Differences in Cloud Characteristics Between Barents Sea and East Siberian Sea Using CALIPSO Data

Abstract

We investigated the difference in cloud characteristics (fraction and thermodynamic phase) between the Barents Sea (70-80°N, 0-40°E) and East Siberian Sea (70-80°N, 120-180°E) using remote sensing data from a Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite in summer (JJA) and winter (DJF). In the Arctic region, the total cloud fraction is larger in summer than winter as a whole. The fraction of ice cloud layers between —25° and 0°Cwas clearly larger in the East Siberian Sea than in the Barents Sea in winter. The difference in the ice cloud fraction between the East Siberian Sea and Barents Sea was remarkable between —25° and —10°C, being about 20% greater in the East Siberian Sea in winter. The ice cloud layer fraction in the lower troposphere (under 2km) was larger in the East Siberian Sea than in the Barents Sea in winter. These results indicate that the ice formation process was promoted more in the lower troposphere in the East Siberian Sea than in the Barents Sea in winter. These are the first results obtained from observations of the cloud internal structure as viewed by the active sensor on board CALIPSO.