The importance of accurate glacier albedo for estimates of surface mass balance on Vatnajökull: evaluating the surface energy budget in a regional climate model with automatic weather station observations

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: Schmidt, Louise Steffensen, Adalgeirsdottir, Gudfinna, Guðmundsson, Sverrir, Langen, Peter L., Pálsson, Finnur, Mottram, Ruth, Gascoin, Simon, Björnsson, Helgi
• Other Authors: Jarðvísindastofnun (HÍ), Institute of Earth Sciences (UI), Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus GmbH 2017
• Subjects: Jöklar; Jöklarannsóknir; Íshvel; Vatnajökull; glacier; Ice cap; Iceland; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/363; https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1665-2017

A simulation of the surface climate of Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, carried out with the regional climate model HIRHAM5 for the period 1980–2014, is used to estimate the evolution of the glacier surface mass balance (SMB). This simulation uses a new snow albedo parameterization that allows albedo t...