Variations in Water Vapor From AIRS and MODIS in Response to Arctic Sea Ice Change in December 2002–November 2016

Abstract

Water vapor plays a vital role in the Arctic sea ice and climate change. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are useful tools for studying the water vapor variations over the entire Arctic. In this paper, we discuss precipitable water vapor (PWV) variations from the AIRS and MODIS Level-3 data products in response to Arctic sea ice change during December 2002–November 2016. The results indicate that both AIRS- and MODIS-derived PWV measurements tend to be underestimated, and this underestimation is generally greater for the latter than the former over both land and ocean. Additionally, both the AIRS and MODIS retrievals suggest that the atmospheres are drier in the solid sea ice pack and, to a lesser extent, in the marginal ice zone, than in the open ocean in each season. Moreover, statistically significant correlations between the PWV and sea ice concentration (SIC) anomalies are generally observed in all seasons under different ice conditions except in the open ocean, where variations in the PWV may be attributed to the poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes. The Arctic PWV and SIC variation patterns are also dominated by the atmospheric and ice conditions in the solid sea ice pack, respectively. The monthly mean PWV and SIC time series analysis further reveals that the Arctic PWV variations tend to be affected by a delayed effect of approximately 1.2–1.3 months from SIC changes from a climatological perspective.