Diurnal variability in sea surface temperature in the Arctic

The formation of diurnal warming events in sea surface temperature (SST) observations in the Arctic is investigated using multiple satellite derived SST products and in situ buoy temperature measurements. Significant diurnal warming events (of the order of several K) are shown to occur even in the Arctic during summer months, when the total daily insolation at high latitudes is, in fact, higher than that at low and mid latitudes. The observed Arctic diurnal warming events are shown to usually happen in persistent low wind conditions, and are more frequent in shallow waters than deep waters. During the studied period of June and July 2008, significant diurnal warming events were observed over most of the studied area, although with smaller spatial extent and reoccurring less often when compared to events reported at low and mid latitudes.

Research highlights
► The strength and frequency of diurnal warming in Arctic SST have been demonstrated.
► SST diurnal warming events of 3-4 K are observed during Arctic summer up to 80°N.
► These Arctic DW SST events mainly happen when wind speeds are low for several hours.
► These DW events are less frequent and smaller compared to events at lower latitudes.