Research project Feedbacks between sea ice, ocean, clouds, and aerosols in changing polar climates (ACCELERATE)

Can polar clouds dampen global warming? The current consensus states that clouds enhance surface warming in polar regions but that their impact on the net energy budget at the top of the atmosphere, and thus global climate, is either small or cooling.

This consensus is mainly based on output from global climate models, which are poor at simulating trends in polar cloud properties and radiative effects, and treat polar aerosol emissions and their influence on clouds in a rudimentary way. However, it is well-known that changes in the aerosol population can have dramatic effects on the optical properties of polar clouds.

ACCELERATE will improve our general knowledge of cloud formation and cloud feedbacks over the polar seas by developing and leveraging a novel regional-scale high-resolution model, recent and upcoming in-situ observations, and satellite data. We will conduct detailed studies of the complex interactions between sea ice, ocean, clouds, and aerosols that take place during warm-air intrusions and cold-air outbreaks in the Arctic and Antarctic.

The goal is to provide constraints on global climate models regarding polar cloud feedbacks and thereby deliver more robust future climate projections.