Summertime cloud phase strongly influences surface melting on the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica

Gilbert, Ella; Orr, Andrew; King, John C.; Renfrew, Ian A.; Lachlan‐Cope, Tom; Field, Paul; Boutle, Ian

doi:10.1002/qj.3753

Cited by 30 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…3a, b). An overestimation of melt days was also found in other studies using AMPS and the polar WRF model over ice shelves (Grosvenor et al, 2014;King et al, 2008King et al, , 2015Kirchgaessner et al, 2019).…”

Section: Aws1 (%)supporting

confidence: 81%

“…During föhn conditions incoming shortwave radiation (SW↓) is hypothesised to be larger due to the clearance of clouds, which can occur in the lee of the AP mountains (Grosvenor et al, 2014;. However, due to the large annual cycle in SW↓ in the polar regions, the seasonal magnitude of SW↓ could bias the difference between föhn and non-föhn days if they are not evenly distributed throughout the year.…”

Section: Annually Averaged Impact Of Föhnmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This increased the flow of air over the AP and consequently led to an increase in the number of föhn events on the eastern side of the AP, leading to increased surface melt. Indeed, a recent study by Cape et al (2015) identified a positive correlation between the SAM and the frequency with which föhn winds were observed over the northern AP for 2 decades, 1962-1972 and 1999-2010. Several studies have investigated the origin and characteristics of föhn winds over the Larsen C Ice Shelf (King et al, 2008;Grosvenor et al, 2014;Elvidge et al, 2015;Turton et al, 2018;Wiesenekker et al, 2018;Kirchgaessner et al, 2019). Föhn jets are often present during westerly flows, where the föhn air descends through gaps in the topography as well as over the main ridge of the mountains (Elvidge et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The influence of föhn winds on annual and seasonal surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Warm, dry föhn winds are observed over the Larsen C Ice Shelf year-round and are thought to contribute to the continuing weakening and collapse of ice shelves on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula (AP). We use a surface energy balance (SEB) model, driven by observations from two locations on the Larsen C Ice Shelf and one on the remnants of Larsen B, in combination with output from the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS), to investigate the year-round impact of föhn winds on the SEB and melt from 2009 to 2012. Föhn winds have an impact on the individual components of the surface energy balance in all seasons and lead to an increase in surface melt in spring, summer and autumn up to 100 km away from the foot of the AP. When föhn winds occur in spring they increase surface melt, extend the melt season and increase the number of melt days within a year. Whilst AMPS is able to simulate the percentage of melt days associated with föhn with high skill, it overestimates the total amount of melting during föhn events and non-föhn events. This study extends previous attempts to quantify the impact of föhn on the Larsen C Ice Shelf by including a 4-year study period and a wider area of interest and provides evidence for föhn-related melting on both the Larsen C and Larsen B ice shelves.

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Section: Aws1 (%)supporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Annually Averaged Impact Of Föhnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The influence of föhn winds on annual and seasonal surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

et al. 2020

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“…The poor representation of clouds in many regional climate models causes issues in the accuracy of SEB and melt information. Recently, Gilbert et al (2020) found that cloud-phase during the austral summer strongly influences the amount of melting on the LCIS and can determine whether melting is simulated or not by the MetUM model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of föhn winds on annual and seasonal surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Turton¹,

Kirchgaessner²,

Ross³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Warm, dry föhn winds are observed over the Larsen C Ice shelf year-round and are thought to contribute to the continuing weakening and collapse of ice shelves on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. We use a surface energy balance (SEB) model, driven by observations from two locations on the Larsen C ice shelf and one on the remnants of Larsen B, in combination with output from the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS), to investigate the year-round impact of föhn winds on the SEB and melt from 2009–2012. Föhn winds have an impact on the individual components of the surface energy balance in all seasons, and lead to an increase in surface melt in spring, summer and autumn up to 100 km away from the foot of the AP. When föhn winds occur in spring they increase surface melt, extend the melt season and increase the number of melt days within a year. Whilst AMPS is able to simulate the percentage of melt days associated with föhn with high skill, it overestimates the total amount of melting during föhn events and non-föhn events. This study extends previous attempts at quantifying the impact of föhn on the Larsen C ice shelf by including a four-year study period and a wider area of interest and provides evidence for föhn-related melting on both Larsen C and Larsen B ice shelves.

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“…The 360 conclusions may not hold for winter clouds in the region, which contain less supercooled liquid water (Listowski et al, 2019) and are less prone to riming, and thus may not favour BR. Nevertheless, summer clouds play a critical role in the surface melting of the ice-shelf in the vicinity of Weddell Sea (Gilbert et al, 2020) in West Antarctica and thus their accurate microphysical representation in models is of great importance. 365…”

Section: Conclusion 355mentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary ice production in summer clouds over the Antarctic coast: an underappreciated process in atmospheric models

Sotiropoulou¹,

Vignon²,

Young³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. The correct representation of Antarctic clouds in atmospheric models is crucial for accurate projections of the future Antarctic climate. This is particularly true for summer clouds which play a critical role in the surface melting of the ice-shelf in the vicinity of Weddell Sea. However these clouds are often poorly represented, as ice crystal number concentrations (ICNCs) are undepredicted by atmospheric models, even when primary ice formation is constrained with aerosol measurements. Rime-splintering, thought to be the dominant secondary ice production (SIP) mechanism at temperatures between −8 and −3 °C, is also very weak in summer Antarctic conditions. Including a parameterization for SIP due to break-up (BR) from collisions between ice particles in the Weather and Research Forecasting model bridges the gap between observations and simulations, suggesting that BR could account for the enhanced ICNCs in the pristine Antarctic atmosphere. These results are insensitive to uncertainties in primary ice production. The BR mechanism is currently not represented in most weather prediction and climate models; including this process can have a significant impact on the Antarctic radiation budget and thus in projections of the future regional climate.

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Summertime cloud phase strongly influences surface melting on the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica

Cited by 30 publications

References 63 publications

The influence of föhn winds on annual and seasonal surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

The influence of föhn winds on annual and seasonal surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

The influence of föhn winds on annual and seasonal surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Secondary ice production in summer clouds over the Antarctic coast: an underappreciated process in atmospheric models

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