TENDENCIES OF CHANGES IN THE SOLAR CLIMATE OF THE ARCTIC IN THE 21st CENTURY
V.M. Fedorov, E.V. Fedorova, D.M. Frolov
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography, Moscow, Russia
Keywords: Arctic, solar climate, radiation intensity, meridional gradient of insolation, insolation seasonality, long-term and interannual changes
Abstract
Based on the analysis of monthly solar radiation at 5-degree latitudinal zones in the Arctic, the characteristics of changes in their solar climate in the 21st century have been determined. The tendencies of long-term changes in the annual irradiation patterns of 5-degree latitudinal zones in the entire Arctic region (65-90° N) are positive for the period from March to June and negative from July to October. In addition, in the latitudinal range of 70-80°, positive changes in irradiance are observed in February and November; and in the latitudinal range of 65-70°, also in January and December. In the interannual variability of the monthly irradiation intensity, the maximum relative values are observed in March (0.047 %) and October (0.045 %) in the latitudinal zone of 85-90°, as well as in January (0.044 %) and December (0.044 %) in the latitudinal zone of 65-70°. The meridional gradient of insolation (MGI: summer, winter, and annual) in the current century increases in all latitudinal zones of the Arctic. This tendency becomes less pronounced with increasing geographic latitude. Winter MGI exceeds summer MGI by 2.279-2.782 times, and this excess increases northward. In the 21st century, insolation seasonality (IS) of the Arctic solar climate has been weakening, especially in the high latitudes.
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