Quantifying Arctic Water and Energy Cycle Change
A CREW proposal submitted to NASA-ROSES-2012 A12: CRYO: Cryospheric Science (NNH12ZDA001N-CRYO), $349,991, 1 mo/yr, 01/01/2013 – 12/31/2015.
I propose to use historical, satellite and newly available observational contributions to quantify arctic water and energy cycle change, its sensitivity to climate change and variability, its impact on global cycles, and its predictability. Changes in the Greenland ice sheet and the volume and extent of arctic sea ice are critical components of the arctic water and energy balance; the proposed project will contextualize the feedbacks of arctic ice dynamics and change within the arctic water and energy cycle. This project will collect, integrate and diagnose disparate, multi-variate historical and emerging arctic observations and model predictions in a consistent framework. The first step will focus on discovery and integration of arctic water and energy cycle observation and predictions. The second step will focus on developing process understanding through analysis of the integrated water and energy cycle information, involving (a) examination of the historical arctic water and energy cycle record to assess long-term change and uncertainty and our ability to predict these changes, (b) re-examination of arctic water and energy cycling using enhanced observation and prediction capacities, and (c) examination of linkages the between the arctic and global water and energy cycles and its implications. This investigation should ultimately improve the understanding of arctic region feedbacks on climate and NASA’s observationally based capability to predict the variations of the arctic water and energy cycle.