Characteristics of the low‐level temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast

Abstract

Abstract The climatological characteristics of low‐level tropospheric temperature inversion along the Alaskan Arctic coast are examined from a 10‐year record of surface and upper‐air meteorological data at Barrow and Barter Island, Alaska. The meteorology at the two stations is found to be remarkably similar; surface‐based inversions occur nearly half of the time, but even in the winter months inversions are frequently based up to 200 m above the surface. Median inversion depths range from 250m to 850m, with median temperature differences across the inversion ranging from 2°C to 11°C. In March and April when the inversion is strongest, the lowest levels frequently erode. This indicates that the transient character of the inversion reduces its effectiveness as a barrier to vertical mixing. The inversion depth closely follows the annual cloud‐cover cycle, demonstrating that the development and maintenance of the inversion is a result of complex interactions between radiative forcing, synoptic activity, and sea‐ice dynamics.