Pei et al. (2025) Spatiotemporal variability in surface radiation and energy budget in the Earth's three poles over the past 20 years

Identification

• Journal: Atmospheric Research
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-11
• Authors: Yu Pei, Tianxing Wang, Yuyang Xian, Gaofeng Wang, Jiancheng Shi
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108553

Research Groups

• School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China
• Key Laboratory of Comprehensive Observation of Polar Environment (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Zhuhai, China
• Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China
• National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Short Summary

This study systematically investigates the spatiotemporal variability of surface radiation and energy budgets in the Earth's three pole regions (Arctic, Antarctic, Tibetan Plateau) from 2001 to 2023, utilizing satellite, reanalysis, and model data. It reveals contrasting long-term trends in radiation components across these regions and attributes these changes to variations in surface albedo, water vapor, clouds, and air/surface temperatures using the radiative kernel method.

Objective

• To gain a systematic understanding of the long-term variability in the radiation and energy budgets of the Earth's three pole regions.
• To partition the total radiation budget variations over the three pole regions into partial contributions from surface albedo, water vapor, clouds, air temperature, and surface temperature, thereby explaining the causes of radiation budget anomalies.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Earth's three pole regions (Arctic, Antarctic, Tibetan Plateau).
• Temporal Scale: 2001 to 2023 (23 years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Radiative kernel method (employed to partition total radiation budget variations).
• Data sources: Satellite observation, reanalysis, and model simulation data products.

Main Results

• Surface shortwave downward radiation in the Earth’s three pole regions exhibited a remarkable long-term decreasing trend.
• Longwave downward radiation showed a consistent long-term increasing trend across these regions.
• Shortwave net radiation, longwave net radiation, and total net radiation in the Arctic and Antarctic regions displayed long-term increasing trends.
• The Tibetan Plateau showed opposite trends for net radiation components (decreasing trends).
• Changes in shortwave radiation budgets in the three pole regions were substantially attributed to variations in surface albedo.
• Variability in longwave radiation budgets was closely associated with changes in cloud cover, surface temperature, and air temperature, displaying similar seasonal variation characteristics.

Contributions

• Provides a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the long-term spatiotemporal variability in radiation and energy budgets across all three pole regions, addressing a gap in existing literature that often studies these regions in isolation.
• Employs the radiative kernel method combined with multivariate regression to quantitatively partition and explain the drivers of radiation budget anomalies, linking observed changes to specific physical factors like surface albedo, clouds, and temperatures.
• Highlights significant contrasting trends in net radiation components between the Arctic/Antarctic and the Tibetan Plateau, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of polar amplification mechanisms.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Pei2025Spatiotemporal,
  author = {Pei, Yu and Wang, Tianxing and Xian, Yuyang and Wang, Gaofeng and Shi, Jiancheng},
  title = {Spatiotemporal variability in surface radiation and energy budget in the Earth's three poles over the past 20 years},
  journal = {Atmospheric Research},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108553},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108553}
}