Predicting the surface energy budget in the high-latitudes accurately is difficult due to incomplete observations in the measuring stations. The researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) compiled and analyzed the available observations at the pan-Arctic scale. Their findings point the importance of vegetation types for the Arctic surface energy balance. For example, it shows that differences between vegetation types can be as large as the difference between vegetation and a glacier.
These results are important constraints for estimating the surface energy budget in the Arctic. This research also shows the importance of establishing new observation stations and especially maintaining the current stations to have longer observational record.
CBA researchers Norbert Pirk and Frans-Jan Parmentier contributed in this important study with measurements from the Adventdalen flux station in Svalbard. The scientific article is published in Nature Communications.
The paper can be read from the journal's webpage. A press release by UZH is also available.