Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone
Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) albedo has decreased over recent decades, contributing to enhanced surface melt and mass loss. However, it remains unclear whether GrIS darkening is due to snow grain size increases, higher concentrations of light-absorbing impurities (LAIs), or a combination. Here, we ass...
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ftboisestateu:oai:scholarworks.boisestate.edu:geo_facpubs-1600 2023-10-29T02:36:41+01:00 Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone Marshall, Hans Peter Meehan, Tate 2021-05-28T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/geo_facpubs/595 https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/context/geo_facpubs/article/1600/viewcontent/Marshall__Hans_Peter__2021__Atmospheric_blocking_drives___PUB.pdf unknown ScholarWorks https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/geo_facpubs/595 https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/context/geo_facpubs/article/1600/viewcontent/Marshall__Hans_Peter__2021__Atmospheric_blocking_drives___PUB.pdf This document was originally published in Geophysical Research Letters by Wiley on behalf of the American Geophysical Union. Copyright restrictions may apply. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092814 Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations CGISS Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology text 2021 ftboisestateu 2023-09-29T15:21:55Z Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) albedo has decreased over recent decades, contributing to enhanced surface melt and mass loss. However, it remains unclear whether GrIS darkening is due to snow grain size increases, higher concentrations of light-absorbing impurities (LAIs), or a combination. Here, we assess albedo controls in the western GrIS percolation zone using in situ albedo, LAI, and grain size measurements. We find a significant correlation between albedo and snow grain size (p < 0.01), but not with LAIs. Modeling corroborates that LAI concentrations are too low to significantly reduce albedo, but larger grain sizes could reduce albedo by at least ∼3%. Strong atmospheric blocking increases grain sizes and reduces albedo through increased surface temperature, fewer storms, and higher incoming shortwave radiation. These findings clarify the mechanisms by which anomalously strong blocking contributed to recent GrIS albedo decline and mass loss, highlighting the importance of improving projections of future blocking. Text Greenland Ice Sheet Boise State University: Scholar Works |
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Boise State University: Scholar Works |
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CGISS Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology |
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CGISS Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology Marshall, Hans Peter Meehan, Tate Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone |
topic_facet |
CGISS Earth Sciences Geophysics and Seismology |
description |
Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) albedo has decreased over recent decades, contributing to enhanced surface melt and mass loss. However, it remains unclear whether GrIS darkening is due to snow grain size increases, higher concentrations of light-absorbing impurities (LAIs), or a combination. Here, we assess albedo controls in the western GrIS percolation zone using in situ albedo, LAI, and grain size measurements. We find a significant correlation between albedo and snow grain size (p < 0.01), but not with LAIs. Modeling corroborates that LAI concentrations are too low to significantly reduce albedo, but larger grain sizes could reduce albedo by at least ∼3%. Strong atmospheric blocking increases grain sizes and reduces albedo through increased surface temperature, fewer storms, and higher incoming shortwave radiation. These findings clarify the mechanisms by which anomalously strong blocking contributed to recent GrIS albedo decline and mass loss, highlighting the importance of improving projections of future blocking. |
format |
Text |
author |
Marshall, Hans Peter Meehan, Tate |
author_facet |
Marshall, Hans Peter Meehan, Tate |
author_sort |
Marshall, Hans Peter |
title |
Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone |
title_short |
Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone |
title_full |
Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone |
title_fullStr |
Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Atmospheric Blocking Drives Recent Albedo Change Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone |
title_sort |
atmospheric blocking drives recent albedo change across the western greenland ice sheet percolation zone |
publisher |
ScholarWorks |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/geo_facpubs/595 https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/context/geo_facpubs/article/1600/viewcontent/Marshall__Hans_Peter__2021__Atmospheric_blocking_drives___PUB.pdf |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/geo_facpubs/595 https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/context/geo_facpubs/article/1600/viewcontent/Marshall__Hans_Peter__2021__Atmospheric_blocking_drives___PUB.pdf |
op_rights |
This document was originally published in Geophysical Research Letters by Wiley on behalf of the American Geophysical Union. Copyright restrictions may apply. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092814 |
_version_ |
1781060771821649920 |