Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model
Sea ice is an important component of the global climate system. The presence of a snowpack covering sea ice can strongly modify the thermodynamic behavior of the sea ice, due to the low thermal conductivity and high albedo of snow. The snowpack can be stratified and change properties (density, water...
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Gottingen, COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH
2020
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ftinfoscience:oai:infoscience.epfl.ch:275815 2023-05-15T13:45:36+02:00 Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model Wever, Nander Rossmann, Leonard Maass, Nina Leonard, Katherine C. Kaleschke, Lars Nicolaus, Marcel Lehning, Michael 2020-03-03T10:01:01Z https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-99-2020 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815/files/gmd-13-99-2020.pdf http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815 unknown Gottingen, COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH isi:000506844200001 doi:10.5194/gmd-13-99-2020 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815/files/gmd-13-99-2020.pdf http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815 http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815 Text 2020 ftinfoscience https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-99-2020 2023-02-13T22:58:58Z Sea ice is an important component of the global climate system. The presence of a snowpack covering sea ice can strongly modify the thermodynamic behavior of the sea ice, due to the low thermal conductivity and high albedo of snow. The snowpack can be stratified and change properties (density, water content, grain size and shape) throughout the seasons. Melting snow provides freshwater which can form melt ponds or cause flushing of salt out of the underlying sea ice, while flooding of the snow layer by saline ocean water can strongly impact both the ice mass balance and the freezing point of the snow. To capture the complex dynamics from the snowpack, we introduce modifications to the physics-based, multi-layer SNOWPACK model to simulate the snow-sea-ice system. Adaptations to the model thermodynamics and a description of water and salt transport through the snow-sea-ice system by coupling the transport equation to the Richards equation were added. These modifications allow the snow microstructure descriptions developed in the SNOWPACK model to be applied to sea ice conditions as well. Here, we drive the model with data from snow and ice mass-balance buoys installed in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. The model is able to simulate the temporal evolution of snow density, grain size and shape, and snow wetness. The model simulations show abundant depth hoar layers and melt layers, as well as superimposed ice formation due to flooding and percolation. Gravity drainage of dense brine is underestimated as convective processes are so far neglected. Furthermore, with increasing model complexity, detailed forcing data for the simulations are required, which are difficult to acquire due to limited observations in polar regions. Text Antarc* Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea EPFL Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne) Weddell Sea Weddell Geoscientific Model Development 13 1 99 119 |
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Open Polar |
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EPFL Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne) |
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ftinfoscience |
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unknown |
description |
Sea ice is an important component of the global climate system. The presence of a snowpack covering sea ice can strongly modify the thermodynamic behavior of the sea ice, due to the low thermal conductivity and high albedo of snow. The snowpack can be stratified and change properties (density, water content, grain size and shape) throughout the seasons. Melting snow provides freshwater which can form melt ponds or cause flushing of salt out of the underlying sea ice, while flooding of the snow layer by saline ocean water can strongly impact both the ice mass balance and the freezing point of the snow. To capture the complex dynamics from the snowpack, we introduce modifications to the physics-based, multi-layer SNOWPACK model to simulate the snow-sea-ice system. Adaptations to the model thermodynamics and a description of water and salt transport through the snow-sea-ice system by coupling the transport equation to the Richards equation were added. These modifications allow the snow microstructure descriptions developed in the SNOWPACK model to be applied to sea ice conditions as well. Here, we drive the model with data from snow and ice mass-balance buoys installed in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. The model is able to simulate the temporal evolution of snow density, grain size and shape, and snow wetness. The model simulations show abundant depth hoar layers and melt layers, as well as superimposed ice formation due to flooding and percolation. Gravity drainage of dense brine is underestimated as convective processes are so far neglected. Furthermore, with increasing model complexity, detailed forcing data for the simulations are required, which are difficult to acquire due to limited observations in polar regions. |
format |
Text |
author |
Wever, Nander Rossmann, Leonard Maass, Nina Leonard, Katherine C. Kaleschke, Lars Nicolaus, Marcel Lehning, Michael |
spellingShingle |
Wever, Nander Rossmann, Leonard Maass, Nina Leonard, Katherine C. Kaleschke, Lars Nicolaus, Marcel Lehning, Michael Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model |
author_facet |
Wever, Nander Rossmann, Leonard Maass, Nina Leonard, Katherine C. Kaleschke, Lars Nicolaus, Marcel Lehning, Michael |
author_sort |
Wever, Nander |
title |
Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model |
title_short |
Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model |
title_full |
Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model |
title_fullStr |
Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer SNOWPACK model |
title_sort |
version 1 of a sea ice module for the physics-based, detailed, multi-layer snowpack model |
publisher |
Gottingen, COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-99-2020 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815/files/gmd-13-99-2020.pdf http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815 |
geographic |
Weddell Sea Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Weddell Sea Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Sea ice Weddell Sea |
op_source |
http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815 |
op_relation |
isi:000506844200001 doi:10.5194/gmd-13-99-2020 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815/files/gmd-13-99-2020.pdf http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/275815 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-99-2020 |
container_title |
Geoscientific Model Development |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
99 |
op_container_end_page |
119 |
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