Abstract: In recent decades, significant changes of Arctic sea ice have taken place. These changes are expected to influence the surface energy balance of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. To quantify this energy balance and to increase our understanding of mechanisms leading to observed changes in the Arctic sea ice, the project “Advancing Modelling and Observing solar Radiation of Arctic sea ice—understanding changes and processes (AMORA)” was initiated and conducted from 2009 to 2013. AMORA was funded and organized under a frame of Norway-China bilateral collaboration program with partners from Finland, Germany, and the USA. The primary goal of the project was achieved by developing an autonomous spectral radiation buoy, deploying it on drifting sea ice close to the North Pole, and receiving a high-resolution time series of spectral radiation over and under sea ice from spring (before melt onset) to autumn (after freeze-up) 2012. Beyond this, in-situ sea ice data were collected during several field campaigns and simulations of snow and sea ice thermodynamics were performed. More autonomous measurements are available through deployments of sea ice mass balance buoys. These new observational data along with numerical model studies are helping us to better understand the key thermodynamic processes of Arctic sea ice and changes in polar climate. A strong scientific, but also cultural exchange between Norway, China, and the partners from the USA and Europe initiated new collaborations in Arctic reseach.

Key words: Arctic, sea ice, snow, solar radiation, ice-albedo feedback, international collaboration