Brief communication: An ice surface melt scheme including the diurnal cycle of solar radiation

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: U. Krebs-Kanzow, P. Gierz, G. Lohmann
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2018
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Greenland; Ice Sheet; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3923-2018; https://doaj.org/article/210752c504f44da7ab6c780b0c9a982e

We propose a surface melt scheme for glaciated land surfaces, which only requires monthly mean short-wave radiation and temperature as inputs, yet implicitly accounts for the diurnal cycle of short-wave radiation. The scheme is deduced from the energy balance of a daily melt period, which is defined by a minimum solar elevation angle. The scheme yields a better spatial representation of melting than common empirical schemes when applied to the Greenland Ice Sheet, using a 1948–2016 regional climate and snowpack simulation as a reference. The scheme is physically constrained and can be adapted to other regions or time periods.