The data set obtained during the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX) contains almost a year of 6-hourly measurements of sensible (Hs) and latent (HL) heat fluxes over multiyear ice in the Beaufort Sea. Here I compute the Bowen ratio, Bo=Hs/HL, for each set of observations and plot histograms of Bo values for the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In every season except summer the Bowen ratio is as likely to be negative as positive; the histograms are, thus, generally bimodal. The Bowen ratio shows a seasonal progression that is related to the seasonally averaged air temperature. In summer, when moisture exchange is most rapid, the peaks in the histogram are near Bowen ratios of 1 and -1. In winter, when the rate of moisture exchange is smallest, the peaks are at Bo>20 and Bo<-20. Spring and autumn are transition seasons with a broader range of values. |