北极海冰的厚度和面积变化对大气环流影响的数值模拟

文中利用中国科学院大气物理研究所设计的两层大气环流模式 ,模拟研究了北极海冰厚度和面积变化对大气环流的影响 ,尤其是对东亚区域气候变化的影响。模式中海冰厚度处理趋于合理分布 ,导致东亚冬、夏季风偏强 ,使冬季西伯利亚高压和冰岛低压的模拟结果更趋合理 ;另一方面 ,海冰厚度变化可以激发出跨越欧亚大陆的行星波传播 ,在低纬度地区 ,该行星波由西太平洋向东太平洋地区传播 ;海冰厚度变化对低纬度地区的对流活动也有影响。冬季北极巴伦支海海冰变化对后期大气环流也有显著的影响。数值模拟结果表明 :冬季巴伦支海海冰偏多 (少 )时 ,春季 (4～ 6月 )北太平洋中部海平面气压升高 (降低 ) ,阿留申低压减弱 (加深 ) ,有利于春季白令海海冰偏少 (多 ) ;而夏季 ,亚洲大陆热低压加深 (减弱 ) ,5 0 0 h Pa西太平洋副热带高压位置偏北 (南 )、强度偏强 (弱 ) ,东亚夏季风易偏强 (弱 )。     

Declining summer snowfall in the Arctic: causes, impacts and feedbacks

Recent changes in the Arctic hydrological cycle are explored using in situ observations and an improved atmospheric reanalysis data set, ERA-Interim. We document a pronounced decline in summer snowfall over the Arctic Ocean and Canadian Archipelago. The snowfall decline is diagnosed as being almost entirely caused by changes in precipitation form (snow turning to rain) with very little influence of decreases in total precipitation. The proportion of precipitation falling as snow has decreased as a result of lower-atmospheric warming. Statistically, over 99% of the summer snowfall decline is linked to Arctic warming over the past two decades. Based on the reanalysis snowfall data over the ice-covered Arctic Ocean, we derive an estimate for the amount of snow-covered ice. It is estimated that the area of snow-covered ice, and the proportion of sea ice covered by snow, have decreased significantly. We perform a series of sensitivity experiments in which inter-annual changes in snow-covered ice are either unaccounted for, or are parameterized. In the parameterized case, the loss of snow-on-ice results in a substantial decrease in the surface albedo over the Arctic Ocean, that is of comparable magnitude to the decrease in albedo due to the decline in sea ice cover. Accordingly, the solar input to the Arctic Ocean is increased, causing additional surface ice melt. We conclude that the decline in summer snowfall has likely contributed to the thinning of sea ice over recent decades. The results presented provide support for the existence of a positive feedback in association with warming-induced reductions in summer snowfall.     

海冰在大气环流模式中的重要作用

文章简要综述了次网格尺度海冰非均匀性对大气环流模式性能的影响；南极冰在全球环流和短期气候变化中的作用；以及模式中不同的海冰反照率参数化对地表温度和辐射的影响等研究结果．说明海冰对极地海洋和大气的能量收支及短期气候变化有重要作用，不同的海冰参数化方案对气候模拟结果有重要影响．     

The role of sea ice in the temperature-precipitation feedback of glacial cycles

The response of the hydrological cycle to climate variability and change is a critical open question, where model reliability is still unsatisfactory, yet upon which past climate history can shed some light. Sea ice is a key player in the climate system and in the hydrological cycle, due to its strong albedo effect and its insulating effect on local evaporation and air-sea heat flux. Using an atmospheric general circulation model with specified sea surface temperature and sea-ice distribution, the role of sea ice in the hydrological cycle is investigated under last glacial maximum (LGM) and present day conditions, and by studying its contribution to the “temperature-precipitation feedback”. By conducting a set of sensitivity experiments in which the albedo and thickness of the sea ice are varied, the various effects of sea ice in the hydrological cycle are isolated. It is demonstrated that for a cold LGM like state, a warmer climate (as a result of reduced sea-ice cover) leads to an increase in snow precipitation over the ice sheets. The insulating effect of the sea ice on the hydrological cycle is found to be larger than the albedo effect. These two effects interact in a nonlinear way and their total effect is not equal to summing their separate contribution.     

The Impact of Sediment-Laden Snow and Sea Ice in the Arctic on Climate

Sea ice formed over shallow Arctic shelves often entrains sediments resuspended from the sea floor. Some of this sediment-laden ice advects offshore into the Transpolar Drift Stream and the Beaufort Gyre of the Arctic Basin. Through the processes of seasonal melting at the top surface, and the freezing of clean ice on the bottom surface, these sediments tend, over time, to concentrate at the top of the ice where they can affect the surface albedo, and thus the absorbed solar radiation, when the ice is snow free. Similarly, wind-blown dust can reduce the albedo of snow. The question that is posed by this study is what is the impact of these sediments on the seasonal variation of sea ice, and how does it then affect climate? Experiments were conducted with a coupled energy balance climate-thermodynamic sea ice model to examine the impact of including sediments in the sea ice alone and in the sea ice and overlying snow. The focus of these experiments was the impact of the radiative and not the thermal properties of the sediments. The results suggest that if sea ice contains a significant amount of sediments which are covered by clean snow, there is only a small impact on the climate system. However, if the snow also contains significant sediments the impact on sea ice thickness and surface air temperature is much more significant.     

Climate model sensitivity to sea ice albedo parameterization

Summary Three one-year experimental simulations with the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model (NCAR CCM) were performed with three sea ice albedo parameterizations and compared with control run results to examine their impact on polar surface temperature, planetary albedo and clouds. The first integration utilized sea ice albedos of the Arctic Basin for the spring and summer of 1977 derived from defence Meteorological Satellite Imagery (DMSP). The second simulation employed prescribed lead and melt pond fractions and an albedo weighting scheme. The third simulation involved the coupling of an interactive sea ice/snow albedo parameterization made a function of surface state.Results show that prescribed, and assumed true satellite sea ice albedos produced higher planetary albedos than those calculated with the standard CCM sea ice albedo scheme in the control run. As a result, lower temperatures (up to 0.5 K) and increased cloudiness are generated for the Arctic region. The standard CCM sea ice albedo scheme is used as an adjustment to maintain normal temperatures for the polar oceans. The radiative impact of leads and melt ponds warmed sea ice regions only for short time periods. The third scheme generated markedly lower planetary albedos (reductions of 0.07 to 0.17) and higher surface temperatures (up to 2.0 K) than control values.The CCM simulates a gradual decrease in spring and summer Arctic cloud cover whereas observations show a sharp spring increase. Examination of the CCM code, particularly the cloud parameterization, is required to address this problem.With 12 Figures     

On the angular correction of satellite radiation measurements: The performance of ERBE angular dependence model in the Arctic

Summary An angular dependence model (ADM) is needed to convert radiance measurements into fluxes. This paper provides an overview on the progress and issues related to the angular correction of radiation data at the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA), followed by an investigation on the performance of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) ADMs in the Arctic during summer. The variation of inferred albedo with viewing geometry indicates the merit of an ADM. The ERBE ADM for land does well as it leads to near constant albedos for given solar zenith angles. The ADM for snow/ice is least satisfactory when applied to the Arctic in summer. The performance of the ocean ADM is acceptable except at large solar zenith angles for which albedo increases with viewing zenith angle. Significant and systematic variation of albedo with viewing angle and relative azimuth angle are manifest when the overcast ERBE ADM is applied to over-cast-over-snow/ice scenes. A methodology for correcting ERBE ADMs was proposed by normalizing the anisotropic factor over bins containing sufficient measurements.With 6 Figures     

Mechanism of an Abrupt Decrease in Sea-Ice Cover in the Pacific Sector of the Arctic during the Late 1980s

The recent decline in Arctic sea-ice cover (SIC) shows seasonal and regional characteristics. The retreat of summer sea ice has occurred mainly in the Pacific sector of the Arctic. In this study, using the moving t-test, we found an abrupt change event in the long-term sea-ice area in the Pacific sector in summer 1989. This event was linked to the phase shift of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) or the Northern Annular Mode (NAM). Corresponding with the AO/NAM phase shift from negative to positive, the area of the northern hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex decreased abruptly in winter 1988/89. Comparisons of two periods before (1979–1988) and after (1989–1993) the abrupt decrease in sea ice show that an anomalous winter sea level pressure (SLP) was induced by changes in the polar vortex leading to an anomalous cyclonic ice drift in the Pacific sector. The changes in SLP and wind field persisted into the following spring, resulting in a decrease in SIC and warming of the surface air temperature (SAT). The influence of the spring SLP and SAT on ice persisted into the following summer. Meanwhile, the increased summer net surface heat flux over the ocean and sea ice as a result of the decreased spring ice cover further contributed to the summer sea-ice melt.     

The albedo of snow for partially cloudy skies

The albedo of snow for different cloudiness conditions is an important parameter in the Earth's radiation budget analysis and in the study of snowpack's thermal conditions. In this study an efficient approximate method is derived to calculate the incident spectral solar flux and snow-cover albedo in terms of different atmospheric, cloud, and snow parameters. The global flux under partially cloudy skies is expressed in terms of the clear sky flux and a coefficient which models the effect of scattering and absorption by cloud patches and multiple reflections between the cloud base and snowcover. The direct and the diffuse components of the clear sky flux are obtained using the spectral flux outside the atmosphere and the spectral transmission coefficients for absorption and scattering by molecules and aerosols.The spectral snow reflectance model considers both specular surface reflection and volumetric multiple scattering. The surface reflection is calculated by using a crystal-shape-dependent bidirectional reflectance distribution function; the volumetric multiple scattering is calculated by using a crystal-size-dependent approximate solution in the radiative transfer equation. The input parameters to the model are atmospheric precipitable water, ozone content, turbidity, cloud optical thickness, the size and shape of ice crystals of snow and surface pressure. The model yields spectral and integrated solar flux and snow reflectance as a function of solar elevation and fractional cloudcover.The model is illustrated using representative parameters for the Antarctic coastal regions. The albedo for a clear sky depends inversely on the solar elevation. At high elevations the albedo depends primarily upon the grain size; at low elevation the albedo depends on grain size and shape. The gradient of the albedo-elevation curve increases as the grains become larger and faceted. The albedo for a densely overcast sky is a few percent higher than the clear-sky albedo at high elevations. A simple relationship between grain size and the overcast albedo is obtained. For a set of grain size and shape, the albedo as a function of solar elevation and fractional cloud cover is tabulated.     

Physical properties and isotopic characteristics of landfast sea ice around the North Water (NOW) Polynya region

Abstract

An ice core sampling program was conducted during the North Water (NOW) Polynya Project 1998 Experiment in northern Baffin Bay during April‐May 1998. The physical properties of snow and sea ice as well as the microstructure and stable isotopic composition of first‐year landfast sea ice near the polynya were investigated. The thickness of sea ice at the sampling sites ranged between 147 and 194 cm with thinner snow cover during the period between mid‐April and late May. The ice was characterized as typical first‐year landfast sea ice, being composed of a thin granular ice layer at the top and an underlying columnar ice layer towards the bottom of the ice. The samples obtained at a site closer to the ice edge of the polynya contained a thin granular ice layer originating from frazil ice near the ice bottom. Formation of frazil ice was considered to be caused by turbulent processes induced by winds, waves and currents forced from the polynya and also mixing with water masses produced at the polynya.     

Potential effect of nuclear war smokefall on sea ice

A large nuclear war could produce massive quantities of smoke from burning cities and industries. A portion of this smoke would fall out on Arctic sea ice, thus lowering its albedo and potentially increasing the solar energy absorbed by the ice and the snow that covers it. We use a one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model to examine the effect of smokefall on the seasonal variation of sea ice. In particular, we test the sensitivity of the model results to the time of year, duration, and latitude of smokefall.Sea ice thickness variations and the period of summer ice-free conditions are sensitive to the season of smokefall. The largest sea ice perturbations are generated by smokefall in spring. In this case the period of ice-free conditions during the summer can increase by 2 – 3.5 months between 67.5° N and 82.5° N. In any given season, the annual cycle of sea ice is not very sensitive to the duration of smokefall. The equilibrium annual cycle of sea ice variation is restored within a few years of smokefall when the smoke is flushed out of the ice/snow system.Since the sea ice model used here is not a comprehensive global climate model, it is difficult to predict the mid-latitude climate effects of the massive, but temporary, Arctic sea ice changes. However, our results suggest that future global climate model simulations of the effects of nuclear war smoke include interactive sea ice calculations.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

‘Observations and Modelling of Cold-air Advection over Arctic Sea Ice’

Aircraft observations of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over Arctic sea ice were made during non-stationary conditions of cold-air advection with a cloud edge retreating through the study region. The sea-ice concentration, roughness, and ABL stratification varied in space. In the ABL heat budget, 80% of the Eulerian change in time was explained by cold-air advection and 20% by diabatic heating. With the cloud cover and inflow potential temperature profile prescribed as a function of time, the air temperature and near-surface fluxes of heat and momentum were well simulated by the applied two-dimensional mesoscale model. Model sensitivity tests demonstrated that several factors can be active in generating unstable stratification in the ABL over the Arctic sea ice in March. In this case, the upward sensible heat flux resulted from the combined effect of clouds, leads, and cold-air advection. These three factors interacted non-linearly with each other. From the point of view of ABL temperatures, the lead effect was far less important than the cloud effect, which influenced the temperature profiles via cloud-top radiative cooling and radiative heating of the snow surface. The steady-state simulations demonstrated that under overcast skies the evolution towards a deep, well-mixed ABL may take place through the merging of two mixed layers one related to mostly shear-driven surface mixing and the other to buoyancy-driven top-down mixing due to cloud-top radiative cooling.     

Pre-Melt Energy Budget of an Arctic Snowpack on Landfast First-Year Sea Ice

The pre-melt energy budget of a snowpack on landfast first-year sea ice at a remote site in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago was analyzed. Over a 19-day period, the total heat conducted into the snowpack at the snow–sea-ice interface was the largest single energy transfer to the snowpack, while each of the turbulent heat fluxes removed comparable amounts of energy. The total energy transferred from the snowpack (∑Q?≈??7027?kJ?m^?2) should have reduced its temperature; however, the opposite occurred. The snowpack’s temperature at both the 7 and 13?cm depths increased over the pre-melt period. The total change in internal energy and latent heat of the snowpack (ΔU_snowpack)_, derived from 15-minute changes in the snowpack’s temperature over the pre-melt period, was approximately 672?kJ?m^?2. Closure of the energy budget was not achieved for either the daily or the total pre-melt period. The terms of the energy budget were determined independently; thus, the failure to close the energy budget was the result of the accumulation of errors associated with all the terms. However, for snow on first-year sea ice, the parameterization of the salinity and temperature dependence of the “specific heat” of the basal layer of the snowpack was likely the primary source of error. The snowpack plays a central role in the transfer of energy across the ocean–sea-ice–atmosphere interface, but an adequate method for modelling the evolution of snow on Arctic sea ice including the energy budget, which determines the warming rate and subsequent melt rate of the snow, has yet to be developed.     

CICE海冰模式中反照率相关参数对北极海冰模拟的影响

国家气候中心气候系统模式BCC_CSM2.0最新耦合了美国Los Alamos国家实验室发展的海冰模式CICE5.0,为试验模式中与反照率相关参数的敏感性及其对模拟结果的影响,提高模式对北极海冰的模拟能力,选取海冰模式中3个主要参数进行了敏感性试验。利用以BCC_CSM2.0耦合框架为基础建立的海冰-海洋耦合模式,选取CORE资料为大气强迫场开展试验,试验的3个参数分别为冰/雪表面反射率、雪粒半径和雪粒半径参考温度。结果表明,参数取值的不同对北极海冰的模拟有显著的影响,优化后的取值组合极大提高了模式的模拟能力,主要表现在:（1）改善了对北极冬季海冰厚度的模拟,海冰厚度增大,与观测资料更为吻合;（2）显著提高了对北极夏季海冰密集度的模拟能力,从而模拟的北极海冰范围年际循环与观测更为一致。参数取值的优化改进了模式对海冰反照率的模拟,进而影响了冰面短波辐射的吸收和海冰表层的融化,最终提高了模式对海冰密集度和厚度的模拟效果。      

On the role of high latitude ice,snow, and vegetation feedbacks in the climatic response to external forcing changes

A seasonal energy balance climate model containing a detailed treatment of surface and planetary albedo, and in which seasonally varying land snow and sea ice amounts are simulated in terms of a number of explicit physical processes, is used to investigate the role of high latitude ice, snow, and vegetation feedback processes. Feedback processes are quantified by computing changes in radiative forcing and feedback factors associated with individual processes. Global sea ice albedo feedback is 5–8 times stronger than global land snowcover albedo feedback for a 2% solar constant increase or decrease, with Southern Hemisphere cryosphere feedback being 2–5 times stronger than Northern Hemisphere cryosphere feedback.In the absence of changes in ice extent, changes in ice thickness in response to an increase in solar constant are associated with an increase in summer surface melting which is exactly balanced by increased basal winter freezing, and a reduction in the upward ocean-air flux in summer which is exactly balanced by an increased flux in winter, with no change in the annual mean ocean-air flux. Changes in the mean annual ocean-air heat flux require changes in mean annual ice extent, and are constrained to equal the change in meridional oceanic heat flux convergence in equilibrium. Feedback between ice extent and the meridional oceanic heat flux obtained by scaling the oceanic heat diffusion coefficient by the ice-free fraction regulates the feedback between ice extent and mean annual air-sea heat fluxes in polar regions, and has a modest effect on model-simulated high latitude temperature change.Accounting for the partial masking effect of vegetation on snow-covered land reduces the Northern Hemisphere mean temperature response to a 2% solar constant decrease or increase by 20% and 10%, respectively, even though the radiative forcing change caused by land snowcover changes is about 3 times larger in the absence of vegetational masking. Two parameterizations of the tundra fraction are tested: one based on mean annual land air temperature, and the other based on July land air temperature. The enhancement of the mean Northern Hemisphere temperature response to solar constant changes when the forest-tundra ecotone is allowed to shift with climate is only 1/3 to 1/2 that obtained by Otterman et al. (1984) when the mean annual parameterization is used here, and only 1/4 to 1/3 as large using the July parameterization.The parameterized temperature dependence of ice and snow albedo is found to enhance the global mean temperature response to a 2% solar constant increase by only 0.04 °C, in sharp contrast to the results of Washington and Meehl (1986) obtained with a mean annual model. However, there are significant differences in the method used here and in Washington and Meehl to estimate the importance of this feedback process. When their approach is used in a mean annual version of the present model, closer agreement to their results is obtained.     

Arctic sea ice and Eurasian climate: A review

The Arctic plays a fundamental role in the climate system and has shown significant climate change in recent decades,including the Arctic warming and decline of Arctic sea-ice extent and thickness. In contrast to the Arctic warming and reduction of Arctic sea ice, Europe, East Asia and North America have experienced anomalously cold conditions, with record snowfall during recent years. In this paper, we review current understanding of the sea-ice impacts on the Eurasian climate.Paleo, observational and modelling studies are covered to summarize several major themes, including: the variability of Arctic sea ice and its controls; the likely causes and apparent impacts of the Arctic sea-ice decline during the satellite era,as well as past and projected future impacts and trends; the links and feedback mechanisms between the Arctic sea ice and the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation, the recent Eurasian cooling, winter atmospheric circulation, summer precipitation in East Asia, spring snowfall over Eurasia, East Asian winter monsoon, and midlatitude extreme weather; and the remote climate response(e.g., atmospheric circulation, air temperature) to changes in Arctic sea ice. We conclude with a brief summary and suggestions for future research.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS ON INFLUENCES OF VARIATION OF SEA ICE THICKNESS AND EXTENT ON ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

By using a 2-layer AGCM designed by Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy ofSciences.this paper investigates influences of thickness and extent variations in Arctic sea ice onthe atmosphere circulation,particularly on climate variations in East Asia.The simulation resuhshave indicated that sea ice thickness variation in the Arctic exhibits significant influences onsimulation results,particularly on East Asian monsoon.A nearly reasonable distribution of sea icethickness in the model leads directly to stronger winter and summer monsoon over East Asia.andimproves the model's simulation results for Siberia high and Icelandic low in winter.On the otherhand,sea ice thickness variation can excite a teleconnection wave train across Asian Continent,andin low latitudes,the wave propagates from the western Pacific across the equator to the easternPacific.In addition,the variation of sea ice thickness also influences summer convective activitiesover the low latitudes including South China Sea and around the Philippines.Effects of winter sea ice extents in the Barents Sea on atmospheric circulation in the followingspring and summer are also significant.The simulation result shows that when winter sea iceextent in the target region is larger (smaller) than normal.(1)in the following spring (averagedfrom April to June).positive (negative) SLP anomalies occupy the northern central Pacific.whichleads directly to weakened (deepened)Aleutian low.and further favors the light (heavy) sea icecondition in the Bering Sea:(2)in the following summer,thermal depression in Asian Continent isdeepened (weakened).and the subtropical high in the northwestern Pacific shifts northward(southward) from its normal position and to be strengthened (weakened).     

A case study of a modelled episode of low Arctic sea ice

Simulations of the Arctic sea ice cover over the last 32 years generated by the HadGEM1 coupled climate model are able to capture the observed long term decline in mean September ice extent. HadGEM1 is also capable of producing an episode of low September ice extent of similar magnitude to the anomalously low extent observed in 2007. Using a heat budget analysis, together with diagnostics partitioning the changes in ice and snow mass into thermodynamic and dynamic components, we analyse the factors driving the long term decline in the ice mass and extent as well as those causing the modelled low ice event. The long term decline in the mass of ice and snow in HadGEM1 is largely due to extra melting during the summer, partly at the top surface of the ice, and partly via extra heating from the ocean as it warms due to the ice retreat. The episode of low summer ice extent is largely driven by the synoptic conditions over the summer moving the ice across and out of the Arctic basin, and also due to pre-conditioning of the snow and ice which is thinner than usual in the Eastern Arctic at the start of the melt season. This case study demonstrates that although HadGEM1 does not capture the persistent dipole pressure anomaly observed during the summer of 2007, it represents broadly similar mechanisms of generating a low ice extent.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS ON INFLUENCES OF VARIATION OF SEA ICE THICKNESS AND EXTENT ON ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION*

By using a 2-layer AGCM designed by Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.this paper investigates influences of thickness and extent variations in Arctic sea ice on the atmosphere circulation,particularly on climate variations in East Asia.The simulation results have indicated that sea ice thickness variation in the Arctic exhibits significant influences on simulation results,particularly on East Asian monsoon.A nearly reasonable distribution of sea ice thickness in the model leads directly to stronger winter and summer monsoon over East Asia.and improves the model's simulation results for Siberia high and Icelandic low in winter.On the other hand,sea ice thickness variation can excite a teleconnection wave train across Asian Continent,and in low latitudes,the wave propagates from the western Pacific across the equator to the eastern Pacific.In addition,the variation of sea ice thickness also influences summer convective activitiesover the low latitudes including South China Sea and around the Philippines.Effects of winter sea ice extents in the Barents Sea on atmospheric circulation in the following spring and summer are also significant.The simulation result shows that when winter sea ice extent in the target region is larger (smaller) than normal.(1)in the following spring (averaged from April to June).positive (negative) SLP anomalies occupy the northern central Pacific.which leads directly to weakened (deepened)Aleutian low.and further favors the light (heavy) sea ice condition in the Bering Sea:(2)in the following summer,thermal depression in Asian Continent is deepened (weakened).and the subtropical high in the northwestern Pacific shifts northward(southward) from its normal position and to be strengthened (weakened).     

Radiative effect of black carbon aerosol on seasonal variation in snow depth in the Northern-Hemisphere

In this research, we studied the effects of black carbon (BC) aerosol radiative forcing on seasonal variation in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) using numerical simulations with the NASA finite-volume General Circulation Model (fvGCM) forced with monthly varying three-dimensional aerosol distributions from the Goddard Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport Model (GOCART). The results show that atmospheric warming due to black carbon aerosols subsequently warm the atmosphere and land surfaces, especially those over Eurasia. As a result, the snow depth in Eurasia was greatly reduced in late winter and spring, and the reduction in snow cover decreased the surface albedo. Our surface energy balance analysis shows that the surface warming due to aerosol absorption causes early snow melting and further increases surface-atmosphere warming through snow/ice albedo feedback. Therefore, BC aerosol forcing may be an important factor affecting the snow/ice albedo in the NH.