Anthropogenic Heat Release, a Potential Factor Impacting the Climate in the Arctic in Boreal Summer

Abstract

In this study, we applied the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) to investigate the impacts and physical and dynamic mechanisms of Anthropogenic Heat Release (AHR) due to global energy consumption on the Arctic climate in boreal summer from 1992 to 2013. AHR increases the air temperature in eastern Siberia and the Eastern European Plain obviously. AHR increases the air temperature significantly in eastern Siberia (60° N–70° N, 130° E–140° E) by 0.49 K on average, while it decreases the air temperature in the western Siberian plain regions in the Arctic. The results of our study demonstrate that AHR can affect lower-troposphere stability in the Arctic, which further affects the low cloud fraction and the surface energy balance. AHR can affect the atmospheric circulation in the Arctic, bringing more water vapor and amplifying the greenhouse effect, which leads to further warming in the Arctic in the boreal summer. The Relative Humidity (RH) in the Arctic is increased by an average of 0.12% due to AHR in the boreal summer. These thermal and dynamic effects of AHR lead to uneven warming in the Arctic in summer, indicating AHR acts as a non-negligible factor for the climate in the Arctic.