The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016)
We present thirteen years (2003–2016) of surface energy balance calculations from automatic weather stations (AWS) along the K-transect in west Greenland. Although short in a climatological sense, these time series start to become long enough to provide valuable insight into the interannual variabil...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2018
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/article/d262154d9fe741f38d6feff9d40de666 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d262154d9fe741f38d6feff9d40de666 2023-05-15T14:14:29+02:00 The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) P. Kuipers Munneke C. J. P. P. Smeets C. H. Reijmer J. Oerlemans R. S. W. van de Wal M. R. van den Broeke 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/article/d262154d9fe741f38d6feff9d40de666 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/article/d262154d9fe741f38d6feff9d40de666 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) greenland surface melt automatic weather station surface energy balance albedo Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 2022-12-31T04:10:54Z We present thirteen years (2003–2016) of surface energy balance calculations from automatic weather stations (AWS) along the K-transect in west Greenland. Although short in a climatological sense, these time series start to become long enough to provide valuable insight into the interannual variability and drivers of melt in this part of Greenland and into trends in certain components of the surface energy balance. For instance, the data clearly reveal that albedo variations explain most of the interannual melt variability at the higher stations in the accumulation zone. Sensible heat becomes a major heat source for melt in the lower ablation zone, while latent heat modulates annual melt by up to 20 W m−2. Also, at two locations with the longest uninterrupted time series, we see a decreasing trend of incoming longwave radiation (−1.2 to −1.4 W m−2 y−1, p < 0.10) concurrent with an increase in incoming shortwave radiation (+2.4 to +3.8 W m−2 y−1, p < 0.10) during the observation period. This suggests that decreasing cloud cover plays a role in the increased availability of melt energy (+0.7 to +2.2 W m−2 y−1, not statistically significant at p < 0.10). At the AWS situated around the equilibrium line altitude (ELA), the observed negative trend in albedo is strongest of all stations (−0.0087 y−1), as the ELA moves upward and bare ice becomes exposed. These insights are important for modeling the future response of the ice sheet to continued global warming, which is expected to be dominated by surface processes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Greenland Ice Sheet Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) Greenland Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 50 1 e1420952 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
greenland surface melt automatic weather station surface energy balance albedo Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
greenland surface melt automatic weather station surface energy balance albedo Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 P. Kuipers Munneke C. J. P. P. Smeets C. H. Reijmer J. Oerlemans R. S. W. van de Wal M. R. van den Broeke The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
topic_facet |
greenland surface melt automatic weather station surface energy balance albedo Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
We present thirteen years (2003–2016) of surface energy balance calculations from automatic weather stations (AWS) along the K-transect in west Greenland. Although short in a climatological sense, these time series start to become long enough to provide valuable insight into the interannual variability and drivers of melt in this part of Greenland and into trends in certain components of the surface energy balance. For instance, the data clearly reveal that albedo variations explain most of the interannual melt variability at the higher stations in the accumulation zone. Sensible heat becomes a major heat source for melt in the lower ablation zone, while latent heat modulates annual melt by up to 20 W m−2. Also, at two locations with the longest uninterrupted time series, we see a decreasing trend of incoming longwave radiation (−1.2 to −1.4 W m−2 y−1, p < 0.10) concurrent with an increase in incoming shortwave radiation (+2.4 to +3.8 W m−2 y−1, p < 0.10) during the observation period. This suggests that decreasing cloud cover plays a role in the increased availability of melt energy (+0.7 to +2.2 W m−2 y−1, not statistically significant at p < 0.10). At the AWS situated around the equilibrium line altitude (ELA), the observed negative trend in albedo is strongest of all stations (−0.0087 y−1), as the ELA moves upward and bare ice becomes exposed. These insights are important for modeling the future response of the ice sheet to continued global warming, which is expected to be dominated by surface processes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
P. Kuipers Munneke C. J. P. P. Smeets C. H. Reijmer J. Oerlemans R. S. W. van de Wal M. R. van den Broeke |
author_facet |
P. Kuipers Munneke C. J. P. P. Smeets C. H. Reijmer J. Oerlemans R. S. W. van de Wal M. R. van den Broeke |
author_sort |
P. Kuipers Munneke |
title |
The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
title_short |
The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
title_full |
The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
title_fullStr |
The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The K-transect on the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
title_sort |
k-transect on the western greenland ice sheet: surface energy balance (2003–2016) |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/article/d262154d9fe741f38d6feff9d40de666 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Ela Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Ela Greenland |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 https://doaj.org/article/d262154d9fe741f38d6feff9d40de666 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420952 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
e1420952 |
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1766286925087375360 |