What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates
We compare the performance of five different regional climate models (RCMs) (COSMO-CLM2, HIRHAM5, MAR3.10, MetUM, and RACMO2.3p2), forced by ERA-Interim reanalysis, in simulating the near-surface climate and surface mass balance (SMB) of Antarctica. All models simulate Antarctic climate well when co...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3751/2021/tc-15-3751-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/16cd2b23013a4df59b54824b83d95443 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:16cd2b23013a4df59b54824b83d95443 2023-05-15T13:43:47+02:00 What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates R. Mottram N. Hansen C. Kittel J. M. van Wessem C. Agosta C. Amory F. Boberg W. J. van de Berg X. Fettweis A. Gossart N. P. M. van Lipzig E. van Meijgaard A. Orr T. Phillips S. Webster S. B. Simonsen N. Souverijns 2021-08-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3751/2021/tc-15-3751-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/16cd2b23013a4df59b54824b83d95443 en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3751/2021/tc-15-3751-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/16cd2b23013a4df59b54824b83d95443 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 3751-3784 (2021) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2021 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 2023-01-22T19:26:14Z We compare the performance of five different regional climate models (RCMs) (COSMO-CLM2, HIRHAM5, MAR3.10, MetUM, and RACMO2.3p2), forced by ERA-Interim reanalysis, in simulating the near-surface climate and surface mass balance (SMB) of Antarctica. All models simulate Antarctic climate well when compared with daily observed temperature and pressure, with nudged models matching daily observations slightly better than free-running models. The ensemble mean annual SMB over the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) including ice shelves is 2329±94 Gt yr−1 over the common 1987–2015 period covered by all models. There is large interannual variability, consistent between models due to variability in the driving ERA-Interim reanalysis. Mean annual SMB is sensitive to the chosen period; over our 30-year climatological mean period (1980 to 2010), the ensemble mean is 2483 Gt yr−1. However, individual model estimates vary from 1961±70 to 2519±118 Gt yr−1. The largest spatial differences between model SMB estimates are in West Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula, and around the Transantarctic Mountains. We find no significant trend in Antarctic SMB over either period. Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) mass loss is currently equivalent to around 0.5 mm yr−1 of global mean sea level rise (Shepherd et al., 2020), but our results indicate some uncertainty in the SMB contribution based on RCMs. We compare modelled SMB with a large dataset of observations, which, though biased by undersampling, indicates that many of the biases in SMB are common between models. A drifting-snow scheme improves modelled SMB on ice sheet surface slopes with an elevation between 1000 and 2000 m, where strong katabatic winds form. Different ice masks have a substantial impact on the integrated total SMB and along with model resolution are factored into our analysis. Targeting undersampled regions with high precipitation for observational campaigns will be key to improving future estimates of SMB in Antarctica. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelves The Cryosphere West Antarctica Unknown Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Transantarctic Mountains West Antarctica The Cryosphere 15 8 3751 3784 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
geo envir |
spellingShingle |
geo envir R. Mottram N. Hansen C. Kittel J. M. van Wessem C. Agosta C. Amory F. Boberg W. J. van de Berg X. Fettweis A. Gossart N. P. M. van Lipzig E. van Meijgaard A. Orr T. Phillips S. Webster S. B. Simonsen N. Souverijns What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
We compare the performance of five different regional climate models (RCMs) (COSMO-CLM2, HIRHAM5, MAR3.10, MetUM, and RACMO2.3p2), forced by ERA-Interim reanalysis, in simulating the near-surface climate and surface mass balance (SMB) of Antarctica. All models simulate Antarctic climate well when compared with daily observed temperature and pressure, with nudged models matching daily observations slightly better than free-running models. The ensemble mean annual SMB over the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) including ice shelves is 2329±94 Gt yr−1 over the common 1987–2015 period covered by all models. There is large interannual variability, consistent between models due to variability in the driving ERA-Interim reanalysis. Mean annual SMB is sensitive to the chosen period; over our 30-year climatological mean period (1980 to 2010), the ensemble mean is 2483 Gt yr−1. However, individual model estimates vary from 1961±70 to 2519±118 Gt yr−1. The largest spatial differences between model SMB estimates are in West Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula, and around the Transantarctic Mountains. We find no significant trend in Antarctic SMB over either period. Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) mass loss is currently equivalent to around 0.5 mm yr−1 of global mean sea level rise (Shepherd et al., 2020), but our results indicate some uncertainty in the SMB contribution based on RCMs. We compare modelled SMB with a large dataset of observations, which, though biased by undersampling, indicates that many of the biases in SMB are common between models. A drifting-snow scheme improves modelled SMB on ice sheet surface slopes with an elevation between 1000 and 2000 m, where strong katabatic winds form. Different ice masks have a substantial impact on the integrated total SMB and along with model resolution are factored into our analysis. Targeting undersampled regions with high precipitation for observational campaigns will be key to improving future estimates of SMB in Antarctica. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
R. Mottram N. Hansen C. Kittel J. M. van Wessem C. Agosta C. Amory F. Boberg W. J. van de Berg X. Fettweis A. Gossart N. P. M. van Lipzig E. van Meijgaard A. Orr T. Phillips S. Webster S. B. Simonsen N. Souverijns |
author_facet |
R. Mottram N. Hansen C. Kittel J. M. van Wessem C. Agosta C. Amory F. Boberg W. J. van de Berg X. Fettweis A. Gossart N. P. M. van Lipzig E. van Meijgaard A. Orr T. Phillips S. Webster S. B. Simonsen N. Souverijns |
author_sort |
R. Mottram |
title |
What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
title_short |
What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
title_full |
What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
title_fullStr |
What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
title_full_unstemmed |
What is the surface mass balance of Antarctica? An intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
title_sort |
what is the surface mass balance of antarctica? an intercomparison of regional climate model estimates |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3751/2021/tc-15-3751-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/16cd2b23013a4df59b54824b83d95443 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Transantarctic Mountains West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Transantarctic Mountains West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelves The Cryosphere West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelves The Cryosphere West Antarctica |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 3751-3784 (2021) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3751/2021/tc-15-3751-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/16cd2b23013a4df59b54824b83d95443 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3751-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
3751 |
op_container_end_page |
3784 |
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1766193172493369344 |