Topic:

• Exploit comprehensive observational record & employ a hierarchy of models
• Perform process-oriented and cross-scale model evaluation and develop improved model parametrization schemes
• Investigate long-term trends, spatio-temporal patterns and feedback mechanisms from models and observation

Key questions:

• What explains the lapse rate feedback in the Arctic as a key factor in Arctic amplification?
• Which unique and representative climate information is derived from long-term observations at Ny-Ålesund for the orographically influenced MIZ of the North Atlantic?
• How important is the knowledge about specific microphysical processes (such as depositional growth, riming, and aggregation) to determine the role of mixed-phase clouds in Arctic amplification?
• Do atmospheric conditions and sea-ice decline lead to significant changes in regional moisture transport and snowfall patterns in the Arctic?

Tools:

Supersites, ship-, airborne-, and satellite-based observations, model simulations (ICON, HIRHAM, LES, CMIP5/6, SCM)