Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography
Topographic shading, including both shaded relief and cast shadowing, plays a fundamental role in determining direct solar radiation on glacier ice. However, shading has been oversimplified or incorrectly incorporated in surface energy balance models in some past studies. In addition, no systematic...
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Copernicus Publications
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:d41f30002a634ec4b44bfe80035c174e 2023-05-15T18:32:17+02:00 Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography M. Olson S. Rupper 2019-01-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-29-2019 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/29/2019/tc-13-29-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/d41f30002a634ec4b44bfe80035c174e en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-13-29-2019 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/29/2019/tc-13-29-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/d41f30002a634ec4b44bfe80035c174e undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 13, Pp 29-40 (2019) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2019 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-29-2019 2023-01-22T19:09:58Z Topographic shading, including both shaded relief and cast shadowing, plays a fundamental role in determining direct solar radiation on glacier ice. However, shading has been oversimplified or incorrectly incorporated in surface energy balance models in some past studies. In addition, no systematic studies have been conducted to evaluate relationships between shading and other topographic characteristics. Here we develop a topographic solar radiation model to examine the variability in irradiance throughout the glacier melt season due to topographic shading and combined slope and aspect. We apply the model to multiple glaciers in high-mountain Asia (HMA) and test the sensitivity of shading to valley aspect and latitude. Our results show that topographic shading significantly alters the potential direct clear-sky solar radiation received at the surface for valley glaciers in HMA, particularly for north- and south-facing glaciers. Additionally, we find that shading can be extremely impactful in the ablation zone. Cast shadowing is the dominant mechanism in determining total shading for valley glaciers in parts of HMA, especially at lower elevations. Although shading can be predictable, it is overall extremely variable between glacial valleys. Our results suggest that topographic shading not only is an important factor contributing to surface energy balance but could also influence glacier response and mass balance estimates throughout HMA. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown The Cryosphere 13 1 29 40 |
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English |
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geo envir |
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geo envir M. Olson S. Rupper Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
Topographic shading, including both shaded relief and cast shadowing, plays a fundamental role in determining direct solar radiation on glacier ice. However, shading has been oversimplified or incorrectly incorporated in surface energy balance models in some past studies. In addition, no systematic studies have been conducted to evaluate relationships between shading and other topographic characteristics. Here we develop a topographic solar radiation model to examine the variability in irradiance throughout the glacier melt season due to topographic shading and combined slope and aspect. We apply the model to multiple glaciers in high-mountain Asia (HMA) and test the sensitivity of shading to valley aspect and latitude. Our results show that topographic shading significantly alters the potential direct clear-sky solar radiation received at the surface for valley glaciers in HMA, particularly for north- and south-facing glaciers. Additionally, we find that shading can be extremely impactful in the ablation zone. Cast shadowing is the dominant mechanism in determining total shading for valley glaciers in parts of HMA, especially at lower elevations. Although shading can be predictable, it is overall extremely variable between glacial valleys. Our results suggest that topographic shading not only is an important factor contributing to surface energy balance but could also influence glacier response and mass balance estimates throughout HMA. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Olson S. Rupper |
author_facet |
M. Olson S. Rupper |
author_sort |
M. Olson |
title |
Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
title_short |
Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
title_full |
Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
title_sort |
impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-29-2019 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/29/2019/tc-13-29-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/d41f30002a634ec4b44bfe80035c174e |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 13, Pp 29-40 (2019) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-13-29-2019 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/29/2019/tc-13-29-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/article/d41f30002a634ec4b44bfe80035c174e |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-29-2019 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
29 |
op_container_end_page |
40 |
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1766216393853763584 |