Improved simulations of snow extent in the second phase of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP‐2)

Frei, Allan; Miller, James A.; Robinson, David A.

doi:10.1029/2002jd003030

Cited by 81 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Significant between-model variability is found in mean NA-SCE, comparable in magnitude to the betweenmodel variability found in AMIP-2 atmospheric GCMs [Frei et al, 2003], and most of the AOGCMs in this study underestimate observed NA-SCE.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Decadal to century scale trends in North American snow extent in coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models

Frei

Gong

2005

Geophysical Research Letters

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20th and 21st century decadal scale trends and variability in winter North American snow cover extent (NA‐SCE) are investigated using coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation model experiments participating in the upcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Significant between‐model variability is found, with most models underestimating mean NA‐SCE. 20th century simulations are poorly correlated with observations, and, while individual ensemble members capture the magnitude of decadal scale variability, the variability of the signal is dampened in the ensemble mean, indicating that decadal‐scale NA‐SCE variability is associated predominantly with internal model variability rather than external forcing. Two 21st century emission scenarios with realistic (moderate or significant) greenhouse gas emission rates produce decreasing NA‐SCE trends, while one unrealistic scenario with fixed concentrations produces little or no NA‐SCE trend. These results suggest that snow cover may be a sensitive indicator of climate change, and that North American snow extent will probably decrease in response to greenhouse gas emissions, although the magnitude of the response may be nonlinear.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Decadal to century scale trends in North American snow extent in coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models

Frei

Gong

2005

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Second, although NOAA data are considered the most accurate and consistent observations of continental-scale SCE (Frei et al, 2003), studies suggest that springtime snow cover may be overestimated in mountainous regions (Déry and Brown, 2007) and Northern Canada (Wang et al, 2005). While absolute SCE may be biased in some regions, validity of multi-year continental-scale trends remains uncertain.…”

Section: Recent Observed and Simulated Springtime Climate Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other possible support for a snow darkening role in model snow cover biases comes from an analysis by Frei et al (2003) of 1979-1995 in SST-forced models. This study found universal high biases in modeled December-March SCE over Eastern Asia and the Tibetan Plateau, two regions we find to be strongly affected by snow darkening (Figs.…”

Section: Recent Observed and Simulated Springtime Climate Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For models not reporting SCF, we derived it from either snow depth or snow mass, depending on which variables were reported (Appendix A), using the SCF representation from Niu and Yang (2007), and assuming a snow density of 250 kg m −3 (Frei et al, 2003). Sensitivity studies varying snow density from 150-350 kg m −3 generally altered snow cover trends by less than 15%.…”

Section: Climate Model Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Springtime warming and reduced snow cover from carbonaceous particles

et al. 2009

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Abstract. Boreal spring climate is uniquely susceptible to solar warming mechanisms because it has expansive snow cover and receives relatively strong insolation. Carbonaceous particles can influence snow coverage by warming the atmosphere, reducing surface-incident solar energy (dimming), and reducing snow reflectance after deposition (darkening). We apply a range of models and observations to explore impacts of these processes on springtime climate, drawing several conclusions: 1) Nearly all atmospheric particles (those with visible-band single-scatter albedo less than 0.999), including all mixtures of black carbon (BC) and organic matter (OM), increase net solar heating of the atmosphere-snow column. 2) Darkening caused by small concentrations of particles within snow exceeds the loss of absorbed energy from concurrent dimming, thus increasing solar heating of snowpack as well (positive net surface forcing). Over global snow, we estimate 6-fold greater surface forcing from darkening than dimming, caused by BC+OM. 3) Equilibrium climate experiments suggest that fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of BC+OM induce 95% as much springtime snow cover loss over Eurasia as anthropogenic carbon dioxide, a consequence of strong snowalbedo feedback and large BC+OM emissions from Asia. 4) Of 22 climate models contributing to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, 21 underpredict the rapid warming (0.64 • C decade −1 ) observed over springtime Eurasia since 1979. Darkening from natural and anthropogenic sources of BC and mineral dust exerts 3-fold greater forcing on springCorrespondence to: M. G. Flanner (mflanner@ucar.edu) time snow over Eurasia (3.9 W m −2 ) than North America (1.2 W m −2 ). Inclusion of this forcing significantly improves simulated continental warming trends, but does not reconcile the low bias in rate of Eurasian spring snow cover decline exhibited by all models, likely because BC deposition trends are negative or near-neutral over much of Eurasia. Improved Eurasian warming may therefore relate more to darkeninginduced reduction in mean snow cover.

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“…Snow also modulates the hydrologic cycle (Dyer, 2008;Graybeal and Leathers, 2006;Leathers et al, 1998;Todhunter, 2001); influences ecosystem functioning (Jones et al, 2001); and is a significant resource for many mid latitude populations and for populations whose water is derived from mountainous and northerly cold regions (Barnett et al, 2005;Barry et al, 2007). Snow observations are critical for the validation of climate models Frei et al, 2003MacKay et al, 2006;Roesch et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of global satellite-derived snow products

Frei

Tedesco

Lee

et al. 2012

Advances in Space Research

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Snow cover over the Northern Hemisphere plays a crucial role in the Earth's hydrology and surface energy balance, and modulates feedbacks that control variations of global climate. While many of these variations are associated with exchanges of energy and mass between the land surface and the atmosphere, other expected changes are likely to propagate downstream and affect oceanic processes in coastal zones. For example, a large component of the freshwater flux into the Arctic Ocean comes from snow melt. The timing and magnitude of this flux affects biological and thermodynamic processes in the Arctic Ocean, and potentially across the globe through their impact on North Atlantic Deep Water formation.Several recent global remotely sensed products provide information at unprecedented temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions. In this article we review the theoretical underpinnings and characteristics of three key products. We also demonstrate the seasonal and spatial patterns of agreement and disagreement amongst them, and discuss current and future directions in their application and development. Though there is general agreement amongst these products, there can be disagreement over certain geographic regions and under conditions of ephemeral, patchy and melting snow.

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Improved simulations of snow extent in the second phase of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP‐2)

Cited by 81 publications

References 64 publications

Decadal to century scale trends in North American snow extent in coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models

Decadal to century scale trends in North American snow extent in coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models

Springtime warming and reduced snow cover from carbonaceous particles

A review of global satellite-derived snow products

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