The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016)
We present twenty-three years (1993–2016) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Ma...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2018
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/article/ef6331fedb024936b3580b389ce0d62b |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ef6331fedb024936b3580b389ce0d62b 2023-05-15T14:14:29+02:00 The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) Paul C. J. P. Smeets Peter Kuipers Munneke Dirk van As Michiel R. van den Broeke Wim Boot Hans Oerlemans Henk Snellen Carleen H. Reijmer Roderik S. W. van de Wal 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/article/ef6331fedb024936b3580b389ce0d62b EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/article/ef6331fedb024936b3580b389ce0d62b Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) k-transect greenland automatic weather station Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 2022-12-31T09:47:13Z We present twenty-three years (1993–2016) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Margin Experiments (GIMEX), held in the summers of 1990 and 1991. Until recently, surface mass balance and ice velocity measurements were performed at nine locations along the K-transect, of which four are equipped with AWS: two in the ablation zone at approximately 500 m and 1,000 m asl, one at the approximate equilibrium-line altitude (~1,500 m asl), and one in the lower accumulation zone (~1,850 m asl) at distances of 5, 38, 88, and 140 km from the ice edge, respectively. Here, we present an overview of the various AWS types and their data corrections, quality, and availability, including a preliminary trend analysis. Recent increases in temperature and radiation components are associated with the frequent occurrence of anti-cyclonic conditions in west Greenland, resulting in clear skies and relatively warm summers. Strong melt concurs with a decrease in winter accumulation, lowering the surface albedo of the ice sheet. The AWS situated at 1,500 m asl, the former equilibrium-line altitude (ELA), observed almost a doubling of the summertime net shortwave radiation since 2004; as a result, the ELA along the K-transect has been steadily increasing and is currently situated well above 1,700 m asl. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) Greenland Kangerlussuaq ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 50 1 S100002 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
k-transect greenland automatic weather station Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
k-transect greenland automatic weather station Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Paul C. J. P. Smeets Peter Kuipers Munneke Dirk van As Michiel R. van den Broeke Wim Boot Hans Oerlemans Henk Snellen Carleen H. Reijmer Roderik S. W. van de Wal The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
topic_facet |
k-transect greenland automatic weather station Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
We present twenty-three years (1993–2016) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Margin Experiments (GIMEX), held in the summers of 1990 and 1991. Until recently, surface mass balance and ice velocity measurements were performed at nine locations along the K-transect, of which four are equipped with AWS: two in the ablation zone at approximately 500 m and 1,000 m asl, one at the approximate equilibrium-line altitude (~1,500 m asl), and one in the lower accumulation zone (~1,850 m asl) at distances of 5, 38, 88, and 140 km from the ice edge, respectively. Here, we present an overview of the various AWS types and their data corrections, quality, and availability, including a preliminary trend analysis. Recent increases in temperature and radiation components are associated with the frequent occurrence of anti-cyclonic conditions in west Greenland, resulting in clear skies and relatively warm summers. Strong melt concurs with a decrease in winter accumulation, lowering the surface albedo of the ice sheet. The AWS situated at 1,500 m asl, the former equilibrium-line altitude (ELA), observed almost a doubling of the summertime net shortwave radiation since 2004; as a result, the ELA along the K-transect has been steadily increasing and is currently situated well above 1,700 m asl. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Paul C. J. P. Smeets Peter Kuipers Munneke Dirk van As Michiel R. van den Broeke Wim Boot Hans Oerlemans Henk Snellen Carleen H. Reijmer Roderik S. W. van de Wal |
author_facet |
Paul C. J. P. Smeets Peter Kuipers Munneke Dirk van As Michiel R. van den Broeke Wim Boot Hans Oerlemans Henk Snellen Carleen H. Reijmer Roderik S. W. van de Wal |
author_sort |
Paul C. J. P. Smeets |
title |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_short |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_full |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_fullStr |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_sort |
k-transect in west greenland: automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/article/ef6331fedb024936b3580b389ce0d62b |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) |
geographic |
Ela Greenland Kangerlussuaq |
geographic_facet |
Ela Greenland Kangerlussuaq |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 https://doaj.org/article/ef6331fedb024936b3580b389ce0d62b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2017.1420954 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
S100002 |
_version_ |
1766286918143705088 |