Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica
The surface mass balance (SMB) of the Larsen C ice shelf (LCIS), Antarctica, is poorly constrained due to a dearth of in situ observations. Combining several geophysical techniques, we reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns of SMB over the LCIS. Continuous time series of snow height (2.5–6 years)...
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COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH
2017
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Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/1/kuipers2017.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949.d001 |
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:45854 2024-09-15T17:40:56+00:00 Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica Kuipers-Munneke, Peter McGrath, Daniel Medley, Brooke Luckman, Adrian J. Bevan, Suzanne Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Booth, Adam D. Smeets, Paul Hubbard, Bryn Ashmore, David van den Broeke, Michiel Sevestre, Heidi Steffen, Konrad Shepherd, Andrew Gourmelen, Noel 2017-11-01 application/pdf https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/1/kuipers2017.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949.d001 unknown COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/1/kuipers2017.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949.d001 Kuipers-Munneke, P. , McGrath, D. , Medley, B. , Luckman, A. J. , Bevan, S. , Kulessa, B. , Jansen, D. orcid:0000-0002-4412-5820 , Booth, A. D. , Smeets, P. , Hubbard, B. , Ashmore, D. , van den Broeke, M. , Sevestre, H. , Steffen, K. , Shepherd, A. and Gourmelen, N. (2017) Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica , The Cryosphere, 11 , pp. 2411-2426 . doi:10.5194/tc-11-2411-2017 <https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2411-2017> , hdl:10013/epic.51949 EPIC3The Cryosphere, COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH, 11, pp. 2411-2426, ISSN: 1994-0416 Article isiRev 2017 ftawi https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2411-2017 2024-06-24T04:18:50Z The surface mass balance (SMB) of the Larsen C ice shelf (LCIS), Antarctica, is poorly constrained due to a dearth of in situ observations. Combining several geophysical techniques, we reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns of SMB over the LCIS. Continuous time series of snow height (2.5–6 years) at five locations allow for multi-year estimates of seasonal and annual SMB over the LCIS. There is high interannual variability in SMB as well as spatial variability: in the north, SMB is 0.40+/-0.06 to 0.41+/-0.04mw.e. per year, while farther south, SMB is up to 0.50+/-0.05mw.e. per year. This difference between north and south is corroborated by winter snow accumulation derived from an airborne radar survey from 2009, which showed an average snow thickness of 0.34mw.e. north of 66° S, and 0.40mw.e. south of 68° S. Analysis of ground-penetrating radar from several field campaigns allows for a longer-term perspective of spatial variations in SMB: a particularly strong and coherent reflection horizon below 25–44m of waterequivalent ice and firn is observed in radargrams collected across the shelf. We propose that this horizon was formed synchronously across the ice shelf. Combining snow height observations, ground and airborne radar, and SMB output from a regional climate model yields a gridded estimate of SMB over the LCIS. It confirms that SMB increases from north to south, overprinted by a gradient of increasing SMB to the west, modulated in the west by föhn-induced sublimation. Previous observations show a strong decrease in firn air content toward the west, which we attribute to spatial patterns of melt, refreezing, and densification rather than SMB. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) The Cryosphere 11 6 2411 2426 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
op_collection_id |
ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
The surface mass balance (SMB) of the Larsen C ice shelf (LCIS), Antarctica, is poorly constrained due to a dearth of in situ observations. Combining several geophysical techniques, we reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns of SMB over the LCIS. Continuous time series of snow height (2.5–6 years) at five locations allow for multi-year estimates of seasonal and annual SMB over the LCIS. There is high interannual variability in SMB as well as spatial variability: in the north, SMB is 0.40+/-0.06 to 0.41+/-0.04mw.e. per year, while farther south, SMB is up to 0.50+/-0.05mw.e. per year. This difference between north and south is corroborated by winter snow accumulation derived from an airborne radar survey from 2009, which showed an average snow thickness of 0.34mw.e. north of 66° S, and 0.40mw.e. south of 68° S. Analysis of ground-penetrating radar from several field campaigns allows for a longer-term perspective of spatial variations in SMB: a particularly strong and coherent reflection horizon below 25–44m of waterequivalent ice and firn is observed in radargrams collected across the shelf. We propose that this horizon was formed synchronously across the ice shelf. Combining snow height observations, ground and airborne radar, and SMB output from a regional climate model yields a gridded estimate of SMB over the LCIS. It confirms that SMB increases from north to south, overprinted by a gradient of increasing SMB to the west, modulated in the west by föhn-induced sublimation. Previous observations show a strong decrease in firn air content toward the west, which we attribute to spatial patterns of melt, refreezing, and densification rather than SMB. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kuipers-Munneke, Peter McGrath, Daniel Medley, Brooke Luckman, Adrian J. Bevan, Suzanne Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Booth, Adam D. Smeets, Paul Hubbard, Bryn Ashmore, David van den Broeke, Michiel Sevestre, Heidi Steffen, Konrad Shepherd, Andrew Gourmelen, Noel |
spellingShingle |
Kuipers-Munneke, Peter McGrath, Daniel Medley, Brooke Luckman, Adrian J. Bevan, Suzanne Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Booth, Adam D. Smeets, Paul Hubbard, Bryn Ashmore, David van den Broeke, Michiel Sevestre, Heidi Steffen, Konrad Shepherd, Andrew Gourmelen, Noel Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Kuipers-Munneke, Peter McGrath, Daniel Medley, Brooke Luckman, Adrian J. Bevan, Suzanne Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Booth, Adam D. Smeets, Paul Hubbard, Bryn Ashmore, David van den Broeke, Michiel Sevestre, Heidi Steffen, Konrad Shepherd, Andrew Gourmelen, Noel |
author_sort |
Kuipers-Munneke, Peter |
title |
Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica |
title_short |
Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica |
title_full |
Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica |
title_sort |
observationally constrained surface mass balance of larsen c ice shelf, antarctica |
publisher |
COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/1/kuipers2017.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949.d001 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
op_source |
EPIC3The Cryosphere, COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH, 11, pp. 2411-2426, ISSN: 1994-0416 |
op_relation |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/45854/1/kuipers2017.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51949.d001 Kuipers-Munneke, P. , McGrath, D. , Medley, B. , Luckman, A. J. , Bevan, S. , Kulessa, B. , Jansen, D. orcid:0000-0002-4412-5820 , Booth, A. D. , Smeets, P. , Hubbard, B. , Ashmore, D. , van den Broeke, M. , Sevestre, H. , Steffen, K. , Shepherd, A. and Gourmelen, N. (2017) Observationally constrained surface mass balance of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica , The Cryosphere, 11 , pp. 2411-2426 . doi:10.5194/tc-11-2411-2017 <https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2411-2017> , hdl:10013/epic.51949 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2411-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2411 |
op_container_end_page |
2426 |
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1810487001869189120 |