Articles | Volume 12, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2159-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2159-2018
Research article
 | 
27 Jun 2018
Research article |  | 27 Jun 2018

Sunlight, clouds, sea ice, albedo, and the radiative budget: the umbrella versus the blanket

Donald K. Perovich

Related authors

The influence of ocean waves on Antarctic sea-ice albedo and seasonal melting, and physical-biological feedbacks
Robert Massom, Phillip Reid, Stephen Warren, Bonnie Light, Donald Perovich, Luke Bennetts, Petteri Uotila, Siobhan O'Farrell, Michael Meylan, Klaus Meiners, Pat Wongpan, Alexander Fraser, Alessandro Toffoli, Giulio Passerotti, Peter Strutton, Sean Chua, and Melissa Fedrigo
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3166,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3166, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
A low-cost, autonomous system for distributed snow depth measurements on sea ice
Ian A. Raphael, Donald K. Perovich, Christopher M. Polashenski, and Robert L. Hawley
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-187,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-187, 2025
Short summary
Formation and fate of freshwater on an ice floe in the Central Arctic
Madison M. Smith, Niels Fuchs, Evgenii Salganik, Donald K. Perovich, Ian Raphael, Mats A. Granskog, Kirstin Schulz, Matthew D. Shupe, and Melinda Webster
The Cryosphere, 19, 619–644, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-619-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-619-2025, 2025
Short summary
Estimating seasonal bulk density of level sea ice using the data derived from in situ and ICESat-2 synergistic observations during MOSAiC
Yi Zhou, Xianwei Wang, Ruibo Lei, Arttu Jutila, Donald K. Perovich, Luisa von Albedyll, Dmitry V. Divine, Yu Zhang, and Christian Haas
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2821,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2821, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Seasonal evolution and parameterization of Arctic sea ice bulk density: results from the MOSAiC expedition and ICESat-2/ATLAS
Yi Zhou, Xianwei Wang, Ruibo Lei, Luisa von Albedyll, Donald K. Perovich, Yu Zhang, and Christian Haas
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1240,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1240, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary

Related subject area

Discipline: Sea ice | Subject: Energy Balance Obs/Modelling
Effects of Arctic sea-ice concentration on surface radiative fluxes in four atmospheric reanalyses
Tereza Uhlíková, Timo Vihma, Alexey Yu Karpechko, and Petteri Uotila
The Cryosphere, 19, 1031–1046, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1031-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1031-2025, 2025
Short summary
Inferring Inherent Optical Properties of Sea Ice Using 360-Degree Camera Radiance Measurements
Raphaël Larouche, Bastian Raulier, Christian Katlein, Simon Lambert-Girard, Simon Thibault, and Marcel Babin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5V955,https://doi.org/10.31223/X5V955, 2025
Short summary
A sensor-agnostic albedo retrieval method for realistic sea ice surfaces: model and validation
Yingzhen Zhou, Wei Li, Nan Chen, Yongzhen Fan, and Knut Stamnes
The Cryosphere, 17, 1053–1087, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1053-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1053-2023, 2023
Short summary
Understanding model spread in sea ice volume by attribution of model differences in seasonal ice growth and melt
Alex West, Edward Blockley, and Matthew Collins
The Cryosphere, 16, 4013–4032, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4013-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4013-2022, 2022
Short summary
On the statistical properties of sea-ice lead fraction and heat fluxes in the Arctic
Einar Ólason, Pierre Rampal, and Véronique Dansereau
The Cryosphere, 15, 1053–1064, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1053-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1053-2021, 2021
Short summary

Cited articles

Intrieri, J. M., Fairall, C. W., Shupe, M. D., Persson, P. O. G., Andreas, E. L., Guest, P. S., and Moritz, R. E.: An annual cycle of Arctic surface cloud forcing at SHEBA, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 8039, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC000439, 2002. 
Kwok, R. and Rothrock, D. A.: Decline in Arctic sea ice thickness from submarine and ICESat records: 1958–2008, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15501, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL039035, 2009. 
Laxon S. W., Giles, K. A., Ridout, A. L., Wingham, D. J., Willatt, R., Cullen, R., Kwok, R., Schweiger, A., Zhang, J., Haas, C., Hendricks, S., Krishfield, R., Kurtz, N., Farrell S., and Davidson, M.: CryoSat-2 estimates of Arctic sea ice thickness and volume, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 732–737, https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50193, 2013. 
Lindsay, R. and Schweiger, A.: Arctic sea ice thickness loss determined using subsurface, aircraft, and satellite observations, The Cryosphere, 9, 269–283, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-269-2015, 2015. 
Maslanik, J., Stroeve, J.. Fowler, C., and Emery, W.: Distribution and trends in Arctic sea ice age through spring 2011, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L13502, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047735, 2011.  
Download
Short summary
The balance of longwave and shortwave radiation plays a central role in the summer melt of Arctic sea ice. It is governed by clouds and surface albedo. The basic question is what causes more melting, sunny skies or cloudy skies. It depends on the albedo of the ice surface. For snow-covered or bare ice, sunny skies always result in less radiative heat input. In contrast, the open ocean always has, and melt ponds usually have, more radiative input under sunny skies than cloudy skies.
Share