Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020)
Firn simulations are essential for understanding Antarctic ice sheet mass change as they enable us to convert satellite altimetry observed volume changes to mass changes, and to quantify the meltwater buffering capacity of firn. Here, we present and evaluate a simulation of the contemporary Antarcti...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tcd104481 2023-05-15T14:02:18+02:00 Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Berg, Willem Jan Brils, Max Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. 2022-07-20 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-118 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-118/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-2022-118 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-118/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2022 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-118 2022-07-25T16:22:41Z Firn simulations are essential for understanding Antarctic ice sheet mass change as they enable us to convert satellite altimetry observed volume changes to mass changes, and to quantify the meltwater buffering capacity of firn. Here, we present and evaluate a simulation of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer using the updated semi-empirical firn model IMAU-FDM for the period 1979–2020. In IMAU-FDM, we have improved the fresh snow density and firn compaction parameterizations, and used improved 5 atmospheric forcing. In addition, the model has been tuned and evaluated against 148 in situ observations across the ice sheet. The updated model captures the observed strong spatial variation in firn thickness and density. The temporal variation can be split into a rather stable seasonal cycle driven by snowfall, compaction and melt seasonal cycles, and more irregular decadal variations driven by snowfall anomalies. Comparison of simulated surface elevation change with altimetry shows that the decadal trends agree reasonably well, and that the performance of the updated model has improved, notably in Dronning Maud Land and Wilkins Land. Text Antarc* Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Ice Sheet Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Wilkins ENVELOPE(59.326,59.326,-67.248,-67.248) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
Firn simulations are essential for understanding Antarctic ice sheet mass change as they enable us to convert satellite altimetry observed volume changes to mass changes, and to quantify the meltwater buffering capacity of firn. Here, we present and evaluate a simulation of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer using the updated semi-empirical firn model IMAU-FDM for the period 1979–2020. In IMAU-FDM, we have improved the fresh snow density and firn compaction parameterizations, and used improved 5 atmospheric forcing. In addition, the model has been tuned and evaluated against 148 in situ observations across the ice sheet. The updated model captures the observed strong spatial variation in firn thickness and density. The temporal variation can be split into a rather stable seasonal cycle driven by snowfall, compaction and melt seasonal cycles, and more irregular decadal variations driven by snowfall anomalies. Comparison of simulated surface elevation change with altimetry shows that the decadal trends agree reasonably well, and that the performance of the updated model has improved, notably in Dronning Maud Land and Wilkins Land. |
format |
Text |
author |
Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Berg, Willem Jan Brils, Max Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. |
spellingShingle |
Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Berg, Willem Jan Brils, Max Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) |
author_facet |
Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Berg, Willem Jan Brils, Max Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. |
author_sort |
Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. |
title |
Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) |
title_short |
Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) |
title_full |
Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) |
title_fullStr |
Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characteristics of the contemporary Antarctic firn layer simulated with IMAU-FDM v1.2A (1979–2020) |
title_sort |
characteristics of the contemporary antarctic firn layer simulated with imau-fdm v1.2a (1979–2020) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-118 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-118/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(59.326,59.326,-67.248,-67.248) |
geographic |
Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Wilkins |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Wilkins |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Ice Sheet |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-2022-118 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-118/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-118 |
_version_ |
1766272508399452160 |