Copyright © 2012 Alexander Chernokulsky and Igor I. Mokhov. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Linked References

1. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2005.
2. S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, et al., Climate Change 2007a: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2007.
3. M. L. Parry, O. F. Canziani, J. P. Palutikof, et al., Climate Change 2007b: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2007.
4. V. P. Meleshko and S. M. Semenov, “Russian Assessment Report on climate change and its impact on the Russian territory,” Technical summary, 2008.
5. M. C. Serreze, J. E. Walsh, F. S. Chapin et al., “Observational evidence of recent change in the northern high-latitude environment,” Climatic Change, vol. 46, no. 1-2, pp. 159–207, 2000. View at Scopus
6. J. Stroeve, M. M. Holland, W. Meier, T. Scambos, and M. Serreze, “Arctic sea ice decline: faster than forecast,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 34, no. 9, Article ID L09501, 2007. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
7. Y. Liu, J. R. Key, and X. Wang, “Influence of changes in sea ice concentration and cloud cover on recent Arctic surface temperature trends,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 36, no. 20, Article ID L20710, 2009. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
8. X. Wang and J. R. Key, “Arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties based on the AVHRR polar pathfinder dataset. Part II: recent trends,” Journal of Climate, vol. 18, no. 14, pp. 2575–2593, 2005. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
9. Y. Liu, J. R. Key, J. A. Francis, and X. Wang, “Possible causes of decreasing cloud cover in the Arctic winter, 1982-2000,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 34, no. 14, Article ID L14705, 2007. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
10. R. Eastman and S. G. Warren, “Interannual variations of arctic cloud types in relation to sea ice,” Journal of Climate, vol. 23, no. 15, pp. 4216–4232, 2010. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
11. V. Ramanathan, R. D. Cess, E. F. Harrison et al., “Cloud-radiative forcing and climate: results from the earth radiation budget experiment,” Science, vol. 243, no. 4887, pp. 57–63, 1989. View at Scopus
12. B. A. Wielicki, R. D. Cess, M. D. King, D. A. Randall, and E. F. Harrison, “Mission to Planet Earth: role of clouds and radiation in climate,” Bulletin of American Meteorological Society, vol. 76, no. 11, pp. 2125–2154, 1995. View at Scopus
13. E. F. Harrison, P. Minnis, B. R. Barkstrom, V. Ramanathan, R. D. Cess, and G. G. Gibson, “Seasonal variation of cloud radiative forcing derived from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment,” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 95, no. 11, pp. 18687–18703, 1990. View at Scopus
14. J. M. Intrieri, C. W. Fairall, M. D. Shupe et al., “An annual cycle of Arctic surface cloud forcing at SHEBA,” Journal of Geophysical Research C, vol. 107, no. 10, pp. 1–14, 2002. View at Scopus
15. J. E. Walsh, W. L. Chapman, and D. H. Portis, “Arctic cloud fraction and radiative fluxes in atmospheric reanalyses,” Journal of Climate, vol. 22, no. 9, pp. 2316–2334, 2009. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
16. J. A. Curry, W. B. Rossow, D. Randall, and J. L. Schramm, “Overview of arctic cloud and radiation characteristics,” Journal of Climate, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 1731–1764, 1996. View at Scopus
17. X. Wang and J. R. Key, “Recent trends in arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties from space,” Science, vol. 299, no. 5613, pp. 1725–1728, 2003. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at PubMed · View at Scopus
18. M. D. Shupe and J. M. Intrieri, “Cloud radiative forcing of the Arctic surface: the influence of cloud properties, surface albedo, and solar zenith angle,” Journal of Climate, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 616–628, 2004. View at Scopus
19. S. Vavrus, “The impact of cloud feedbacks on Arctic climate under Greenhouse forcing,” Journal of Climate, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 603–615, 2004. View at Scopus
20. Y. Liu, J. R. Key, and X. Wang, “The influence of changes in cloud cover on recent surface temperature trends in the Arctic,” Journal of Climate, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 705–715, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
21. A. V. Chernokulsky, O. N. Bulygina, and I. I. Mokhov, “Recent variations of cloudiness over Russia from surface daytime observations,” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 6, no. 3, Article ID 035202, 2011. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
22. S. Vavrus, D. Waliser, A. Schweiger, and J. Francis, “Simulations of 20th and 21st century Arctic cloud amount in the global climate models assessed in the IPCC AR4,” Climate Dynamics, vol. 33, no. 7-8, pp. 1099–1115, 2009. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
23. I. I. Mokhov, A. V. Chernokul'Skii, M. G. Akperov, J. L. Dufresne, and H. Le Treut, “Variations in the characteristics of cyclonic activity and cloudiness in the atmosphere of extratropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere based from model calculations compared with the data of the reanalysis and satellite data,” Doklady Earth Sciences, vol. 424, no. 1, pp. 147–150, 2009. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
24. D. Lubin and E. Morrow, “Evaluation of an AVHRR cloud detection and classification method over the central arctic ocean,” Journal of Applied Meteorology, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 166–177, 1998. View at Scopus
25. Y. Liu, J. R. Key, R. A. Frey, S. A. Ackerman, and W. P. Menzel, “Nighttime polar cloud detection with MODIS,” Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 181–194, 2004. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
26. C. J. Hahn and S. G. Warren, A Gridded Climatology of Clouds over Land (1971–96) and Ocean (1954–97) from Surface Observations Worldwide (NDP–026E), Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge, Tenn, USA, 2007.
27. S. G. Warren, R. M. Eastman, and C. J. Hahn, “A survey of changes in cloud cover and cloud types over land from surface observations, 1971–96,” Journal of Climate, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 717–738, 2007. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
28. N. A. Hughes, “Global cloud climatologies: a historical review,” Journal of Climate & Applied Meteorology, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 724–751, 1984. View at Scopus
29. I. I. Mokhov and M. E. Schlesinger, “Analysis of global cloudiness: 1. Comparison of Meteor, Nimbus 7, and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) satellite data,” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 98, no. 7, pp. 12849–12868, 1993. View at Scopus
30. I. I. Mokhov and M. E. Schlesinger, “Analysis of global cloudiness 2. Comparison of ground-based and satellite-based cloud climatologies,” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 99, no. 8, pp. 17045–17065, 1994. View at Scopus
31. C. J. Hahn, W. B. Rossow, and S. G. Warren, “ISCCP cloud properties associated with standard cloud types identified in individual surface observations,” Journal of Climate, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 11–28, 2001. View at Scopus
32. S. M. Thomas, A. K. Heidinger, and M. J. Pavolonis, “Comparison of NOAA's operational AVHRR-derived cloud amount to other satellite-derived cloud climatologies,” Journal of Climate, vol. 17, no. 24, pp. 4805–4822, 2004. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
33. A. V. Chernokulsky and I. I. Mokhov, “Intercomparison of global and zonal cloudiness characteristics from different satellite and ground-based data,” Earth's Research from Space, vol. 3, pp. 12–29, 2010.
34. B. C. Weare, “Evaluation of total cloudiness and its variability in the atmospheric model intercomparison project,” Journal of Climate, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. 2224–2238, 1995. View at Scopus
35. A. V. Eliseev, H. Le Treut, I. I. Mokhov, M. Doutriaux-Boucher, and A. V. Chernokulsky, “Validation of TOA radiation and clouds simulated by different versions of the LMD general circulation model in comparison to satellite and ground-based data,” Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Ocean Physics, vol. 39, pp. S15–S26, 2003. View at Scopus
36. M. H. Zhang, W. Y. Lin, S. A. Klein et al., “Comparing clouds and their seasonal variations in 10 atmospheric general circulation models with satellite measurements,” Journal of Geophysical Research D, vol. 110, no. 15, pp. 1–18, 2005. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
37. J. A. Griggs and J. L. Bamber, “Assessment of cloud cover characteristics in satelite datasets and reanalysis products for greenland,” Journal of Climate, vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 1837–1849, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
38. A. V. Chernokulsky and I. I. Mokhov, “Comparison of global cloud climatologies,” Current Issues of Remote Sensing of Earth from Space, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 235–243, 2009.
39. J. Karlsson and G. Svensson, “The simulation of Arctic clouds and their influence on the winter surface temperature in present-day climate in the CMIP3 multi-model dataset,” Climate Dynamics, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 623–635, 2011. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
40. G. M. Stokes and S. E. Schwartz, “The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: programmatic background and design of the cloud and radiation test bed,” Bulletin of American Meteorological Society, vol. 75, no. 7, pp. 1201–1221, 1994. View at Scopus
41. D. Randall, J. Curry, D. Battisti et al., “Status of and outlook for large-scale modeling of atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions in the arctic,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 79, no. 2, pp. 197–219, 1998. View at Scopus
42. J. A. Curry, P. V. Hobbs, M. D. King et al., “FIRE arctic clouds experiment,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 81, no. 1, pp. 5–29, 2000. View at Scopus
43. T. Uttal, J. A. Curry, M. G. McPhee et al., “Surface heat budget of the arctic ocean,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 255–275, 2002. View at Scopus
44. J. A. Maslanik, J. Key, C. W. Fowler, T. Nguyen, and X. Wang, “Spatial and temporal variability of satellite-derived cloud and surface characteristics during FIRE-ACE,” Journal of Geophysical Research D, vol. 106, no. 14, pp. 15233–15249, 2001. View at Scopus
45. S. Kato, N. G. Loeb, P. Minnis et al., “Seasonal and interannual variations of top-of-atmosphere irradiance and cloud cover over polar regions derived from the CERES data set,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 33, no. 19, Article ID L19804, 2006. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
46. B. E. Schutz, H. J. Zwally, C. A. Shuman, D. Hancock, and J. P. DiMarzio, “Overview of the ICESat mission,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 32, no. 21, Article ID L21S01, pp. 1–4, 2005. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
47. D. M. Winker, W. H. Hunt, and M. J. McGill, “Initial performance assessment of CALIOP,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 34, no. 19, Article ID L19803, 2007. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
48. G. L. Stephens, D. G. Vane, R. J. Boain et al., “The cloudsat mission and the A-Train: a new dimension of space-based observations of clouds and precipitation,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 83, no. 12, pp. 1771–1742, 2002. View at Scopus
49. G. G. Mace, Q. Zhang, M. Vaughan et al., “A description of hydrometeor layer occurrence statistics derived from the first year of merged Cloudsat and CALIPSO data,” Journal of Geophysical Research D, vol. 114, no. 8, Article ID D00A26, 2009. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
50. J. Key and R. G. Barry, “Cloud cover analysis with Arctic AVHRR data 1. Cloud detection,” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 94, no. 15, pp. 18521–18535, 1989. View at Scopus
51. X. Wang and J. R. Key, “Arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties based on the AVHRR polar pathfinder dataset. Part I: spatial and temporal characteristics,” Journal of Climate, vol. 18, no. 14, pp. 2558–2574, 2005. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
52. J. R. Key, The Cloud and Surface Parameter Retrieval (CASPR) System for Polar AVHRR, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.
53. B. A. Wielicki, B. R. Barkstrom, E. F. Harrison, R. B. Lee, G. L. Smith, and J. E. Cooper, “Clouds and the earth's radiant energy system (CERES): an earth observing system experiment,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 77, no. 5, pp. 853–868, 1996. View at Scopus
54. M. D. King, Y. J. Kaufman, W. P. Menzel, and D. Tanre, “Remote sensing of cloud, aerosol, and water vapor properties from the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS),” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 2–27, 1992. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
55. P. Minnis, D. Young, S. Sun-Mack, P. W. Heck, D. R. Doelling, and Q. Z. Trepte, “CERES cloud property retrievals from imagers on TRMM, Terra, and Aqua,” in Proceedings of the Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere VIII, vol. 5235 of Proceedings of SPIE, pp. 37–48, Barcelona, Spain, September 2003. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
56. R. A. Schiffer and W. B. Rossow, “The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP): the first project of the World Climate Research Programme,” Bulletin of American Meteorological Society, vol. 64, no. 7, pp. 779–784, 1983. View at Scopus
57. W. B. Rossow and L. C. Garder, “Cloud detection using satellite measurements of infrared and visible radiances for ISCCP,” Journal of Climate, vol. 6, no. 12, pp. 2341–2369, 1993. View at Scopus
58. W. B. Rossow and R. A. Schiffer, “Advances in understanding clouds from ISCCP,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 80, no. 11, pp. 2261–2287, 1999. View at Scopus
59. S. A. Ackerman, K. I. Strabala, W. P. Menzel, R. A. Frey, C. C. Moeller, and L. E. Gumley, “Discriminating clear sky from clouds with MODIS,” Journal of Geophysical Research D, vol. 103, no. 24, pp. 32141–32157, 1998. View at Scopus
60. R. A. Frey, S. A. Ackerman, Y. Liu et al., “Cloud detection with MODIS. Part I: improvements in the MODIS cloud mask for Collection 5,” Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1057–1072, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
61. S. A. Ackerman, R. E. Holz, R. Frey, E. W. Eloranta, B. C. Maddux, and M. McGill, “Cloud detection with MODIS. Part II: validation,” Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1073–1086, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
62. A. K. Heidinger, M. J. Foster, and A. T. Evan, “A naive bayesian cloud detection scheme derived from CALIPSO and applied within PATMOS-x,” Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. In press.
63. A. K. Heidinger, CLAVR-x Cloud Mask Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD), NOAA/NESDIS/Office of Research and Applications, Washington, DC, USA, 2004.
64. C. J. Hahn and S. G. Warren, Extended Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports from Ships and Land Stations Over the Globe, 1952–1996. NDP–026C, CDIAC, Oak Ridge, Tenn, USA, 1999.
65. C. J. Hahn, S. G. Warren, and J. London, “The effect of moonlight on observation of cloud cover at night, and application to cloud climatology,” Journal of Climate, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 1429–1446, 1995. View at Scopus
66. R. Kistler, E. Kalnay, W. Collins et al., “The NCEP-NCAR 50-year reanalysis: monthly means CD-ROM and documentation,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 82, no. 2, pp. 247–267, 2001. View at Scopus
67. S. M. Uppala, P. W. Kållberg, A. J. Simmons et al., “The ERA-40 re-analysis,” Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, vol. 131, no. 612, pp. 2961–3012, 2005. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
68. D. P. Dee, S. M. Uppala, A. J. Simmons et al., “The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system,” Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, vol. 137, no. 656, pp. 553–597, 2011. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
69. S. Saha, S. Moorthi, H. L. Pan et al., “The NCEP climate forecast system reanalysis,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 91, no. 8, pp. 1015–1057, 2010. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
70. G. P. Compo, J. S. Whitaker, P. D. Sardeshmukh et al., “The twentieth century reanalysis project,” Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, vol. 137, no. 654, pp. 1–28, 2011. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
71. K. A. Campana, Y.-T. Hou, K. E. Mitchell, et al., “Improved diagnostic cloud parameterization in NMC’s global model,” in Proceedings of the 10th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, pp. 324–325, Portland, Ore, USA, 1994.
72. M. Kanamitsu, W. Ebisuzaki, J. Woollen et al., “NCEP-DOE AMIP-II reanalysis (R-2),” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 83, no. 11, pp. 1631–1559, 2002. View at Scopus
73. K. M. Xu and D. A. Randall, “Evaluation of statistically based cloudiness parameterizations used in climate models,” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, vol. 53, no. 21, pp. 3103–3119, 1996. View at Scopus
74. K. Onogi, J. Tsutsui, H. Koide et al., “The JRA-25 reanalysis,” Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, vol. 85, no. 3, pp. 369–432, 2007. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
75. S. Moorthi, H.-L. Pan, and P. Caplan, “Changes to the 2001 NCEP operational MRF/AVN global analysis/forecast system,” NWS Technical Procedures Bulletin, vol. 484, 14 pages, 2001.
76. M. M. Rienecker, M. J. Suarez, R. Gelaro et al., “MERRA: NASA's modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications,” Journal of Climate, vol. 24, no. 14, pp. 3624–3648, 2011. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
77. M. Tiedtke, “Representation of clouds in large-scale models,” Monthly Weather Review, vol. 121, no. 11, pp. 3040–3061, 1993. View at Scopus
78. J. T. Bacmeister, M. J. Suarez, and F. R. Robertson, “Rain reevaporation, boundary layer-convection interactions, and pacific rainfall patterns in an AGCM,” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, vol. 63, no. 12, pp. 3383–3403, 2006. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
79. Y. Liu, S. A. Ackerman, B. C. Maddux, J. R. Key, and R. A. Frey, “Errors in cloud detection over the arctic using a satellite imager and implications for observing feedback mechanisms,” Journal of Climate, vol. 23, no. 7, pp. 1894–1907, 2010. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
80. A. J. Schweiger, R. W. Lindsay, J. R. Key, and J. A. Francis, “Arctic clouds in multiyear satellite data sets,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 26, no. 13, Article ID 1999GL900479, pp. 1845–1848, 1999. View at Scopus
81. K. E. Taylor, “Summarizing multiple aspects of model performance in a single diagram,” Journal of Geophysical Research D, vol. 106, no. 7, pp. 7183–7192, 2001. View at Scopus
82. D. Wylie, “Diurnal cycles of clouds and how they affect polar-orbiting satellite date,” Journal of Climate, vol. 21, no. 16, pp. 3989–3996, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
83. Y. Liu, J. R. Key, A. Schweiger, and J. Francis, “Characteristics of satellite-derived clear-sky atmospheric temperature inversion strength in the Arctic, 1980–96,” Journal of Climate, vol. 19, no. 19, pp. 4902–4913, 2006. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
84. A. Devasthale, U. Willén, K. G. Karlsson, and C. G. Jones, “Quantifying the clear-sky temperature inversion frequency and strength over the Arctic Ocean during summer and winter seasons from AIRS profiles,” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 10, no. 12, pp. 5565–5572, 2010. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
85. S. P. Palm, S. T. Strey, J. Spinhirne, and T. Markus, “Influence of Arctic sea ice extent on polar cloud fraction and vertical structure and implications for regional climate,” Journal of Geophysical Research D, vol. 115, no. 21, Article ID D21209, 2010. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar
86. E. W. Eloranta, J. P. Garcia, I. A. Razenkov, et al., “Cloud fraction statistics derived from2-years of high spectral resolution lidar data acquired at Eureka, Canada,” in Proceedings of the 24th International Laser Radar Conference, vol. 555–558, Boulder, Colo, USA, 2008.