Automatic weather station data collected from 2003 to 2021 at the Greenland ice sheet along the K-transect, West-Greenland ...

• Main Authors: Smeets, Paul C J P, van den Broeke, Michiel R, Boot, Wim, Cover, Giorgio, Eijkelboom, Mark, Greuell, Wouter, Tijm-Reijmer, Carleen H, Snellen, Henk, van de Wal, Roderik S W
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2022
• Subjects: automatic weather station; Greenland; K-transect; Ice Sheet; Kangerlussuaq
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.947483; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.947483

We present 18 years (2003-2021) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Margin Experiments (GIMEX), held in the summers of 1990 and 1991. Until recently, surface mass balance and ice velocity measurements were performed at nine locations along the K-transect, of which four are equipped with AWS: two in the ablation zone at approximately 500 m and 1,000 m asl, one at the approximate equilibrium-line altitude (~1,500 m asl), and one in the lower accumulation zone (~1,850 m asl) at distances of 5, 38, 88, and 140 km from the ice edge, respectively. Here, we present (mostly) half hourly UTC based AWS measurements from these four sites containing temperature/humidity, windspeed/direction, all four radiation components and atmospheric pressure. All data are corrected and quality controlled, for details ... : The timeseries constitutes two different types of AWS. The first is a standard type modular AWS described extensively in https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954. The second type (first operational from August 2016 at AWS6) is a very compact IMAU design AWS constituating one integrated module containing the datalogger, energy system and multiple sensors. In addition there are 2 independent sensors mounted separately at the same mast boom (Young prop/vane, CNR4 radiation sensor). The data set is therefore divided in two periods depending on AWS type which is identified in the dataset in the last column no. 16 being either 0 or 1 for the periods (2003-2015) and (2016-2021), respectively. Main difference between the two station types concerns the measurement of surface melt/sensor height. In column 12 the data from acoustic height rangers is given. Typically for AWS type 0 the sensor given surface melt while for type 1 this is sometimes sensor height or sensor height and surface height variations depending ...