Winter sea ice albedo variations in the Bohai Sea of China

Sea ice conditions in the Bohai Sea of China are sensitive to large-scale climatic variations. On the basis of CLARA-Al-SAL data, the albedo variations are examined in space and time in the winter (December, January and February) from 1992 to 2008 in the Bohai Sea sea ice region. Time series data of the sea ice concentration (SIC), the sea ice extent (SIB) and the sea surface temperature (SST) are used to analyze their relationship with the albedo. The sea ice albedo changed in volatility appears along with time, the trend is not obvious and increases very slightly during the study period at a rate of 0.388% per decade over the Bohai Sea sea ice region. The interannual variation is between 9.93% and 14.50%, and the average albedo is 11.79%. The sea ice albedo in years with heavy sea ice coverage, 1999, 2000 and 2005, is significantly higher than that in other years; in years with light sea ice coverage, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2006, has low values. For the monthly albedo, the increasing trend (at a rate of 0.988% per decade) in December is distinctly higher than that in January and February. The mean albedo in January (12.90%) is also distinctly higher than that in the other two months. The albedo is significantly positively correlated with the SIC and is significantly negatively correlated with the SST (significance level 90%).