Meteorology of the Beaufort Sea

The unique meteorology of the Beaufort Sea region is dominated by the presence of sea ice and a seasonal swing from a large heat loss in winter to a gain in summer. The primary determinant of this seasonal climate shift is the annual cycle of insolation from a maximum of 500 W/m(2) near the summer solstice to darkness in winter, as the Beaufort Sea lies north of Alaska and northwestern Canada beyond 72 degrees N. Even though the Sun angle is low in summer, the length of daylight provides as much energy to the surface as anywhere on the planet. As summer progresses, relative absorption of insolation at the surface increases as the albedo decreases due to snow and ice melt and increased open water area. This annual cycle results in a change from a winter continental-like air mass similar to the adjacent land areas to a summertime marine air mass characterized by low cloud and fogs. In winter the region is also influenced by the polar atmospheric vortex with strong westerly winds centered in the stratosphere, whose presence is felt at the surface. Recent sea ice losses are changing the climatology of the region, with extended periods of increased temperatures through the autumn months.