this study, GPM IMERG precipitation data, which have a spatial resolution of 0.1°, were used to analyze the characteristics of precipitation in the Northeast Passage (NEP) from May to December during the period 2011–2020. This analysis of the amount of precipitation and its distribution were performed for the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and East Siberian Sea. The relationship between precipitation and sea ice was also explored. The results show that, during the study period, the average precipitation over the Barents Sea from May to December was 57–561 mm/year and that this area had the highest precipitation in the NEP. For the Kara Sea, the average precipitation for May to December was 50–386 mm/year and for the East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea it was 48–303 mm/year and 53–177 mm/year, respectively. For the NEP as a whole, September was found to be the month with the highest average precipitation. An analysis of the correlation between the precipitation and the SIC gave a correlation coefficient of −0.792 for the study period and showed that there is a 15-day delay between the precipitation increase and the decrease in SIC. The analysis of the precipitation data in these areas thus showed that precipitation is related to SIC and is of great importance to understanding and predicting the navigable capacity of the NEP.