Interactions among aerosols, clouds, and climate of the Arctic Ocean

Considerable interest has recently been generated by the suggestion that the direct and indirect radiative effects of aerosols in the troposphere may be sufficient on a global basis to offset the radiative effects of increasing greenhouse gases. This paper focuses on understanding these relationships in the Arctic, which are of particular complexity because of the high surface albedo in the Arctic; the marked annual cycle of arctic aerosol characteristics; the extreme static stability of the arctic lower troposphere; dependence of arctic cloud infrared emissivities on drop size distribution and aerosol characteristics; sensitivity of ice nucleation to aerosols; complex radiative interactions occurring between aerosols, clouds, and sea ice; the annual cycle of aerosol residence time in the Arctic; and the impact of aerosol perturbations on the meridional heat transport to the Arctic.