Moisture fluxes derived from EOS aqua satellite data for the north water polynya over 2003–2009

Abstract

Satellite data were applied to calculate the moisture flux from the North Water polynya during a series of events spanning 2003–2009. The fluxes were calculated using bulk aerodynamic formulas with the stability effects according to the Monin‐Obukhov similarity theory. Input parameters were taken from three sources: air relative humidity, air temperature, and surface temperature from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on board NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua satellite, sea ice concentration from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR‐E, also on board Aqua), and wind speed from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts ERA‐Interim reanalysis. Our results show the progression of the moisture fluxes from the polynya during each event, as well as their atmospheric effects after the polynya has closed up. These results were compared to results from studies on other polynyas and fall within one standard deviation of the moisture flux estimates from these studies. Although the estimated moisture fluxes over the entire study region from AIRS are smaller in magnitude than those from ERA‐Interim, they are more accurate owing to improved temperature and relative humidity profiles and ice concentration estimates over the polynya. Error estimates were calculated to be 5.56 × 10−3 g m−2 s−1, only 25% of the total moisture flux, thus suggesting that AIRS and AMSR‐E can be used with confidence to study smaller‐scale features in the Arctic sea ice pack and can capture their atmospheric effects. These findings bode well for larger‐scale studies of moisture fluxes over the entire Arctic Ocean and the thinning ice pack.