We investigated the impact of radiosonde data from the ice-free Arctic Ocean obtained by the Japanese R/V Mirai during a cruise in the fall of 2010 on the AFES-LETKF experimental ensemble reanalysis version 2 (ALERA2) data set. The reanalysis used radiosonde data over the ice-free region. Compared with observations, it captured Arctic cyclogenesis along the marginal ice zone, including a tropopause fold, very well. Without the observations, a 5 K cold bias in air temperature was found, suggesting that radiosondes over the Arctic Ocean are vital for reproducing the change in tropopause variability.

Attachment(s):