Effect of Thin High Clouds and Aerosol Layers on the Heating and Dissipation of Low-level Clouds in the Arctic

Yu. E. Belikov, S. V. Dyshlevsky, and A. Yu. Repin

Based on the radiative transfer simulation and analysis of observational data on cloudiness, temperature, and humidity in the Arctic atmosphere in the years of the increased ice melting, a hypothesis is proposed on the effect of thin high clouds and aerosol layers on the heating and dissipation of low-level clouds in the Arctic. Along with the effect of thin high scattering layers on the transmission of solar radiation by tropospheric clouds, the dissipation of low-level clouds in the years of the increased ice melting can be one of the main mechanisms of the natural warming in the Arctic.