Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway
We compare 5 years of meteorological records from automatic weather stations (AWSs) on Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway, located approximately 120 km apart. The records are obtained from identical AWSs with an altitude difference of 120 m and cover the period September 20...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2009
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/3/57/2009/tc-3-57-2009.pdf https://doaj.org/article/090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 |
id |
fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 2023-05-15T18:32:14+02:00 Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway R. H. Giesen L. M. Andreassen M. R. van den Broeke J. Oerlemans 2009-03-01 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/3/57/2009/tc-3-57-2009.pdf https://doaj.org/article/090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 en eng Copernicus Publications 1994-0416 1994-0424 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/3/57/2009/tc-3-57-2009.pdf https://doaj.org/article/090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 3, Iss 1, Pp 57-74 (2009) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2009 fttriple 2023-01-22T19:27:12Z We compare 5 years of meteorological records from automatic weather stations (AWSs) on Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway, located approximately 120 km apart. The records are obtained from identical AWSs with an altitude difference of 120 m and cover the period September 2001 to September 2006. Air temperature at the AWS locations is found to be highly correlated, even with the seasonal cycle removed. The most striking difference between the two sites is the difference in wind climate. Midtdalsbreen is much more under influence of the large-scale circulation with wind speeds on average a factor 1.75 higher. On Storbreen, weaker katabatic winds are dominant. The main melt season is from May to September at both locations. During the melt season, incoming and net solar radiation are larger on Midtdalsbreen, whereas incoming and net longwave radiation are larger on Storbreen, primarily caused by thicker clouds on the latter. The turbulent fluxes are a factor 1.7 larger on Midtdalsbreen, mainly due to the higher wind speeds. Inter-daily fluctuations in the surface energy fluxes are very similar at the AWS sites. On average, melt energy is a factor 1.3 larger on Midtdalsbreen, a result of both larger net radiation and larger turbulent fluxes. The relative contribution of net radiation to surface melt is larger on Storbreen (76%) than on Midtdalsbreen (66%). As winter snow depth at the two locations is comparable in most years, the larger amount of melt energy results in an earlier disappearance of the snowpack on Midtdalsbreen and 70% more ice melt than on Storbreen. We compare the relative and absolute values of the energy fluxes on Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen with reported values for glaciers at similar latitudes. Furthermore, a comparison is made with meteorological variables measured at two nearby weather stations, showing that on-site measurements are essential for an accurate calculation of the surface energy balance and melt rate. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown Norway Storbreen ENVELOPE(8.269,8.269,62.521,62.521) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
geo envir |
spellingShingle |
geo envir R. H. Giesen L. M. Andreassen M. R. van den Broeke J. Oerlemans Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
We compare 5 years of meteorological records from automatic weather stations (AWSs) on Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway, located approximately 120 km apart. The records are obtained from identical AWSs with an altitude difference of 120 m and cover the period September 2001 to September 2006. Air temperature at the AWS locations is found to be highly correlated, even with the seasonal cycle removed. The most striking difference between the two sites is the difference in wind climate. Midtdalsbreen is much more under influence of the large-scale circulation with wind speeds on average a factor 1.75 higher. On Storbreen, weaker katabatic winds are dominant. The main melt season is from May to September at both locations. During the melt season, incoming and net solar radiation are larger on Midtdalsbreen, whereas incoming and net longwave radiation are larger on Storbreen, primarily caused by thicker clouds on the latter. The turbulent fluxes are a factor 1.7 larger on Midtdalsbreen, mainly due to the higher wind speeds. Inter-daily fluctuations in the surface energy fluxes are very similar at the AWS sites. On average, melt energy is a factor 1.3 larger on Midtdalsbreen, a result of both larger net radiation and larger turbulent fluxes. The relative contribution of net radiation to surface melt is larger on Storbreen (76%) than on Midtdalsbreen (66%). As winter snow depth at the two locations is comparable in most years, the larger amount of melt energy results in an earlier disappearance of the snowpack on Midtdalsbreen and 70% more ice melt than on Storbreen. We compare the relative and absolute values of the energy fluxes on Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen with reported values for glaciers at similar latitudes. Furthermore, a comparison is made with meteorological variables measured at two nearby weather stations, showing that on-site measurements are essential for an accurate calculation of the surface energy balance and melt rate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
R. H. Giesen L. M. Andreassen M. R. van den Broeke J. Oerlemans |
author_facet |
R. H. Giesen L. M. Andreassen M. R. van den Broeke J. Oerlemans |
author_sort |
R. H. Giesen |
title |
Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway |
title_short |
Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway |
title_full |
Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway |
title_fullStr |
Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at Storbreen and Midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern Norway |
title_sort |
comparison of the meteorology and surface energy balance at storbreen and midtdalsbreen, two glaciers in southern norway |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/3/57/2009/tc-3-57-2009.pdf https://doaj.org/article/090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(8.269,8.269,62.521,62.521) |
geographic |
Norway Storbreen |
geographic_facet |
Norway Storbreen |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 3, Iss 1, Pp 57-74 (2009) |
op_relation |
1994-0416 1994-0424 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/3/57/2009/tc-3-57-2009.pdf https://doaj.org/article/090bc8ddf41a40e1a16ba1af985e4825 |
op_rights |
undefined |
_version_ |
1766216312531451904 |