Brief communication: Improved simulation of the present-day Greenland firn layer (1960–2016)

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: S. R. M. Ligtenberg, P. Kuipers Munneke, B. P. Y. Noël, M. R. van den Broeke
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2018
• Subjects: envir; geo; Greenland; Ice Sheet; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1643-2018; https://www.the-cryosphere.net/12/1643/2018/tc-12-1643-2018.pdf; https://doaj.org/article/982a4315fd59424c9ebacf93bbb04aa2

By providing pore space for storage or refreezing of meltwater, the Greenland ice sheet firn layer strongly modulates runoff. Correctly representing the firn layer is therefore crucial for Greenland (surface) mass balance studies. Here, we present a simulation of the Greenland firn layer with the firn model IMAU-FDM forced by the latest output of the regional climate model RACMO2, version 2.3p2. In the percolation zone, much improved agreement is found with firn density and temperature observations. A full simulation of Greenland firn at high temporal (10 days) and spatial (11 km) resolution is available for the period 1960–2016.