National Institute of Polar Research

Behavior of polar climate-systems under global warming

Detect climatic changes in the polar regions and specify the mechanisms

Principal Investigator  Naohiko Hirasawa

Diagnose the current climatic states of the polar regions to obtain a better future trajectory

The rapid decrease in sea ice and the retreat of the Greenland ice sheet are progressing in the Arctic region, and the West Antarctic warming proceeds at a higher pace than the global average. Concerning East Antarctica, though warming has not been clearly detected, large amounts of snowfall and warming events, which may relate to global warming, were observed in the last decade. This study diagnoses the current climatic states of the polar regions based on synoptic-scale atmospheric systems, meteorological and glaciological surface processes, precipitation and moisture circulation, and radiative processes, involving aerosols, clouds and greenhouse gases, and then offers a view of the future trajectory of the polar climate. To achieve the goal of this study, in situ observation such as comprehensive radiosonde campaigns and long-term employment of automatic weather stations in a wide range of areas are planned in combination with numerical modeling, satellite data analyses, and laboratory experiments.