Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska

We examine the spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature (Ta) over a melting glacier using a multi-annual dataset from McCall Glacier, Alaska. The dataset consists of a 10-year (2005–2014) meteorological record along the glacier centreline up to an upper glacier cirque, spanning an elevation...

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Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Troxler, Patrick, Ayala, Alvaro, Shaw, Thomas E., Nolan, Matt, Brock, Benjamin, Pellicciotti, Francesca
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12
https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/1/modelling_spatial_patterns_of_nearsurface_air_temperature_over_a_decade_of_melt_seasons_on_mccall_glacier_alaska.pdf
id ftunivnorthumb:oai:nrl.northumbria.ac.uk:43686
record_format openpolar
spelling ftunivnorthumb:oai:nrl.northumbria.ac.uk:43686 2023-05-15T16:20:19+02:00 Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska Troxler, Patrick Ayala, Alvaro Shaw, Thomas E. Nolan, Matt Brock, Benjamin Pellicciotti, Francesca 2020-06-01 text https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/ https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/1/modelling_spatial_patterns_of_nearsurface_air_temperature_over_a_decade_of_melt_seasons_on_mccall_glacier_alaska.pdf en eng Cambridge University Press https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/1/modelling_spatial_patterns_of_nearsurface_air_temperature_over_a_decade_of_melt_seasons_on_mccall_glacier_alaska.pdf Troxler, Patrick, Ayala, Alvaro, Shaw, Thomas E., Nolan, Matt, Brock, Benjamin and Pellicciotti, Francesca (2020) Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska. Journal of Glaciology, 66 (257). pp. 386-400. ISSN 0022-1430 cc_by_4_0 CC-BY F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftunivnorthumb https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12 2022-09-25T06:12:20Z We examine the spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature (Ta) over a melting glacier using a multi-annual dataset from McCall Glacier, Alaska. The dataset consists of a 10-year (2005–2014) meteorological record along the glacier centreline up to an upper glacier cirque, spanning an elevation difference of 900 m. We test the validity of on-glacier linear lapse rates, and a model that calculates Ta based on the influence of katabatic winds and other heat sources along the glacier flow line. During the coldest hours of each summer (10% of time), average lapse rates across the entire glacier range from −4.7 to −6.7°C km−1, with a strong relationship between Ta and elevation (R2 > 0.7). During warm conditions, Ta shows more complex, non-linear patterns that are better explained by the flow line-dependent model, reducing errors by up to 0.5°C compared with linear lapse rates, although more uncertainty might be associated with these observations due to occasionally poor sensor ventilation. We conclude that Ta spatial distribution can vary significantly from year to year, and from one glacier section to another. Importantly, extrapolations using linear lapse rates from the ablation zone might lead to large underestimations of Ta on the upper glacier areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Journal of Glaciology Alaska Northumbria University, Newcastle: Northumbria Research Link (NRL) McCall ENVELOPE(-66.619,-66.619,-67.029,-67.029) Journal of Glaciology 66 257 386 400
institution Open Polar
collection Northumbria University, Newcastle: Northumbria Research Link (NRL)
op_collection_id ftunivnorthumb
language English
topic F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
spellingShingle F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
Troxler, Patrick
Ayala, Alvaro
Shaw, Thomas E.
Nolan, Matt
Brock, Benjamin
Pellicciotti, Francesca
Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
topic_facet F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
description We examine the spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature (Ta) over a melting glacier using a multi-annual dataset from McCall Glacier, Alaska. The dataset consists of a 10-year (2005–2014) meteorological record along the glacier centreline up to an upper glacier cirque, spanning an elevation difference of 900 m. We test the validity of on-glacier linear lapse rates, and a model that calculates Ta based on the influence of katabatic winds and other heat sources along the glacier flow line. During the coldest hours of each summer (10% of time), average lapse rates across the entire glacier range from −4.7 to −6.7°C km−1, with a strong relationship between Ta and elevation (R2 > 0.7). During warm conditions, Ta shows more complex, non-linear patterns that are better explained by the flow line-dependent model, reducing errors by up to 0.5°C compared with linear lapse rates, although more uncertainty might be associated with these observations due to occasionally poor sensor ventilation. We conclude that Ta spatial distribution can vary significantly from year to year, and from one glacier section to another. Importantly, extrapolations using linear lapse rates from the ablation zone might lead to large underestimations of Ta on the upper glacier areas.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Troxler, Patrick
Ayala, Alvaro
Shaw, Thomas E.
Nolan, Matt
Brock, Benjamin
Pellicciotti, Francesca
author_facet Troxler, Patrick
Ayala, Alvaro
Shaw, Thomas E.
Nolan, Matt
Brock, Benjamin
Pellicciotti, Francesca
author_sort Troxler, Patrick
title Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
title_short Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
title_full Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
title_fullStr Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
title_full_unstemmed Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska
title_sort modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on mccall glacier, alaska
publisher Cambridge University Press
publishDate 2020
url https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12
https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/1/modelling_spatial_patterns_of_nearsurface_air_temperature_over_a_decade_of_melt_seasons_on_mccall_glacier_alaska.pdf
long_lat ENVELOPE(-66.619,-66.619,-67.029,-67.029)
geographic McCall
geographic_facet McCall
genre glacier
Journal of Glaciology
Alaska
genre_facet glacier
Journal of Glaciology
Alaska
op_relation https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43686/1/modelling_spatial_patterns_of_nearsurface_air_temperature_over_a_decade_of_melt_seasons_on_mccall_glacier_alaska.pdf
Troxler, Patrick, Ayala, Alvaro, Shaw, Thomas E., Nolan, Matt, Brock, Benjamin and Pellicciotti, Francesca (2020) Modelling spatial patterns of near-surface air temperature over a decade of melt seasons on McCall Glacier, Alaska. Journal of Glaciology, 66 (257). pp. 386-400. ISSN 0022-1430
op_rights cc_by_4_0
op_rightsnorm CC-BY
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.12
container_title Journal of Glaciology
container_volume 66
container_issue 257
container_start_page 386
op_container_end_page 400
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