A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation
Snow plays an important role in the Arctic climate system, modulating heat transfer in terrestrial and marine environments and controlling feedbacks. Changes in snow depth over Arctic sea ice, particularly in spring, have a strong impact on the surface energy budget, influencing ocean heat loss, ice...
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:98f1ca991da94ce09f99605ae04da2b2 2023-05-15T13:11:28+02:00 A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation T. Dou C. Xiao J. Liu W. Han Z. Du A. R. Mahoney J. Jones H. Eicken 2019-04-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1233-2019 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/1233/2019/tc-13-1233-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/98f1ca991da94ce09f99605ae04da2b2 en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-13-1233-2019 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/1233/2019/tc-13-1233-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/98f1ca991da94ce09f99605ae04da2b2 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 13, Pp 1233-1246 (2019) envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2019 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1233-2019 2023-01-22T19:05:19Z Snow plays an important role in the Arctic climate system, modulating heat transfer in terrestrial and marine environments and controlling feedbacks. Changes in snow depth over Arctic sea ice, particularly in spring, have a strong impact on the surface energy budget, influencing ocean heat loss, ice growth and surface ponding. Snow conditions are sensitive to the phase (solid or liquid) of deposited precipitation. However, variability and potential trends of rain-on-snow events over Arctic sea ice and their role in sea-ice losses are poorly understood. Time series of surface observations at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, reveal rapid reduction in snow depth linked to late-spring rain-on-snow events. Liquid precipitation is key in preconditioning and triggering snow ablation through reduction in surface albedo as well as latent heat release determined by rainfall amount, supported by field observations beginning in 2000 and model results. Rainfall was found to accelerate warming and ripening of the snowpack, with even small amounts (such as 0.3 mm recorded on 24 May 2017) triggering the transition from the warming phase into the ripening phase. Subsequently, direct heat input drives snowmelt, with water content of the snowpack increasing until meltwater output occurs, with an associated rapid decrease in snow depth. Rainfall during the ripening phase can further raise water content in the snow layer, prompting onset of the meltwater output phase in the snowpack. First spring rainfall in Utqiaġvik has been observed to shift to earlier dates since the 1970s, in particular after the mid-1990s. Early melt season rainfall and its fraction of total annual precipitation also exhibit an increasing trend. These changes of precipitation over sea ice may have profound impacts on ice melt through feedbacks involving earlier onset of surface melt. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic Sea ice The Cryosphere Alaska Unknown Arctic The Cryosphere 13 4 1233 1246 |
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envir geo T. Dou C. Xiao J. Liu W. Han Z. Du A. R. Mahoney J. Jones H. Eicken A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
topic_facet |
envir geo |
description |
Snow plays an important role in the Arctic climate system, modulating heat transfer in terrestrial and marine environments and controlling feedbacks. Changes in snow depth over Arctic sea ice, particularly in spring, have a strong impact on the surface energy budget, influencing ocean heat loss, ice growth and surface ponding. Snow conditions are sensitive to the phase (solid or liquid) of deposited precipitation. However, variability and potential trends of rain-on-snow events over Arctic sea ice and their role in sea-ice losses are poorly understood. Time series of surface observations at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, reveal rapid reduction in snow depth linked to late-spring rain-on-snow events. Liquid precipitation is key in preconditioning and triggering snow ablation through reduction in surface albedo as well as latent heat release determined by rainfall amount, supported by field observations beginning in 2000 and model results. Rainfall was found to accelerate warming and ripening of the snowpack, with even small amounts (such as 0.3 mm recorded on 24 May 2017) triggering the transition from the warming phase into the ripening phase. Subsequently, direct heat input drives snowmelt, with water content of the snowpack increasing until meltwater output occurs, with an associated rapid decrease in snow depth. Rainfall during the ripening phase can further raise water content in the snow layer, prompting onset of the meltwater output phase in the snowpack. First spring rainfall in Utqiaġvik has been observed to shift to earlier dates since the 1970s, in particular after the mid-1990s. Early melt season rainfall and its fraction of total annual precipitation also exhibit an increasing trend. These changes of precipitation over sea ice may have profound impacts on ice melt through feedbacks involving earlier onset of surface melt. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
T. Dou C. Xiao J. Liu W. Han Z. Du A. R. Mahoney J. Jones H. Eicken |
author_facet |
T. Dou C. Xiao J. Liu W. Han Z. Du A. R. Mahoney J. Jones H. Eicken |
author_sort |
T. Dou |
title |
A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
title_short |
A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
title_full |
A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
title_fullStr |
A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
title_full_unstemmed |
A key factor initiating surface ablation of Arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
title_sort |
key factor initiating surface ablation of arctic sea ice: earlier and increasing liquid precipitation |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1233-2019 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/1233/2019/tc-13-1233-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/98f1ca991da94ce09f99605ae04da2b2 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
albedo Arctic Sea ice The Cryosphere Alaska |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic Sea ice The Cryosphere Alaska |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 13, Pp 1233-1246 (2019) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-13-1233-2019 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/1233/2019/tc-13-1233-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/98f1ca991da94ce09f99605ae04da2b2 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1233-2019 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1233 |
op_container_end_page |
1246 |
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1766247549897801728 |