The article analyzes the climatology and interannual variability of fractional total and low cloud cover in the subarctic and subpolar regions of the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. We used surface visual observations of cloudiness from voluntary observing ships (VOS) for the period from 1950 to 2017. It is shown that in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific seasonal variations of the mean cloud cover demonstrate contrasting character. For a better identification of regional features, the probability distributions of the fractional cloud cover were analyzed. Analysis of interannual variability shows that in many areas of the North Atlantic and the North Pacific, significant linear trends in both total and low cloud cover are observed. Moreover, in the North Pacific, linear trends in the total cloudiness have pronounced seasonality.
Subarctic cloudiness, visual cloud observation, cloud climatology over the ocean, long-term trends in cloud cover
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