Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard
Svalbard climate is undergoing amplified change with respect to the global mean. Changing climate conditions directly affect the evolution of the seasonal snowpack, through its impact on accumulation, melt, and moisture exchange. We analyze long-term trends and spatial patterns of seasonal snow cond...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/351364 2023-11-12T04:27:02+01:00 Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard van Pelt, W. J.J. Kohler, J. Liston, G. E. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. Pohjola, V. A. Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research 2016-11 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/351364 en eng 2169-9003 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/351364 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess climate modeling seasonal snow Svalbard Geophysics Oceanography Forestry Ecology Aquatic Science Water Science and Technology Soil Science Geochemistry and Petrology Earth-Surface Processes Atmospheric Science Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Space and Planetary Science Palaeontology Article 2016 ftunivutrecht 2023-11-01T23:14:09Z Svalbard climate is undergoing amplified change with respect to the global mean. Changing climate conditions directly affect the evolution of the seasonal snowpack, through its impact on accumulation, melt, and moisture exchange. We analyze long-term trends and spatial patterns of seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard between 1961 and 2012. Downscaled regional climate model output is used to drive a snow modeling system (SnowModel), with coupled modules simulating the surface energy balance and snowpack evolution. The precipitation forcing is calibrated and validated against snow depth data on a set of glaciers around Svalbard. Climate trends reveal seasonally inhomogeneous warming and a weakly positive precipitation trend, with strongest changes in the north. In response to autumn warming the date of snow onset increased (2 days decade−1), whereas in spring/summer opposing effects cause a nonsignificant trend in the snow disappearance date. Maximum snow water equivalent (SWE) in winter/spring shows a modest increase (+0.01 meters water equivalent (mwe) decade−1), while the end-of-summer minimum snow area fraction declined strongly (from 48% to 36%). The equilibrium line altitude is highest in relatively dry inland regions, and time series show a clear positive trend (25 m decade−1) as a result of summer warming. Finally, rain-on-snow in the core winter season, affecting ground ice formation and limiting access of grazing animals to food supplies, peaks during specific years (1994, 1996, 2000, and 2012) and is found to be concentrated in the lower lying coastal regions in southwestern Svalbard. Article in Journal/Newspaper Svalbard Utrecht University Repository Svalbard |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
topic |
climate modeling seasonal snow Svalbard Geophysics Oceanography Forestry Ecology Aquatic Science Water Science and Technology Soil Science Geochemistry and Petrology Earth-Surface Processes Atmospheric Science Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Space and Planetary Science Palaeontology |
spellingShingle |
climate modeling seasonal snow Svalbard Geophysics Oceanography Forestry Ecology Aquatic Science Water Science and Technology Soil Science Geochemistry and Petrology Earth-Surface Processes Atmospheric Science Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Space and Planetary Science Palaeontology van Pelt, W. J.J. Kohler, J. Liston, G. E. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. Pohjola, V. A. Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard |
topic_facet |
climate modeling seasonal snow Svalbard Geophysics Oceanography Forestry Ecology Aquatic Science Water Science and Technology Soil Science Geochemistry and Petrology Earth-Surface Processes Atmospheric Science Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Space and Planetary Science Palaeontology |
description |
Svalbard climate is undergoing amplified change with respect to the global mean. Changing climate conditions directly affect the evolution of the seasonal snowpack, through its impact on accumulation, melt, and moisture exchange. We analyze long-term trends and spatial patterns of seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard between 1961 and 2012. Downscaled regional climate model output is used to drive a snow modeling system (SnowModel), with coupled modules simulating the surface energy balance and snowpack evolution. The precipitation forcing is calibrated and validated against snow depth data on a set of glaciers around Svalbard. Climate trends reveal seasonally inhomogeneous warming and a weakly positive precipitation trend, with strongest changes in the north. In response to autumn warming the date of snow onset increased (2 days decade−1), whereas in spring/summer opposing effects cause a nonsignificant trend in the snow disappearance date. Maximum snow water equivalent (SWE) in winter/spring shows a modest increase (+0.01 meters water equivalent (mwe) decade−1), while the end-of-summer minimum snow area fraction declined strongly (from 48% to 36%). The equilibrium line altitude is highest in relatively dry inland regions, and time series show a clear positive trend (25 m decade−1) as a result of summer warming. Finally, rain-on-snow in the core winter season, affecting ground ice formation and limiting access of grazing animals to food supplies, peaks during specific years (1994, 1996, 2000, and 2012) and is found to be concentrated in the lower lying coastal regions in southwestern Svalbard. |
author2 |
Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
van Pelt, W. J.J. Kohler, J. Liston, G. E. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. Pohjola, V. A. |
author_facet |
van Pelt, W. J.J. Kohler, J. Liston, G. E. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. Pohjola, V. A. |
author_sort |
van Pelt, W. J.J. |
title |
Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard |
title_short |
Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard |
title_full |
Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in Svalbard |
title_sort |
multidecadal climate and seasonal snow conditions in svalbard |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/351364 |
geographic |
Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard |
genre |
Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Svalbard |
op_relation |
2169-9003 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/351364 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1782340785246568448 |