Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island
Ice patches have implications for landscape and ecosystem dynamics in polar deserts, however, the understanding of the driving factors that control their spatio-temporal variability is limited. This study aims to assess the seasonal and long-term evolution of ice patches on Ward Hunt Island (WHI; 83...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:560f5ead95924a7e9f3b7ffbb8971116 2023-07-30T04:01:52+02:00 Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island Gautier Davesne Daniel Fortier Florent Domine Christophe Kinnard https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.44 https://doaj.org/article/560f5ead95924a7e9f3b7ffbb8971116 EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023000448/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2023.44 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/560f5ead95924a7e9f3b7ffbb8971116 Journal of Glaciology, Pp 1-18 climate change cryosphere ice patch mass balance polar desert Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.44 2023-07-16T00:37:47Z Ice patches have implications for landscape and ecosystem dynamics in polar deserts, however, the understanding of the driving factors that control their spatio-temporal variability is limited. This study aims to assess the seasonal and long-term evolution of ice patches on Ward Hunt Island (WHI; 83°N, Canadian High Arctic) based on field measurements of surface mass and energy balance. Results show that mass gains of the ice patch systems occur mostly through drifting snow, making them highly linked to the topography as well as the frequency and magnitude of wind events. Summer ablation is primarily driven by net radiation, but the short-term variability in melt rate is driven by sensible heat fluxes. The highest ablation rates occur during the passage of warm fronts that combine strong winds and mild temperatures. Conversely, foggy days reduce fluxes of solar radiation and sensible heat to the snow/ice surface, thereby suppressing ablation. Ice patches are less climate-sensitive than other cryospheric elements due to a feedback between snow accumulation and topography, however, summer ablation is strongly influenced by micrometeorology. Model projections of these factors suggest that conditions will become critical for preserving ice patches at WHI and along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island as early as in the next decades. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Ellesmere Island Journal of Glaciology polar desert Ward Hunt Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ellesmere Island Hunt Island ENVELOPE(-100.601,-100.601,58.788,58.788) Ward Hunt Island ENVELOPE(-74.161,-74.161,83.102,83.102) Journal of Glaciology 1 18 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
climate change cryosphere ice patch mass balance polar desert Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
climate change cryosphere ice patch mass balance polar desert Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Gautier Davesne Daniel Fortier Florent Domine Christophe Kinnard Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island |
topic_facet |
climate change cryosphere ice patch mass balance polar desert Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Ice patches have implications for landscape and ecosystem dynamics in polar deserts, however, the understanding of the driving factors that control their spatio-temporal variability is limited. This study aims to assess the seasonal and long-term evolution of ice patches on Ward Hunt Island (WHI; 83°N, Canadian High Arctic) based on field measurements of surface mass and energy balance. Results show that mass gains of the ice patch systems occur mostly through drifting snow, making them highly linked to the topography as well as the frequency and magnitude of wind events. Summer ablation is primarily driven by net radiation, but the short-term variability in melt rate is driven by sensible heat fluxes. The highest ablation rates occur during the passage of warm fronts that combine strong winds and mild temperatures. Conversely, foggy days reduce fluxes of solar radiation and sensible heat to the snow/ice surface, thereby suppressing ablation. Ice patches are less climate-sensitive than other cryospheric elements due to a feedback between snow accumulation and topography, however, summer ablation is strongly influenced by micrometeorology. Model projections of these factors suggest that conditions will become critical for preserving ice patches at WHI and along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island as early as in the next decades. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gautier Davesne Daniel Fortier Florent Domine Christophe Kinnard |
author_facet |
Gautier Davesne Daniel Fortier Florent Domine Christophe Kinnard |
author_sort |
Gautier Davesne |
title |
Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island |
title_short |
Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island |
title_full |
Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island |
title_fullStr |
Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island |
title_sort |
mass-balance and ablation processes of a perennial polar ice patch on the northern coast of ellesmere island |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.44 https://doaj.org/article/560f5ead95924a7e9f3b7ffbb8971116 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-100.601,-100.601,58.788,58.788) ENVELOPE(-74.161,-74.161,83.102,83.102) |
geographic |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Hunt Island Ward Hunt Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Hunt Island Ward Hunt Island |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Ellesmere Island Journal of Glaciology polar desert Ward Hunt Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Ellesmere Island Journal of Glaciology polar desert Ward Hunt Island |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology, Pp 1-18 |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023000448/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2023.44 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/560f5ead95924a7e9f3b7ffbb8971116 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.44 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
18 |
_version_ |
1772812615603453952 |