INTERANNUAL TRENDS IN THE RADIATION CLIMATOLOGY OF THE CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC Scott Thomas Weston B.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Department of Geography 0 Scott Weston 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Scott Thomas Weston Degree: Master of Science Title of Thesis: INTERANNUAL TRENDS IN THE RADIATION CLIMATOLOGY OF THE CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. S. Dragicevic Assistant Professor Dr. 0. Hertman acting for the late Dr. W.G. Bailey Sessional Instructor Senior Supervisor Geography Dept., SFU Professor, Geography Dept. Dr. A.M. Sawchuk, University College Professor Kwantlen University College Dr. L.J.B. McArthur, Chief, Air Quality Research Branch, Experimental Studies Division, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada Dr. I.G. McKendry, Professor Department of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia External Examiner Date Approved: March 24, 2006 IEI SIMON FRASER 0@ UNlVERSlTYl ibrary DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection, and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT Net and solar radiation trends over the past half-century at Alert and Resolute, Nunavut are presented and analyzed. Substantive changes to the Canadian Arctic climate are observed over the data record. A significant decrease in solar radiation is observed at both sites. An even more significant overall increase in net radiation is measured, with those changes concentrated in the months of May and June. Exploration of annual and interannual albedo trends and cluster analysis of natural seasons both reflect this result in earlier snowmelt dates and longer snow-free periods. A persistently positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation in the mid 1990's countered this overall trend and resulted in lower net radiation values. Evidence is presented showing that in addition to increased temperatures, changes in the winter longwave radiation regime have driven the observed net radiation trends. Keywords: Arctic, climate, net radiation, solar radiation, Arctic Oscillation lothe memy of Dr. !BillBaiky, an incredi6k teadier and incredi6k man, takenfrom us far too soon. Withuthis wntri6ution and support, this work would not have 6een possi6le. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the support of a number of people. The greatest thanks go to my senior supervisor, the late Dr. Bill Bailey. Although he passed away before the completion of the thesis, Bill's contributions were immeasurable. As senior supervisor, he oversaw virtually every aspect of designing and implementing the research, and provided invaluable edits, suggestions and advice. As the teacher of a number of my graduate classes, he also greatly improved my academic skills as a writer, teacher, programmer and public speaker. I am also extremely grateful to Dr. Owen Hertzman for his academic contributions to the research and for his friendship over the past two years. Owen replaced Dr. Bailey as my senior supervisor and helped bring the project to completion. His advice and support on both an academic and personal level, however, go far beyond his editing of the thesis and his organization of the defence. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee for their assistance and support. Dr. Bruce MacArthur provided the data on which the research is based and numerous comments and suggestions, which helped immensely in improving the final product. Dr. Allan Sawchuk and Dr. Ian McKendry also read and edited the thesis, providing their valuable incite whenever necessary. My lab partner and friend, James Morley, provided invaluable advice and support in the completion of my graduate classes and the proper writing and formatting of a thesis. I also greatly enjoyed his company in the climate lab; the second year of my degree was not the same without him. I am thankful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for their funding of the research. I am also thankful to all the other graduate students, staff and professors in the Geography Department of Simon Fraser University. I am especially thankful to Marcia Crease for her assistance in bringing this project to completion and to Kim Blais, Chris Bone, B-Jae Kelly, Ranae Kowalczuk, Cyrille MCdard De Chardon, Tami Nicoll, Taskin Shirazi, Daniel Stevens, Tanya Turk and Erin Welk for their friendship. I am eternally grateful to my parents, Bill and Susan, for their love and encouragement in all aspects of my life. Without their assistance, especially financially, it would not have been possible for me to pursue my university education, while maintaining my commitment to rugby. I am also extremely thankful to my twin brother Sean for his support and friendship. Finally, I would like to thank all my friends for making these last two years so memorable and for providing me with a release from my graduate work. This obviously includes all the men and women of the SFU Rugby Club that I have had the pleasure to play, practice and party with over the past two years. I would especially like to thank Lindsey Allen, Marissa Huber, Amanda Miller, Yalena Sheldon, Melanie Skolovy and Chris Vecchies for being such important people in my life for all or part of the past two years. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval ............................................................................................................................11 ... Abstract .............................................................................................................................111 Dedication .........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................v .. Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix ... List of Tables ..................................................................................................................xlli Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................1 1.1. Study objectives ........................................................................................................2 1.2. Thesis organization ...................................................................................................3 1.3. Site descriptions ........................................................................................................4 Chapter 2. Solar and Net Radiation Climatology of the Canadian High Arctic ..............................................................................................................................................8 2.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................8 2.2. Theory ...................................................................................................................10 2.3. Methodology ..........................................................................................................-15 2.4. Results and discussion .............................................................................................19 2.4.1. Interannual solar radiation trends .....................................................................19 2.4.2. Cloudless solar radiation trends ........................................................................22 2.4.3. Interannual net radiation trends ........................................................................23