Singular value decomposition analysis of cloud fraction cover and sea ice concentration over the Arctic region, 1982-2009

In this study, the coupled spatial and temporal variability between seasonal data of Cloud Fraction Cover (CFC) and Sea Ice Concentration (SIC) in the Arctic Ocean for the 1982-2009 period were investigated by using the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method. The spatial patterns of CFCs related to the first mode of co-variability, identify the maximum covariance, for all seasons, in the Barents Sea and in the Arctic Ocean Canada, while the SIC and 'found in the Chukchi Sea in autumn (in according to the maximum sea ice melting) and the Barents sea during both the winter and spring. CFC spatial patterns related to the first mode of co-variability, locate maximum covariance, for all seasons, in the Barents Sea and in the Canadian side of the Arctic Ocean, while for SIC is found in the Chukchi Sea during autumn (corresponding to the maximum sea ice melting) and in the Barents Sea during both the winter and spring. Finally, the correlation between the seasonal time series of expansion coefficients derived from the SVD analysis, for both CFC and SIC fields, with the seasonal time series of some relevant climate indices for the Arctic (NAO, AO, PDO and PNA). Statistically significant values for both fields were found during summer with the AO, and during autumn with the PNA.