Factors Affecting Surface Energy Budget Variability at High-latitude Terrestrial Sites

Abstract:

Observations of the surface energy budget terms and the associated subsoil temperatures have been made at several high-latitude terrestrial sites since 2006. Analyses of these observations have revealed significant variability in both individual terms and net energy flux at all times of the year on varying temporal scales. Further analyses have shown the importance of synoptic atmospheric forcing, regional topographic forcing, and cloud forcing of these fluctuations. Other important factors impacting the energy budget variability include snowfall, soil characteristics, and vegetation. The short-term variability events can be large relative to the annual cycle. The impacts of the SEB fluctuations are seen in the soil heat content at all times of the year. These impacts are damped and show a time delay consistent with the thermal wave transmissions. Observations from four sites are shown, illustrating both similarities and differences between the sites.