EESS seminar talk on "Radiative Energy Budget and Transformations of Air Masses in the Arctic"

We have observed and simulated key parameters and processes determining the current amplified Arctic climate changes. After a general introduction of the feedback mechanisms causing these changes, the presentation discusses two of the aspects driving them: (1) the radiative energy budget at the surface with a focus on cloud radiative effects, and (2) the transformations of air masses during distinct moist and warm air intrusions (WAIs) and pronounced marine cold air outbreaks (CAOs) over the European Arctic. Results from airborne field campaigns and numerical simulations using the ICON (Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic) numerical weather prediction model are interpreted. The data were collected over areas of open ocean, the marginal sea ice zone, and the central Arctic sea ice. To investigate the processes transforming air masses during WAIs and CAOs, a quasi-Lagrangian observational strategy is applied. The observations of air mass transformations are related to the model-estimated thermodynamic, microphysical, and radiative rates of change, and the relative importance of these tendencies are quantified. Within the outlook of the presentation, the future CONIDA (Contrasting Polar Night and Day) campaigns are briefly introduced.

Prof. Dr. Manfred Wendisch is a German meteorologist and professor at Leipzig University, specializing in cloud physics, atmospheric radiation, and airborne measurements. He leads major research projects on climate processes, including polar regions, and has served on international scientific commissions. Since 2025, he is President of the International Radiation Commission.