On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow
International audience Abstract. The warming-induced expansion of shrubs in the Arctic is transforming snowpacks into a mixture of snow, impurities and buried branches. Because snow is a translucent medium into which light penetrates up to tens of centimetres, buried branches may alter the snowpack...
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Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889/document https://hal.science/hal-03427889/file/bg-18-5851-2021.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 |
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ftinsu:oai:HAL:hal-03427889v1 2023-06-18T03:39:09+02:00 On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow Belke-Brea, Maria Domine, Florent Picard, Ghislain Barrere, Mathieu Arnaud, Laurent Takuvik Joint International Laboratory ULAVAL-CNRS Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) 2021 https://hal.science/hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889/document https://hal.science/hal-03427889/file/bg-18-5851-2021.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 en eng HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889/document https://hal.science/hal-03427889/file/bg-18-5851-2021.pdf doi:10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1726-4170 EISSN: 1726-4189 Biogeosciences https://hal.science/hal-03427889 Biogeosciences, 2021, 18 (21), pp.5851-5869. ⟨10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021⟩ snow shrub light [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2021 ftinsu https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 2023-06-05T20:43:19Z International audience Abstract. The warming-induced expansion of shrubs in the Arctic is transforming snowpacks into a mixture of snow, impurities and buried branches. Because snow is a translucent medium into which light penetrates up to tens of centimetres, buried branches may alter the snowpack radiation budget with important consequences for the snow thermal regime and microstructure. To characterize the influence of buried branches on radiative transfer in snow, irradiance profiles were measured in snowpacks with and without shrubs near Umiujaq in the Canadian Low Arctic (56.5∘ N, 76.5∘ W) in November and December 2015. Using the irradiance profiles measured in shrub-free snowpacks in combination with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model revealed that the dominant impurity type was black carbon (BC) in variable concentrations up to 185 ng g−1. This allowed the separation of the radiative effects of impurities and buried branches. Irradiance profiles measured in snowpacks with shrubs showed that the impact of buried branches was local (i.e. a few centimetres around branches) and only observable in layers where branches were also visible in snowpit photographs. The local-effect hypothesis was further supported by observations of localized melting and depth hoar pockets that formed in the vicinity of branches. Buried branches therefore affect snowpack properties, with possible impacts on Arctic flora and fauna and on the thermal regime of permafrost. Lastly, the unexpectedly high BC concentrations in snow are likely caused by nearby open-air waste burning, suggesting that cleaner waste management plans are required for northern community and ecosystem protection. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic black carbon permafrost Umiujaq Institut national des sciences de l'Univers: HAL-INSU Arctic Umiujaq ENVELOPE(-76.549,-76.549,56.553,56.553) Biogeosciences 18 21 5851 5869 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Institut national des sciences de l'Univers: HAL-INSU |
op_collection_id |
ftinsu |
language |
English |
topic |
snow shrub light [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes |
spellingShingle |
snow shrub light [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes Belke-Brea, Maria Domine, Florent Picard, Ghislain Barrere, Mathieu Arnaud, Laurent On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
topic_facet |
snow shrub light [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes |
description |
International audience Abstract. The warming-induced expansion of shrubs in the Arctic is transforming snowpacks into a mixture of snow, impurities and buried branches. Because snow is a translucent medium into which light penetrates up to tens of centimetres, buried branches may alter the snowpack radiation budget with important consequences for the snow thermal regime and microstructure. To characterize the influence of buried branches on radiative transfer in snow, irradiance profiles were measured in snowpacks with and without shrubs near Umiujaq in the Canadian Low Arctic (56.5∘ N, 76.5∘ W) in November and December 2015. Using the irradiance profiles measured in shrub-free snowpacks in combination with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model revealed that the dominant impurity type was black carbon (BC) in variable concentrations up to 185 ng g−1. This allowed the separation of the radiative effects of impurities and buried branches. Irradiance profiles measured in snowpacks with shrubs showed that the impact of buried branches was local (i.e. a few centimetres around branches) and only observable in layers where branches were also visible in snowpit photographs. The local-effect hypothesis was further supported by observations of localized melting and depth hoar pockets that formed in the vicinity of branches. Buried branches therefore affect snowpack properties, with possible impacts on Arctic flora and fauna and on the thermal regime of permafrost. Lastly, the unexpectedly high BC concentrations in snow are likely caused by nearby open-air waste burning, suggesting that cleaner waste management plans are required for northern community and ecosystem protection. |
author2 |
Takuvik Joint International Laboratory ULAVAL-CNRS Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Belke-Brea, Maria Domine, Florent Picard, Ghislain Barrere, Mathieu Arnaud, Laurent |
author_facet |
Belke-Brea, Maria Domine, Florent Picard, Ghislain Barrere, Mathieu Arnaud, Laurent |
author_sort |
Belke-Brea, Maria |
title |
On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
title_short |
On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
title_full |
On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
title_fullStr |
On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
title_sort |
on the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889/document https://hal.science/hal-03427889/file/bg-18-5851-2021.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-76.549,-76.549,56.553,56.553) |
geographic |
Arctic Umiujaq |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Umiujaq |
genre |
Arctic black carbon permafrost Umiujaq |
genre_facet |
Arctic black carbon permafrost Umiujaq |
op_source |
ISSN: 1726-4170 EISSN: 1726-4189 Biogeosciences https://hal.science/hal-03427889 Biogeosciences, 2021, 18 (21), pp.5851-5869. ⟨10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889 https://hal.science/hal-03427889/document https://hal.science/hal-03427889/file/bg-18-5851-2021.pdf doi:10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
21 |
container_start_page |
5851 |
op_container_end_page |
5869 |
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1769003959441162240 |