Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events
It is well known that light-absorbing particulate matter (PM) enhances absorption of sunlight when deposited on ice and snow. Such increased absorption is due to a reduction in surface albedo, resulting in accelerated melt of frozen surfaces. In isolation, earlier melt enhances Arctic warming since...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
2019
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic68654 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/68654/53441 |
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crarcticinstna:10.14430/arctic68654 2024-06-09T07:38:00+00:00 Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events De Boer, Gijs Cox, Christopher J. Creamean, Jessie M. 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic68654 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/68654/53441 unknown The Arctic Institute of North America http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ARCTIC volume 72, issue 3, page 245-257 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 journal-article 2019 crarcticinstna https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic68654 2024-05-14T12:53:42Z It is well known that light-absorbing particulate matter (PM) enhances absorption of sunlight when deposited on ice and snow. Such increased absorption is due to a reduction in surface albedo, resulting in accelerated melt of frozen surfaces. In isolation, earlier melt enhances Arctic warming since dark surfaces underlying snow and ice are exposed and absorb additional solar energy. Here, we combine various observational tools to demonstrate that aeolian deposition of PM along fluvial features on the North Slope of Alaska resulted in a notable reduction of surface albedo in the spring of 2016, from values typical for snow (~0.8) to around 0.35 on average. This reduction resulted in accelerated snow and ice melt by up to three weeks compared to unaffected areas. This phenomenon was observed to some degree in 12 other years dating back to 2003. Deposition generally was found to occur near particular sections of the rivers, with several areas affected by events in multiple years. In all years, the deposition is attributed to high wind events. The extreme case in 2016 is linked to unusually strong and extraordinarily persistent winds during April. The deposited material is thought to be the natural sediment carried by the rivers, resulting in a seasonally replenished source of PM. These findings indicate a previously unreported impact of both fluvial and atmospheric processes on the seasonal melt of northern Alaska rivers. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic Arctic north slope Tundra Alaska Arctic Institute of North America Arctic ARCTIC 72 3 245 257 |
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Arctic Institute of North America |
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crarcticinstna |
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description |
It is well known that light-absorbing particulate matter (PM) enhances absorption of sunlight when deposited on ice and snow. Such increased absorption is due to a reduction in surface albedo, resulting in accelerated melt of frozen surfaces. In isolation, earlier melt enhances Arctic warming since dark surfaces underlying snow and ice are exposed and absorb additional solar energy. Here, we combine various observational tools to demonstrate that aeolian deposition of PM along fluvial features on the North Slope of Alaska resulted in a notable reduction of surface albedo in the spring of 2016, from values typical for snow (~0.8) to around 0.35 on average. This reduction resulted in accelerated snow and ice melt by up to three weeks compared to unaffected areas. This phenomenon was observed to some degree in 12 other years dating back to 2003. Deposition generally was found to occur near particular sections of the rivers, with several areas affected by events in multiple years. In all years, the deposition is attributed to high wind events. The extreme case in 2016 is linked to unusually strong and extraordinarily persistent winds during April. The deposited material is thought to be the natural sediment carried by the rivers, resulting in a seasonally replenished source of PM. These findings indicate a previously unreported impact of both fluvial and atmospheric processes on the seasonal melt of northern Alaska rivers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
De Boer, Gijs Cox, Christopher J. Creamean, Jessie M. |
spellingShingle |
De Boer, Gijs Cox, Christopher J. Creamean, Jessie M. Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events |
author_facet |
De Boer, Gijs Cox, Christopher J. Creamean, Jessie M. |
author_sort |
De Boer, Gijs |
title |
Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events |
title_short |
Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events |
title_full |
Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events |
title_fullStr |
Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events |
title_full_unstemmed |
Accelerated Springtime Melt of Snow on Tundra Downwind from Northern Alaska River Systems Resulting from Niveo-aeolian Deposition Events |
title_sort |
accelerated springtime melt of snow on tundra downwind from northern alaska river systems resulting from niveo-aeolian deposition events |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic68654 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/68654/53441 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
albedo Arctic Arctic north slope Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic Arctic north slope Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
ARCTIC volume 72, issue 3, page 245-257 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic68654 |
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ARCTIC |
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72 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
245 |
op_container_end_page |
257 |
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1801383808316997632 |