Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data
In a warming climate, understanding seasonal fluctuations in snowline position is key to accurately predicting the melt contribution of glaciers to sea-level rise. Snow and ice conditions have a large impact on freshwater availability and supply on seasonal and multi-annual timescales. Factors such...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.970026 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.970026/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/feart.2022.970026 2024-02-11T10:04:00+01:00 Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data Messerli, Alexandra Arthur, Jennifer Langley, Kirsty How, Penelope Abermann, Jakob 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.970026 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.970026/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Earth Science volume 10 ISSN 2296-6463 General Earth and Planetary Sciences journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.970026 2024-01-26T10:03:55Z In a warming climate, understanding seasonal fluctuations in snowline position is key to accurately predicting the melt contribution of glaciers to sea-level rise. Snow and ice conditions have a large impact on freshwater availability and supply on seasonal and multi-annual timescales. Factors such as snow extent and physical characteristics affect predictions in snowmelt- and glacier-fed catchments, influencing the potential of hydropower and drinking water supply in these areas, as well as ecosystems and fjord waters. Summer snow monitoring on glaciers and ice caps peripheral to the Greenland Ice Sheet are limited, and are typically excluded from ice-sheet wide assessments. Here, we analyse snow extent evolution on Qasigiannguit Glacier (QAS), a small coastal mountain glacier in Kobbefjord, southwest Greenland, with the aim of obtaining a baseline dataset of snow and ice conditions. Maximum snowline altitude and bare ice extent are extracted using terrestrial time-lapse photogrammetry, and compared to mass balance and automated weather station observations since 2014. The number of days of visible bare ice, cumulative Positive Degree Days (PDD) and mass balance are closely linked, with 2016 and 2019 experiencing the most negative mass balance, earliest onset of PDDs and greatest cumulative PDDs. 2021 had a relatively small negative mass balance (−0.072 m w.e.) despite having the longest bare ice exposure (112 days). This is attributed to the timing of bare ice exposure relative to the mean 90% cumulative PDD (28th August). Longer periods of bare ice exposure precede the mean 90% cumulative PDD in both 2016 and 2019, which reflects differences in the amount of melt energy available at different times in the melt season. This has far reaching implications for mass balance modelling efforts as this study demonstrates that spatial and temporal variability in snow/bare ice cover are linked to differences in melt factors and energy required to melt snow and ice. Snowline position provides a coarse indication of ... Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Qasigiannguit Frontiers (Publisher) Greenland Kobbefjord ENVELOPE(-51.527,-51.527,64.177,64.177) Qasigiannguit ENVELOPE(-51.192,-51.192,68.819,68.819) Frontiers in Earth Science 10 |
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Open Polar |
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Frontiers (Publisher) |
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crfrontiers |
language |
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topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Messerli, Alexandra Arthur, Jennifer Langley, Kirsty How, Penelope Abermann, Jakob Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences |
description |
In a warming climate, understanding seasonal fluctuations in snowline position is key to accurately predicting the melt contribution of glaciers to sea-level rise. Snow and ice conditions have a large impact on freshwater availability and supply on seasonal and multi-annual timescales. Factors such as snow extent and physical characteristics affect predictions in snowmelt- and glacier-fed catchments, influencing the potential of hydropower and drinking water supply in these areas, as well as ecosystems and fjord waters. Summer snow monitoring on glaciers and ice caps peripheral to the Greenland Ice Sheet are limited, and are typically excluded from ice-sheet wide assessments. Here, we analyse snow extent evolution on Qasigiannguit Glacier (QAS), a small coastal mountain glacier in Kobbefjord, southwest Greenland, with the aim of obtaining a baseline dataset of snow and ice conditions. Maximum snowline altitude and bare ice extent are extracted using terrestrial time-lapse photogrammetry, and compared to mass balance and automated weather station observations since 2014. The number of days of visible bare ice, cumulative Positive Degree Days (PDD) and mass balance are closely linked, with 2016 and 2019 experiencing the most negative mass balance, earliest onset of PDDs and greatest cumulative PDDs. 2021 had a relatively small negative mass balance (−0.072 m w.e.) despite having the longest bare ice exposure (112 days). This is attributed to the timing of bare ice exposure relative to the mean 90% cumulative PDD (28th August). Longer periods of bare ice exposure precede the mean 90% cumulative PDD in both 2016 and 2019, which reflects differences in the amount of melt energy available at different times in the melt season. This has far reaching implications for mass balance modelling efforts as this study demonstrates that spatial and temporal variability in snow/bare ice cover are linked to differences in melt factors and energy required to melt snow and ice. Snowline position provides a coarse indication of ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Messerli, Alexandra Arthur, Jennifer Langley, Kirsty How, Penelope Abermann, Jakob |
author_facet |
Messerli, Alexandra Arthur, Jennifer Langley, Kirsty How, Penelope Abermann, Jakob |
author_sort |
Messerli, Alexandra |
title |
Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
title_short |
Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
title_full |
Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
title_fullStr |
Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snow cover evolution at Qasigiannguit Glacier, southwest Greenland: A comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
title_sort |
snow cover evolution at qasigiannguit glacier, southwest greenland: a comparison of time-lapse imagery and mass balance data |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.970026 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.970026/full |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-51.527,-51.527,64.177,64.177) ENVELOPE(-51.192,-51.192,68.819,68.819) |
geographic |
Greenland Kobbefjord Qasigiannguit |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Kobbefjord Qasigiannguit |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Qasigiannguit |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Qasigiannguit |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science volume 10 ISSN 2296-6463 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.970026 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
10 |
_version_ |
1790600426525032448 |