The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016)
We present twenty-three years (1993–2016) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Ma...
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ftsmithonian:oai:figshare.com:article/6166304 2023-05-15T16:26:17+02:00 The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) Paul C. J. P. Smeets (5125400) Peter Kuipers Munneke (5125388) Dirk van As (5125391) Michiel R. van den Broeke (5125394) Wim Boot (5125406) Hans Oerlemans (5125397) Henk Snellen (5125403) Carleen H. Reijmer (5125409) Roderik S. W. van de Wal (5125385) 2019-04-05T08:50:37Z https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.6166304.v3 unknown https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/The_K-transect_in_west_Greenland_Automatic_weather_station_data_1993_2016_/6166304 doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.6166304.v3 CC BY 4.0 CC-BY Medicine Pharmacology Biotechnology Evolutionary Biology Ecology Marine Biology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified K-transect Greenland automatic weather station Text Journal contribution 2019 ftsmithonian https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.6166304.v3 2022-01-06T11:54:07Z We present twenty-three years (1993–2016) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Margin Experiments (GIMEX), held in the summers of 1990 and 1991. Until recently, surface mass balance and ice velocity measurements were performed at nine locations along the K-transect, of which four are equipped with AWS: two in the ablation zone at approximately 500 m and 1,000 m asl, one at the approximate equilibrium-line altitude (~1,500 m asl), and one in the lower accumulation zone (~1,850 m asl) at distances of 5, 38, 88, and 140 km from the ice edge, respectively. Here, we present an overview of the various AWS types and their data corrections, quality, and availability, including a preliminary trend analysis. Recent increases in temperature and radiation components are associated with the frequent occurrence of anti-cyclonic conditions in west Greenland, resulting in clear skies and relatively warm summers. Strong melt concurs with a decrease in winter accumulation, lowering the surface albedo of the ice sheet. The AWS situated at 1,500 m asl, the former equilibrium-line altitude (ELA), observed almost a doubling of the summertime net shortwave radiation since 2004; as a result, the ELA along the K-transect has been steadily increasing and is currently situated well above 1,700 m asl. Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq Unknown Greenland Kangerlussuaq ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
ftsmithonian |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Medicine Pharmacology Biotechnology Evolutionary Biology Ecology Marine Biology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified K-transect Greenland automatic weather station |
spellingShingle |
Medicine Pharmacology Biotechnology Evolutionary Biology Ecology Marine Biology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified K-transect Greenland automatic weather station Paul C. J. P. Smeets (5125400) Peter Kuipers Munneke (5125388) Dirk van As (5125391) Michiel R. van den Broeke (5125394) Wim Boot (5125406) Hans Oerlemans (5125397) Henk Snellen (5125403) Carleen H. Reijmer (5125409) Roderik S. W. van de Wal (5125385) The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
topic_facet |
Medicine Pharmacology Biotechnology Evolutionary Biology Ecology Marine Biology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified K-transect Greenland automatic weather station |
description |
We present twenty-three years (1993–2016) of automatic weather station (AWS) data, collected along the K-transect near Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. The transect runs from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the ice sheet edge at about 67° N. The K-transect originated from the Greenland Ice Margin Experiments (GIMEX), held in the summers of 1990 and 1991. Until recently, surface mass balance and ice velocity measurements were performed at nine locations along the K-transect, of which four are equipped with AWS: two in the ablation zone at approximately 500 m and 1,000 m asl, one at the approximate equilibrium-line altitude (~1,500 m asl), and one in the lower accumulation zone (~1,850 m asl) at distances of 5, 38, 88, and 140 km from the ice edge, respectively. Here, we present an overview of the various AWS types and their data corrections, quality, and availability, including a preliminary trend analysis. Recent increases in temperature and radiation components are associated with the frequent occurrence of anti-cyclonic conditions in west Greenland, resulting in clear skies and relatively warm summers. Strong melt concurs with a decrease in winter accumulation, lowering the surface albedo of the ice sheet. The AWS situated at 1,500 m asl, the former equilibrium-line altitude (ELA), observed almost a doubling of the summertime net shortwave radiation since 2004; as a result, the ELA along the K-transect has been steadily increasing and is currently situated well above 1,700 m asl. |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Paul C. J. P. Smeets (5125400) Peter Kuipers Munneke (5125388) Dirk van As (5125391) Michiel R. van den Broeke (5125394) Wim Boot (5125406) Hans Oerlemans (5125397) Henk Snellen (5125403) Carleen H. Reijmer (5125409) Roderik S. W. van de Wal (5125385) |
author_facet |
Paul C. J. P. Smeets (5125400) Peter Kuipers Munneke (5125388) Dirk van As (5125391) Michiel R. van den Broeke (5125394) Wim Boot (5125406) Hans Oerlemans (5125397) Henk Snellen (5125403) Carleen H. Reijmer (5125409) Roderik S. W. van de Wal (5125385) |
author_sort |
Paul C. J. P. Smeets (5125400) |
title |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_short |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_full |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_fullStr |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The K-transect in west Greenland: Automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
title_sort |
k-transect in west greenland: automatic weather station data (1993–2016) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.6166304.v3 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Greenland Kangerlussuaq Ela |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Kangerlussuaq Ela |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq |
op_relation |
https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/The_K-transect_in_west_Greenland_Automatic_weather_station_data_1993_2016_/6166304 doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.6166304.v3 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.6166304.v3 |
_version_ |
1766015192536186880 |