More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM)
Abstract Earth system models account for seasonal snow cover, but many do not accommodate the deeper snowpack on ice sheets (aka firn) that slowly transforms to ice under accumulating snowfall. To accommodate and resolve firn depths of up to 60 m in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model's land...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2fb7636f67184bbd9efef866e4f5e0dd 2023-05-15T16:41:24+02:00 More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) Adam M. Schneider Charles S. Zender Stephen F. Price 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002542 https://doaj.org/article/2fb7636f67184bbd9efef866e4f5e0dd EN eng American Geophysical Union (AGU) https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002542 https://doaj.org/toc/1942-2466 1942-2466 doi:10.1029/2021MS002542 https://doaj.org/article/2fb7636f67184bbd9efef866e4f5e0dd Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) firn densification Earth system model snow metamorphism ice sheets surface mass balance firn air content Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002542 2022-12-31T02:33:18Z Abstract Earth system models account for seasonal snow cover, but many do not accommodate the deeper snowpack on ice sheets (aka firn) that slowly transforms to ice under accumulating snowfall. To accommodate and resolve firn depths of up to 60 m in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model's land surface model (ELM), we add 11 layers to its snowpack and evaluate three dry snow compaction equations in multi‐century simulations. After comparing results from ELM simulations (forced with atmospheric reanalysis) with empirical data, we find that implementing into ELM a two‐stage firn densification model produces more accurate dry firn densities at intermediate depths of 20–60 m. Compared to modeling firn using the equations in the (12 layer) Community Land Model (version 5), switching to the two‐stage firn densification model (with 16 layers) significantly decreases root‐mean‐square errors in upper 60 m dry firn densities by an average of 41 kg m−3 (31%). Simulations with three different firn density parameterizations show that the two‐stage firn densification model should be used for applications that prioritize accurate upper 60 m firn air content (FAC) in regions where the mean annual surface temperature is greater than roughly −31°C. Because snow metamorphism, firn density, and FAC are major components in modeling ice sheet surface albedo, melt water retention, and climatic mass balance, these developments advance broader efforts to simulate the response of land ice to atmospheric forcing in Earth system models. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 14 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
firn densification Earth system model snow metamorphism ice sheets surface mass balance firn air content Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
firn densification Earth system model snow metamorphism ice sheets surface mass balance firn air content Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 Adam M. Schneider Charles S. Zender Stephen F. Price More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) |
topic_facet |
firn densification Earth system model snow metamorphism ice sheets surface mass balance firn air content Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Abstract Earth system models account for seasonal snow cover, but many do not accommodate the deeper snowpack on ice sheets (aka firn) that slowly transforms to ice under accumulating snowfall. To accommodate and resolve firn depths of up to 60 m in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model's land surface model (ELM), we add 11 layers to its snowpack and evaluate three dry snow compaction equations in multi‐century simulations. After comparing results from ELM simulations (forced with atmospheric reanalysis) with empirical data, we find that implementing into ELM a two‐stage firn densification model produces more accurate dry firn densities at intermediate depths of 20–60 m. Compared to modeling firn using the equations in the (12 layer) Community Land Model (version 5), switching to the two‐stage firn densification model (with 16 layers) significantly decreases root‐mean‐square errors in upper 60 m dry firn densities by an average of 41 kg m−3 (31%). Simulations with three different firn density parameterizations show that the two‐stage firn densification model should be used for applications that prioritize accurate upper 60 m firn air content (FAC) in regions where the mean annual surface temperature is greater than roughly −31°C. Because snow metamorphism, firn density, and FAC are major components in modeling ice sheet surface albedo, melt water retention, and climatic mass balance, these developments advance broader efforts to simulate the response of land ice to atmospheric forcing in Earth system models. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Adam M. Schneider Charles S. Zender Stephen F. Price |
author_facet |
Adam M. Schneider Charles S. Zender Stephen F. Price |
author_sort |
Adam M. Schneider |
title |
More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) |
title_short |
More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) |
title_full |
More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) |
title_fullStr |
More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) |
title_full_unstemmed |
More Realistic Intermediate Depth Dry Firn Densification in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) |
title_sort |
more realistic intermediate depth dry firn densification in the energy exascale earth system model (e3sm) |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002542 https://doaj.org/article/2fb7636f67184bbd9efef866e4f5e0dd |
genre |
Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002542 https://doaj.org/toc/1942-2466 1942-2466 doi:10.1029/2021MS002542 https://doaj.org/article/2fb7636f67184bbd9efef866e4f5e0dd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002542 |
container_title |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1766031834036043776 |