A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations
Wind-driven snow redistribution affects the glacier mass balance by eroding or depositing mass from or to different parts of the glacier’s surface. High-resolution observations are used to test the ability of large-eddy simulations as a tool for distributed mass balance modeling. We present a case s...
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ftethz:oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/661335 2024-05-19T07:49:25+00:00 A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations Voordendag, Annelies id_orcid:0 000-0003-0251-5991 Goger, Brigitta id_orcid:0 000-0001-9572-6733 Prinz, Rainer Sauter, Tobias Mölg, Thomas Saigger, Manuel Kaser, Georg 2024 application/application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/661335 https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000661335 en eng Copernicus info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-18-849-2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/001190509400001 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/661335 doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000661335 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Cryosphere, 18 (2) info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2024 ftethz https://doi.org/20.500.11850/66133510.3929/ethz-b-00066133510.5194/tc-18-849-2024 2024-04-23T23:36:04Z Wind-driven snow redistribution affects the glacier mass balance by eroding or depositing mass from or to different parts of the glacier’s surface. High-resolution observations are used to test the ability of large-eddy simulations as a tool for distributed mass balance modeling. We present a case study of observed and simulated snow redistribution over Hintereisferner glacier (Ötztal Alps, Austria) between 6 and 9 February 2021. Observations consist of three high-resolution digital elevation models (Δx=1 m) derived from terrestrial laser scans taken shortly before, directly after, and 15 h after snowfall. The scans are complemented by datasets from three on-site weather stations. After the snowfall event, we observed a snowpack decrease of 0.08 m on average over the glacier. The decrease in the snow depth can be attributed to post-snowfall compaction and the wind-driven redistribution of snow. Simulations were performed with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at Δx=48 m with a newly implemented snow drift module. The spatial patterns of the simulated snow redistribution agree well with the observed generalized patterns. Snow redistribution contributed −0.026 m to the surface elevation decrease over the glacier surface on 8 February, resulting in a mass loss of −3.9 kg m−2, which is on the same order of magnitude as the observations. With the single case study we cannot yet extrapolate the impact of post-snowfall events on the seasonal glacier mass balance, but the study shows that the snow drift module in WRF is a powerful tool to improve knowledge on wind-driven snow redistribution patterns over glaciers. ISSN:1994-0416 ISSN:1994-0424 Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere ETH Zürich Research Collection |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
ETH Zürich Research Collection |
op_collection_id |
ftethz |
language |
English |
description |
Wind-driven snow redistribution affects the glacier mass balance by eroding or depositing mass from or to different parts of the glacier’s surface. High-resolution observations are used to test the ability of large-eddy simulations as a tool for distributed mass balance modeling. We present a case study of observed and simulated snow redistribution over Hintereisferner glacier (Ötztal Alps, Austria) between 6 and 9 February 2021. Observations consist of three high-resolution digital elevation models (Δx=1 m) derived from terrestrial laser scans taken shortly before, directly after, and 15 h after snowfall. The scans are complemented by datasets from three on-site weather stations. After the snowfall event, we observed a snowpack decrease of 0.08 m on average over the glacier. The decrease in the snow depth can be attributed to post-snowfall compaction and the wind-driven redistribution of snow. Simulations were performed with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at Δx=48 m with a newly implemented snow drift module. The spatial patterns of the simulated snow redistribution agree well with the observed generalized patterns. Snow redistribution contributed −0.026 m to the surface elevation decrease over the glacier surface on 8 February, resulting in a mass loss of −3.9 kg m−2, which is on the same order of magnitude as the observations. With the single case study we cannot yet extrapolate the impact of post-snowfall events on the seasonal glacier mass balance, but the study shows that the snow drift module in WRF is a powerful tool to improve knowledge on wind-driven snow redistribution patterns over glaciers. ISSN:1994-0416 ISSN:1994-0424 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Voordendag, Annelies id_orcid:0 000-0003-0251-5991 Goger, Brigitta id_orcid:0 000-0001-9572-6733 Prinz, Rainer Sauter, Tobias Mölg, Thomas Saigger, Manuel Kaser, Georg |
spellingShingle |
Voordendag, Annelies id_orcid:0 000-0003-0251-5991 Goger, Brigitta id_orcid:0 000-0001-9572-6733 Prinz, Rainer Sauter, Tobias Mölg, Thomas Saigger, Manuel Kaser, Georg A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
author_facet |
Voordendag, Annelies id_orcid:0 000-0003-0251-5991 Goger, Brigitta id_orcid:0 000-0001-9572-6733 Prinz, Rainer Sauter, Tobias Mölg, Thomas Saigger, Manuel Kaser, Georg |
author_sort |
Voordendag, Annelies |
title |
A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
title_short |
A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
title_full |
A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
title_fullStr |
A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
title_full_unstemmed |
A novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an Alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
title_sort |
novel framework to investigate wind-driven snow redistribution over an alpine glacier: combination of high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and large-eddy simulations |
publisher |
Copernicus |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/661335 https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000661335 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, 18 (2) |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-18-849-2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/001190509400001 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/661335 doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000661335 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.11850/66133510.3929/ethz-b-00066133510.5194/tc-18-849-2024 |
_version_ |
1799467913306963968 |