Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
Abstract We examine the spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature ( T a ) over a melting glacier using a multi-annual dataset from McCall Glacier, Alaska. The dataset consists of a 10-year (2005–2014) meteorological record along the glacier centreline up to an upper glacier cirque, spanning a...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2020
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214302000012X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2020.12 2024-09-15T18:07:31+00:00 Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska Troxler, Patrick Ayala, Álvaro Shaw, Thomas E. Nolan, Matt Brock, Ben W. Pellicciotti, Francesca 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214302000012X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 66, issue 257, page 386-400 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 2020 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 2024-07-17T04:04:15Z Abstract We examine the spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature ( T a ) over a melting glacier using a multi-annual dataset from McCall Glacier, Alaska. The dataset consists of a 10-year (2005–2014) meteorological record along the glacier centreline up to an upper glacier cirque, spanning an elevation difference of 900 m. We test the validity of on-glacier linear lapse rates, and a model that calculates T a based on the influence of katabatic winds and other heat sources along the glacier flow line. During the coldest hours of each summer (10% of time), average lapse rates across the entire glacier range from −4.7 to −6.7°C km −1 , with a strong relationship between T a and elevation ( R 2 > 0.7). During warm conditions, T a shows more complex, non-linear patterns that are better explained by the flow line-dependent model, reducing errors by up to 0.5°C compared with linear lapse rates, although more uncertainty might be associated with these observations due to occasionally poor sensor ventilation. We conclude that T a spatial distribution can vary significantly from year to year, and from one glacier section to another. Importantly, extrapolations using linear lapse rates from the ablation zone might lead to large underestimations of T a on the upper glacier areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Journal of Glaciology Alaska Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 66 257 386 400 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract We examine the spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature ( T a ) over a melting glacier using a multi-annual dataset from McCall Glacier, Alaska. The dataset consists of a 10-year (2005–2014) meteorological record along the glacier centreline up to an upper glacier cirque, spanning an elevation difference of 900 m. We test the validity of on-glacier linear lapse rates, and a model that calculates T a based on the influence of katabatic winds and other heat sources along the glacier flow line. During the coldest hours of each summer (10% of time), average lapse rates across the entire glacier range from −4.7 to −6.7°C km −1 , with a strong relationship between T a and elevation ( R 2 > 0.7). During warm conditions, T a shows more complex, non-linear patterns that are better explained by the flow line-dependent model, reducing errors by up to 0.5°C compared with linear lapse rates, although more uncertainty might be associated with these observations due to occasionally poor sensor ventilation. We conclude that T a spatial distribution can vary significantly from year to year, and from one glacier section to another. Importantly, extrapolations using linear lapse rates from the ablation zone might lead to large underestimations of T a on the upper glacier areas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Troxler, Patrick Ayala, Álvaro Shaw, Thomas E. Nolan, Matt Brock, Ben W. Pellicciotti, Francesca |
spellingShingle |
Troxler, Patrick Ayala, Álvaro Shaw, Thomas E. Nolan, Matt Brock, Ben W. Pellicciotti, Francesca Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska |
author_facet |
Troxler, Patrick Ayala, Álvaro Shaw, Thomas E. Nolan, Matt Brock, Ben W. Pellicciotti, Francesca |
author_sort |
Troxler, Patrick |
title |
Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska |
title_short |
Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska |
title_full |
Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska |
title_sort |
modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on mccall glacier, alaska |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214302000012X |
genre |
glacier Journal of Glaciology Alaska |
genre_facet |
glacier Journal of Glaciology Alaska |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 66, issue 257, page 386-400 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
66 |
container_issue |
257 |
container_start_page |
386 |
op_container_end_page |
400 |
_version_ |
1810444901966413824 |