TRR 172:  ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms (AC)3

Subject Area Geosciences
Term since 2016
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 268020496
 

Project Description

Planet earth has warmed on average by 0.87 K over the past 150 years. In the Arctic, the warming is much larger, which became most prominent over the last decades. Currently, the Arctic warming exceeds the increase of near-surface air temperature in the mid-latitudes by about 2 K. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as Arctic amplification. The excessive Arctic warming, which is predicted to progress during the 21st century, is both a consequence and a driver of feedback processes specific to the Arctic. These interlinked mechanisms cause further dramatic and alarming changes, such as the stronger-than-expected decline of the Arctic sea ice. The feedback processes are related in part to the unique Arctic conditions such as the pronounced temperature inversions close to the ground, heterogeneous surface conditions (open ocean, sea ice), and persisting low-level clouds (often mixed–phase). Additional feedback processes result from atmospheric and oceanic transport and exchange of heat, humidity, and momentum between the ocean currents and the tropospheric and stratospheric circulation. In addition to physical feedback processes, biogeochemical mechanisms involving atmospheric chemistry and the oceanic biosphere impact on the oxidising capacity of the atmospheric boundary layer and free troposphere, as well as on algae and phytoplankton production in the oceanic surface layers. The overarching goals for phase III are to identify, investigate, and evaluate the key processes contributing to Arctic amplification, to improve the understanding of the local and remote feedback mechanisms, and to quantify their relative importance for Arctic amplification. Four cross-cutting activities (CCAs) will be implemented to qualitatively elevate our research to a new, highly integrative level.
DFG Programme CRC/Transregios

Current projects

Completed projects

Applicant Institution Universität Leipzig
Co-Applicant Institution Universität Bremen; Universität zu Köln
Participating Institution Alfred-Wegener-Institut
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung; Alfred-Wegener-Institut
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
Forschungsstelle Potsdam; Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung e.V. (TROPOS)
Spokesperson Professor Dr. Manfred Wendisch