An improved semi-empirical model for the densification of Antarctic firn

Ligtenberg, Stefan; Helsen, M. M.; Broeke, M. R. van den

doi:10.5194/tc-5-809-2011

Cited by 330 publications

(476 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Multi-decadal accumulation, temperature, and snowmelt trends cause changes in the compaction rate of snow and firn, and can potentially impact measurements of surface elevation change (Ligtenberg et al, 2011). Using a model climate time series (based on reanalysis of weather data) spanning the period of our measurements (Regional Atmospheric Climate Model, RACMO-2.1/ANT; Lenaerts et al, 2012), a dH /dt for the firn column at 27 km spatial scale is obtained similar to that used in previous related analyses Gardner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Scambos¹,

Berthier

Haran³

et al. 2014

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. The northern Antarctic Peninsula (nAP, < 66 • S) is one of the most rapidly changing glaciated regions on earth, yet the spatial patterns of its ice mass loss at the glacier basin scale have to date been poorly documented. We use satellite laser altimetry and satellite stereo-image topography spanning 2001-2010, but primarily 2003-2008, to map ice elevation change and infer mass changes for 33 glacier basins covering the mainland and most large islands in the nAP. Rates of ice volume and ice mass change are 27.7 ± 8.6 km 3 a −1 and 24.9±7.8 Gt a −1 , equal to −0.73 m a −1 w.e. for the study area. Mass loss is the highest for eastern glaciers affected by major ice shelf collapses in 1995 and 2002, where twelve glaciers account for 60 % of the total imbalance. However, losses at smaller rates occur throughout the nAP, at both high and low elevation, despite increased snow accumulation along the western coast and ridge crest. We interpret the widespread mass loss to be driven by decades of ice front retreats on both sides of the nAP, and extended throughout the ice sheet due to the propagation of kinematic waves triggered at the fronts into the interior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Scambos¹,

Berthier

Haran³

et al. 2014

The Cryosphere

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“…The initial firn pack of the AP is inferred from a simulation with an offline firn densification model (FDM; Ligtenberg et al 2011), which was driven by an earlier simulation of the AP climate by RACMO2.3, largely comparable to the one used in this study. More details on the FDM can be found in Ligtenberg et al (2011).…”

Section: A Regional Atmospheric Climate Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature and Wind Climate of the Antarctic Peninsula as Simulated by a High-Resolution Regional Atmospheric Climate Model

et al. 2015

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Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTThe latest polar version of the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2.3) has been applied to the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). In this study, the authors present results of a climate run at 5.5 km for the period 1979-2013, in which RACMO2.3 is forced by ERA-Interim atmospheric and ocean surface fields, using an updated AP surface topography. The model results are evaluated with near-surface temperature and wind measurements from 12 manned and automatic weather stations and vertical profiles from balloon soundings made at three stations. The seasonal cycle of near-surface temperature and wind is simulated well, with most biases still related to the limited model resolution. High-resolution climate maps of temperature and wind showing that the AP climate exhibits large spatial variability are discussed. Over the steep and high mountains of the northern AP, large west-to-east climate gradients exist, while over the gentle southern AP mountains the near-surface climate is dominated by katabatic winds. Over the flat ice shelves, where katabatic wind forcing is weak, interannual variability in temperature is largest. Finally, decadal trends of temperature and wind are presented, and it is shown that recently there has been distinct warming over the northwestern AP and cooling over the rest of the AP, related to changes in sea ice cover.

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“…9). To derive firn air content, three-hourly RACMO2.3 SMB and surface temperatures are used as forcing for a transient run with a firn densification model (IMAU-FDM) 30 that allows for meltwater percolation, retention and refreezing in the firn.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meltwater produced by wind–albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf

et al. 2016

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An improved semi-empirical model for the densification of Antarctic firn

Cited by 330 publications

References 28 publications

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Temperature and Wind Climate of the Antarctic Peninsula as Simulated by a High-Resolution Regional Atmospheric Climate Model

Meltwater produced by wind–albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf

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