Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard
The redistribution of snow by drifting and blowing snow frequently leads to an inhomogeneous snow mass distribution on larger ice caps. Together with the thermodynamic impact of drifting snow sublimation on the lower atmospheric boundary layer, these processes affect the glacier surface mass balance...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4ac251f3dbf7490b92059a9c95a9e2aa 2023-05-15T16:22:13+02:00 Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard T. Sauter M. Möller R. Finkelnburg M. Grabiec D. Scherer C. Schneider 2013-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1287-2013 https://doaj.org/article/4ac251f3dbf7490b92059a9c95a9e2aa EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1287/2013/tc-7-1287-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1287-2013 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/4ac251f3dbf7490b92059a9c95a9e2aa The Cryosphere, Vol 7, Iss 4, Pp 1287-1301 (2013) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1287-2013 2022-12-31T13:03:22Z The redistribution of snow by drifting and blowing snow frequently leads to an inhomogeneous snow mass distribution on larger ice caps. Together with the thermodynamic impact of drifting snow sublimation on the lower atmospheric boundary layer, these processes affect the glacier surface mass balance. This study provides a first quantification of snowdrift and sublimation of blowing and drifting snow on the Vestfonna ice cap (Svalbard) by using the specifically designed snow2blow snowdrift model. The model is forced by atmospheric fields from the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting model and resolves processes on a spatial resolution of 250 m. The model is applied to the Vestfonna ice cap for the accumulation period 2008/2009. Comparison with radio-echo soundings and snow-pit measurements show that important local-scale processes are resolved by the model and the overall snow accumulation pattern is reproduced. The findings indicate that there is a significant redistribution of snow mass from the interior of the ice cap to the surrounding areas and ice slopes. Drifting snow sublimation of suspended snow is found to be stronger during spring. It is concluded that the redistribution process is strong enough to have a significant impact on glacier mass balance. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Ice cap Svalbard The Cryosphere Vestfonna Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Svalbard Vestfonna ENVELOPE(20.761,20.761,79.941,79.941) The Cryosphere 7 4 1287 1301 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 T. Sauter M. Möller R. Finkelnburg M. Grabiec D. Scherer C. Schneider Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The redistribution of snow by drifting and blowing snow frequently leads to an inhomogeneous snow mass distribution on larger ice caps. Together with the thermodynamic impact of drifting snow sublimation on the lower atmospheric boundary layer, these processes affect the glacier surface mass balance. This study provides a first quantification of snowdrift and sublimation of blowing and drifting snow on the Vestfonna ice cap (Svalbard) by using the specifically designed snow2blow snowdrift model. The model is forced by atmospheric fields from the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting model and resolves processes on a spatial resolution of 250 m. The model is applied to the Vestfonna ice cap for the accumulation period 2008/2009. Comparison with radio-echo soundings and snow-pit measurements show that important local-scale processes are resolved by the model and the overall snow accumulation pattern is reproduced. The findings indicate that there is a significant redistribution of snow mass from the interior of the ice cap to the surrounding areas and ice slopes. Drifting snow sublimation of suspended snow is found to be stronger during spring. It is concluded that the redistribution process is strong enough to have a significant impact on glacier mass balance. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
T. Sauter M. Möller R. Finkelnburg M. Grabiec D. Scherer C. Schneider |
author_facet |
T. Sauter M. Möller R. Finkelnburg M. Grabiec D. Scherer C. Schneider |
author_sort |
T. Sauter |
title |
Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard |
title_short |
Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard |
title_full |
Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snowdrift modelling for the Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard |
title_sort |
snowdrift modelling for the vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern svalbard |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1287-2013 https://doaj.org/article/4ac251f3dbf7490b92059a9c95a9e2aa |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(20.761,20.761,79.941,79.941) |
geographic |
Svalbard Vestfonna |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Vestfonna |
genre |
glacier Ice cap Svalbard The Cryosphere Vestfonna |
genre_facet |
glacier Ice cap Svalbard The Cryosphere Vestfonna |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 7, Iss 4, Pp 1287-1301 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1287/2013/tc-7-1287-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1287-2013 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/4ac251f3dbf7490b92059a9c95a9e2aa |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1287-2013 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1287 |
op_container_end_page |
1301 |
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1766010180788551680 |