Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation
To simulate the impact of drifting snow on the lower atmosphere, surface characteristics and surface mass balance (SMB) of the Antarctic ice sheet regional atmospheric climate model (RACMO2.1/ANT) with horizontal resolution of 27 km is coupled to a drifting snow routine and forced by ERA-Interim fie...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/242377 |
id |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/242377 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/242377 2023-07-23T04:15:48+02:00 Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation Lenaerts, J.T.M. van den Broeke, M.R. Déry, S. J. van Meijgaard, E. van de Berg, W.J. Palm, S.P. Sanz Rodrigo, J. Marine and Atmospheric Research Sub Dynamics Meteorology 2012-03-06 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/242377 en eng 2169-897X https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/242377 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Article 2012 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T00:16:40Z To simulate the impact of drifting snow on the lower atmosphere, surface characteristics and surface mass balance (SMB) of the Antarctic ice sheet regional atmospheric climate model (RACMO2.1/ANT) with horizontal resolution of 27 km is coupled to a drifting snow routine and forced by ERA-Interim fields at its lateral boundaries (1989–2009). This paper evaluates the near-surface and drifting snow climate of RACMO2.1/ANT. Modeled near-surface wind speed (squared correlation coefficient R2 = 0.64) and temperature (R2 = 0.93) agree well with observations. Wind speed is underestimated in topographically complex areas, where observed wind speeds are locally very high (>20 m s!1). Temperature is underestimated in winter in coastal areas due to an underestimation of downward longwave radiation. Near-surface temperature and wind speed are not significantly affected by the inclusion of drifting snow in the model. In contrast, relative humidity with respect to ice increases in regions with strong drifting snow and becomes more consistent with the observations. Drifting snow frequency is the only observable parameter to directly validate drifting snow results; therefore, we derived an empirical relation for fresh snow density, as a function of wind speed and temperature, which determines the threshold wind speed for drifting snow. Modeled drifting snow frequencies agree well with in situ measurements and novel estimates from remote sensing. Finally, we show that including drifting snow is essential to obtaining a realistic extent and spatial distribution of ablation (SMB <0) areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Utrecht University Repository Antarctic The Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
description |
To simulate the impact of drifting snow on the lower atmosphere, surface characteristics and surface mass balance (SMB) of the Antarctic ice sheet regional atmospheric climate model (RACMO2.1/ANT) with horizontal resolution of 27 km is coupled to a drifting snow routine and forced by ERA-Interim fields at its lateral boundaries (1989–2009). This paper evaluates the near-surface and drifting snow climate of RACMO2.1/ANT. Modeled near-surface wind speed (squared correlation coefficient R2 = 0.64) and temperature (R2 = 0.93) agree well with observations. Wind speed is underestimated in topographically complex areas, where observed wind speeds are locally very high (>20 m s!1). Temperature is underestimated in winter in coastal areas due to an underestimation of downward longwave radiation. Near-surface temperature and wind speed are not significantly affected by the inclusion of drifting snow in the model. In contrast, relative humidity with respect to ice increases in regions with strong drifting snow and becomes more consistent with the observations. Drifting snow frequency is the only observable parameter to directly validate drifting snow results; therefore, we derived an empirical relation for fresh snow density, as a function of wind speed and temperature, which determines the threshold wind speed for drifting snow. Modeled drifting snow frequencies agree well with in situ measurements and novel estimates from remote sensing. Finally, we show that including drifting snow is essential to obtaining a realistic extent and spatial distribution of ablation (SMB <0) areas. |
author2 |
Marine and Atmospheric Research Sub Dynamics Meteorology |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lenaerts, J.T.M. van den Broeke, M.R. Déry, S. J. van Meijgaard, E. van de Berg, W.J. Palm, S.P. Sanz Rodrigo, J. |
spellingShingle |
Lenaerts, J.T.M. van den Broeke, M.R. Déry, S. J. van Meijgaard, E. van de Berg, W.J. Palm, S.P. Sanz Rodrigo, J. Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation |
author_facet |
Lenaerts, J.T.M. van den Broeke, M.R. Déry, S. J. van Meijgaard, E. van de Berg, W.J. Palm, S.P. Sanz Rodrigo, J. |
author_sort |
Lenaerts, J.T.M. |
title |
Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation |
title_short |
Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation |
title_full |
Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation |
title_fullStr |
Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modeling drifting snow in Antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. Methods and model evaluation |
title_sort |
modeling drifting snow in antarctica with a regional climate model: 1. methods and model evaluation |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/242377 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
2169-897X https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/242377 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772176833020690432 |