Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica
Abstract Temperature, density and accumulation data were obtained from shallow firn cores, drilled during an overland traverse through a previously unknown part of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The traverse area is characterised by high mountains that obstruct the ice flow, resulting in a sud...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001799 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000001799 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000001799 2024-03-03T08:37:43+00:00 Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica van den Broeke, Michiel R. Winther, Jan-Gunnar Isaksson, Elisabeth Pinglot, Jean Francis Karlöf, Lars Eiken, Trond Conrads, Louk 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001799 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000001799 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 150, page 295-302 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 1999 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001799 2024-02-08T08:36:15Z Abstract Temperature, density and accumulation data were obtained from shallow firn cores, drilled during an overland traverse through a previously unknown part of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The traverse area is characterised by high mountains that obstruct the ice flow, resulting in a sudden transition from the polar plateau to the coastal region. The spatial variations of potential temperature, near-surface firn density and accumulation suggest that katabatic winds are active in this region. Proxy wind data derived from firn-density profiles confirm that annual mean wind speed is strongly related to the magnitude of the surface slope. The high elevation of the ice sheet south of the mountains makes for a dry, cold climate, in which mass loss owing to sublimation is small and erosion of snow by the wind has a potentially large impact on the surface mass balance. A simple katabatic-wind model is used to explain the variations of accumulation along the traverse line in terms of divergence/convergence of the local transport of drifting snow. The resulting wind- and snowdrift patterns are closely connected to the topography of the ice sheet: ridges are especially sensitive to erosion, while ice streams and other depressions act as collectors of drifting snow. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Dronning Maud Land East Antarctica Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press East Antarctica Dronning Maud Land Polar Plateau ENVELOPE(0.000,0.000,-90.000,-90.000) Journal of Glaciology 45 150 295 302 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes van den Broeke, Michiel R. Winther, Jan-Gunnar Isaksson, Elisabeth Pinglot, Jean Francis Karlöf, Lars Eiken, Trond Conrads, Louk Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract Temperature, density and accumulation data were obtained from shallow firn cores, drilled during an overland traverse through a previously unknown part of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The traverse area is characterised by high mountains that obstruct the ice flow, resulting in a sudden transition from the polar plateau to the coastal region. The spatial variations of potential temperature, near-surface firn density and accumulation suggest that katabatic winds are active in this region. Proxy wind data derived from firn-density profiles confirm that annual mean wind speed is strongly related to the magnitude of the surface slope. The high elevation of the ice sheet south of the mountains makes for a dry, cold climate, in which mass loss owing to sublimation is small and erosion of snow by the wind has a potentially large impact on the surface mass balance. A simple katabatic-wind model is used to explain the variations of accumulation along the traverse line in terms of divergence/convergence of the local transport of drifting snow. The resulting wind- and snowdrift patterns are closely connected to the topography of the ice sheet: ridges are especially sensitive to erosion, while ice streams and other depressions act as collectors of drifting snow. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
van den Broeke, Michiel R. Winther, Jan-Gunnar Isaksson, Elisabeth Pinglot, Jean Francis Karlöf, Lars Eiken, Trond Conrads, Louk |
author_facet |
van den Broeke, Michiel R. Winther, Jan-Gunnar Isaksson, Elisabeth Pinglot, Jean Francis Karlöf, Lars Eiken, Trond Conrads, Louk |
author_sort |
van den Broeke, Michiel R. |
title |
Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica |
title_short |
Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica |
title_full |
Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate variables along a traverse line in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
climate variables along a traverse line in dronning maud land, east antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001799 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000001799 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(0.000,0.000,-90.000,-90.000) |
geographic |
East Antarctica Dronning Maud Land Polar Plateau |
geographic_facet |
East Antarctica Dronning Maud Land Polar Plateau |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Dronning Maud Land East Antarctica Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Dronning Maud Land East Antarctica Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 150, page 295-302 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001799 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
150 |
container_start_page |
295 |
op_container_end_page |
302 |
_version_ |
1792500964122427392 |