The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution
This study presents a high-resolution (∼ 5.5 km) estimate of surface mass balance (SMB) over the period 1979–2014 for the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), generated by the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2.3 and a firn densification model (FDM). RACMO2.3 is used to force the FDM, which calculates p...
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Copernicus Publications
2016
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/271/2016/tc-10-271-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bd12a9005d684869a359e96b75b6c7c6 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:bd12a9005d684869a359e96b75b6c7c6 2023-05-15T13:32:08+02:00 The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution J. M. van Wessem S. R. M. Ligtenberg C. H. Reijmer W. J. van de Berg M. R. van den Broeke N. E. Barrand E. R. Thomas J. Turner J. Wuite T. A. Scambos E. van Meijgaard 2016-02-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/271/2016/tc-10-271-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bd12a9005d684869a359e96b75b6c7c6 en eng Copernicus Publications 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/271/2016/tc-10-271-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bd12a9005d684869a359e96b75b6c7c6 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 271-285 (2016) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2016 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 2023-01-22T17:50:10Z This study presents a high-resolution (∼ 5.5 km) estimate of surface mass balance (SMB) over the period 1979–2014 for the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), generated by the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2.3 and a firn densification model (FDM). RACMO2.3 is used to force the FDM, which calculates processes in the snowpack, such as meltwater percolation, refreezing and runoff. We evaluate model output with 132 in situ SMB observations and discharge rates from six glacier drainage basins, and find that the model realistically simulates the strong spatial variability in precipitation, but that significant biases remain as a result of the highly complex topography of the AP. It is also clear that the observations significantly underrepresent the high-accumulation regimes, complicating a full model evaluation. The SMB map reveals large accumulation gradients, with precipitation values above 3000 mm we yr−1 in the western AP (WAP) and below 500 mm we yr−1 in the eastern AP (EAP), not resolved by coarser data sets such as ERA-Interim. The average AP ice-sheet-integrated SMB, including ice shelves (an area of 4.1 × 105 km2), is estimated at 351 Gt yr−1 with an interannual variability of 58 Gt yr−1, which is dominated by precipitation (PR) (365 ± 57 Gt yr−1). The WAP (2.4 × 105 km2) SMB (276 ± 47 Gt yr−1), where PR is large (276 ± 47 Gt yr−1), dominates over the EAP (1.7 × 105 km2) SMB (75 ± 11 Gt yr−1) and PR (84 ± 11 Gt yr−1). Total sublimation is 11 ± 2 Gt yr−1 and meltwater runoff into the ocean is 4 ± 4 Gt yr−1. There are no significant trends in any of the modelled AP SMB components, except for snowmelt that shows a significant decrease over the last 36 years (−0.36 Gt yr−2). Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Ice Shelves The Cryosphere Unknown Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic The Cryosphere 10 1 271 285 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
geo envir |
spellingShingle |
geo envir J. M. van Wessem S. R. M. Ligtenberg C. H. Reijmer W. J. van de Berg M. R. van den Broeke N. E. Barrand E. R. Thomas J. Turner J. Wuite T. A. Scambos E. van Meijgaard The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
This study presents a high-resolution (∼ 5.5 km) estimate of surface mass balance (SMB) over the period 1979–2014 for the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), generated by the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2.3 and a firn densification model (FDM). RACMO2.3 is used to force the FDM, which calculates processes in the snowpack, such as meltwater percolation, refreezing and runoff. We evaluate model output with 132 in situ SMB observations and discharge rates from six glacier drainage basins, and find that the model realistically simulates the strong spatial variability in precipitation, but that significant biases remain as a result of the highly complex topography of the AP. It is also clear that the observations significantly underrepresent the high-accumulation regimes, complicating a full model evaluation. The SMB map reveals large accumulation gradients, with precipitation values above 3000 mm we yr−1 in the western AP (WAP) and below 500 mm we yr−1 in the eastern AP (EAP), not resolved by coarser data sets such as ERA-Interim. The average AP ice-sheet-integrated SMB, including ice shelves (an area of 4.1 × 105 km2), is estimated at 351 Gt yr−1 with an interannual variability of 58 Gt yr−1, which is dominated by precipitation (PR) (365 ± 57 Gt yr−1). The WAP (2.4 × 105 km2) SMB (276 ± 47 Gt yr−1), where PR is large (276 ± 47 Gt yr−1), dominates over the EAP (1.7 × 105 km2) SMB (75 ± 11 Gt yr−1) and PR (84 ± 11 Gt yr−1). Total sublimation is 11 ± 2 Gt yr−1 and meltwater runoff into the ocean is 4 ± 4 Gt yr−1. There are no significant trends in any of the modelled AP SMB components, except for snowmelt that shows a significant decrease over the last 36 years (−0.36 Gt yr−2). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. M. van Wessem S. R. M. Ligtenberg C. H. Reijmer W. J. van de Berg M. R. van den Broeke N. E. Barrand E. R. Thomas J. Turner J. Wuite T. A. Scambos E. van Meijgaard |
author_facet |
J. M. van Wessem S. R. M. Ligtenberg C. H. Reijmer W. J. van de Berg M. R. van den Broeke N. E. Barrand E. R. Thomas J. Turner J. Wuite T. A. Scambos E. van Meijgaard |
author_sort |
J. M. van Wessem |
title |
The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
title_short |
The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
title_full |
The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
title_fullStr |
The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
title_full_unstemmed |
The modelled surface mass balance of the Antarctic Peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
title_sort |
modelled surface mass balance of the antarctic peninsula at 5.5 km horizontal resolution |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/271/2016/tc-10-271-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bd12a9005d684869a359e96b75b6c7c6 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 271-285 (2016) |
op_relation |
1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/271/2016/tc-10-271-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/article/bd12a9005d684869a359e96b75b6c7c6 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-271-2016 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
271 |
op_container_end_page |
285 |
_version_ |
1766024451944611840 |