Influence of low-level liquid-containing clouds on Greenland's surface energy budget

Low-level, liquid-containing clouds (LLCs) are ubiquitous in the maritime Arctic in all seasons, where they strongly influence the surface energy budget. LLCs have been hypothesized to accelerate Greenland's surface heating, such as during the extreme 2012 Greenland-wide summer melt event. However, the long-term trends of LLCs and their radiative effects over Greenland have not been shown yet. This study utilizes cloud fraction and condensate path retrieved from 5-minute Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations in conjunction with a Column Radiation Model (CRM), to quantify the impact of LLCs on Greenland's surface radiative fluxes. We evaluate the CRM simulations against observations from the Greenland Climate Network. This study thus helps to constrain and identify how, where, and when LLCs, which are underpredicted in multiple GCMs, affect Greenland's rapidly changing surface.