Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model
Simulated surface conditions of the Goddard Earth Observing System model, version 5 (GEOS 5) atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) are examined for the contemporary Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). A surface parameterization that explicitly models surface processes including snow compaction, meltw...
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ftnasantrs:oai:casi.ntrs.nasa.gov:20140012067 2023-05-15T16:28:22+02:00 Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model Cullather, Richard I. Zhao, Bin Nowicki, Sophie M. J. Suarez, Max J. Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available February 2014 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140012067 unknown Document ID: 20140012067 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140012067 Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright CASI Geophysics GSFC-E-DAA-TN13841 2014 ftnasantrs 2019-07-21T06:13:37Z Simulated surface conditions of the Goddard Earth Observing System model, version 5 (GEOS 5) atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) are examined for the contemporary Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). A surface parameterization that explicitly models surface processes including snow compaction, meltwater percolation and refreezing, and surface albedo is found to remedy an erroneous deficit in the annual net surface energy flux and provide an adequate representation of surface mass balance (SMB) in an evaluation using simulations at two spatial resolutions. The simulated 1980-2008 GrIS SMB average is 24.7+/-4.5 cm yr(- 1) water-equivalent (w.e.) at.5 degree model grid spacing, and 18.2+/-3.3 cm yr(- 1) w.e. for 2 degree grid spacing. The spatial variability and seasonal cycle of the simulation compare favorably to recent studies using regional climate models, while results from 2 degree integrations reproduce the primary features of the SMB field. In comparison to historical glaciological observations, the coarser resolution model overestimates accumulation in the southern areas of the GrIS, while the overall SMB is underestimated. These changes relate to the sensitivity of accumulation and melt to the resolution of topography. The GEOS-5 SMB fields contrast with available corresponding atmospheric models simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). It is found that only a few of the CMIP5 AGCMs examined provide significant summertime runoff, a dominant feature of the GrIS seasonal cycle. This is a condition that will need to be remedied if potential contributions to future eustatic change from polar ice sheets are to be examined with GCMs. Other/Unknown Material Greenland Ice Sheet NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Greenland |
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Open Polar |
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
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ftnasantrs |
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unknown |
topic |
Geophysics |
spellingShingle |
Geophysics Cullather, Richard I. Zhao, Bin Nowicki, Sophie M. J. Suarez, Max J. Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model |
topic_facet |
Geophysics |
description |
Simulated surface conditions of the Goddard Earth Observing System model, version 5 (GEOS 5) atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) are examined for the contemporary Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). A surface parameterization that explicitly models surface processes including snow compaction, meltwater percolation and refreezing, and surface albedo is found to remedy an erroneous deficit in the annual net surface energy flux and provide an adequate representation of surface mass balance (SMB) in an evaluation using simulations at two spatial resolutions. The simulated 1980-2008 GrIS SMB average is 24.7+/-4.5 cm yr(- 1) water-equivalent (w.e.) at.5 degree model grid spacing, and 18.2+/-3.3 cm yr(- 1) w.e. for 2 degree grid spacing. The spatial variability and seasonal cycle of the simulation compare favorably to recent studies using regional climate models, while results from 2 degree integrations reproduce the primary features of the SMB field. In comparison to historical glaciological observations, the coarser resolution model overestimates accumulation in the southern areas of the GrIS, while the overall SMB is underestimated. These changes relate to the sensitivity of accumulation and melt to the resolution of topography. The GEOS-5 SMB fields contrast with available corresponding atmospheric models simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). It is found that only a few of the CMIP5 AGCMs examined provide significant summertime runoff, a dominant feature of the GrIS seasonal cycle. This is a condition that will need to be remedied if potential contributions to future eustatic change from polar ice sheets are to be examined with GCMs. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Cullather, Richard I. Zhao, Bin Nowicki, Sophie M. J. Suarez, Max J. |
author_facet |
Cullather, Richard I. Zhao, Bin Nowicki, Sophie M. J. Suarez, Max J. |
author_sort |
Cullather, Richard I. |
title |
Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model |
title_short |
Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model |
title_full |
Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model |
title_sort |
evaluation of the surface representation of the greenland ice sheet in a general circulation model |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140012067 |
op_coverage |
Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
CASI |
op_relation |
Document ID: 20140012067 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140012067 |
op_rights |
Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright |
_version_ |
1766018008513249280 |