From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea
Year-round snow cover is a characteristic of the entire Antarctic sea ice cover, which has significant implications for the energy and mass budgets of sea ice, e.g., by preventing surface melt in summer and enhancing sea ice growth through extensive snow ice formation. However, substantial observati...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere115443 2024-06-23T07:47:03+00:00 From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea Arndt, Stefanie Maaß, Nina Rossmann, Leonard Nicolaus, Marcel 2024-04-29 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2398 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2398/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-2398 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2398/ eISSN: Text 2024 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2398 2024-06-13T01:23:50Z Year-round snow cover is a characteristic of the entire Antarctic sea ice cover, which has significant implications for the energy and mass budgets of sea ice, e.g., by preventing surface melt in summer and enhancing sea ice growth through extensive snow ice formation. However, substantial observational gaps in the seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice and its snow cover limit the understanding of important processes in the ice-covered Southern Ocean. They also introduce large uncertainties in satellite remote sensing applications and climate studies. Here we present results from 10 years of autonomous snow observations from Snow Buoys in the Weddell Sea. To distinguish between actual snow depth and potential snow ice thickness within the accumulated snowpack, a one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model is applied along the drift trajectories of the buoys. The results show that potential snow ice formation, with an average maximum thickness of 35 cm , was detected along 41 % of the total track length of the analyzed Snow Buoy tracks, which corresponds to about one-quarter of the snow accumulation. In addition, we simulate the evolution of internal snow properties along the drift trajectories with the more complex SNOWPACK model, which results in superimposed ice thicknesses between 0 and 14 cm on top of the snow ice layer. These estimates will provide an important reference dataset for both snow depth and meteoric ice rates in the Southern Ocean. Text Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
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English |
description |
Year-round snow cover is a characteristic of the entire Antarctic sea ice cover, which has significant implications for the energy and mass budgets of sea ice, e.g., by preventing surface melt in summer and enhancing sea ice growth through extensive snow ice formation. However, substantial observational gaps in the seasonal cycle of Antarctic sea ice and its snow cover limit the understanding of important processes in the ice-covered Southern Ocean. They also introduce large uncertainties in satellite remote sensing applications and climate studies. Here we present results from 10 years of autonomous snow observations from Snow Buoys in the Weddell Sea. To distinguish between actual snow depth and potential snow ice thickness within the accumulated snowpack, a one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model is applied along the drift trajectories of the buoys. The results show that potential snow ice formation, with an average maximum thickness of 35 cm , was detected along 41 % of the total track length of the analyzed Snow Buoy tracks, which corresponds to about one-quarter of the snow accumulation. In addition, we simulate the evolution of internal snow properties along the drift trajectories with the more complex SNOWPACK model, which results in superimposed ice thicknesses between 0 and 14 cm on top of the snow ice layer. These estimates will provide an important reference dataset for both snow depth and meteoric ice rates in the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Text |
author |
Arndt, Stefanie Maaß, Nina Rossmann, Leonard Nicolaus, Marcel |
spellingShingle |
Arndt, Stefanie Maaß, Nina Rossmann, Leonard Nicolaus, Marcel From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea |
author_facet |
Arndt, Stefanie Maaß, Nina Rossmann, Leonard Nicolaus, Marcel |
author_sort |
Arndt, Stefanie |
title |
From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea |
title_short |
From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea |
title_full |
From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea |
title_fullStr |
From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
From snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the Weddell Sea |
title_sort |
from snow accumulation to snow depth distributions by quantifying meteoric ice fractions in the weddell sea |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2398 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2398/ |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-2398 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2398/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2398 |
_version_ |
1802650540813844480 |