Climate controls on the interseasonal and interannual variability of the surface mass balance of a tropical glacier (Zongo Glacier, Bolivia, 16°S): new insights from the application of a distributed energy balance model over 9 years

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philémon Autin ◽  
Jean Emmanuel Sicart ◽  
Antoine Rabatel ◽  
Alvaro Soruco
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Distributed Energy ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Climate Controls

scholarly journals COSIPY v1.2 – An open-source coupled snowpack and ice surface energy and mass balance model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Sauter ◽  
Anselm Arndt ◽  
Christoph Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Mass Balance Model ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Ice Surface

Abstract. Glacial changes play a key role both from a socio-economical and political, and scientific point of view. The identification and the understanding of the nature of these changes still poses fundamental challenges for climate, glacier and water research. Many studies aim to identify the climatic drivers behind the observed glacial changes using distributed surface mass and energy balance models. Distributed surface mass balance models, which translate the meteorological conditions on glaciers into local melting rates, thus offer the possibility to attribute and detect glacier mass and volume responses to changes in the climatic forcings. A well calibrated model is a suitable test-bed for sensitivity, detection and attribution analyses for many scientific applications and often serves as a tool for quantifying the inherent uncertainties. Here we present the open-source coupled snowpack and ice surface energy and mass balance model in Python COSIPY, which provides a lean, flexible and user-friendly framework for modelling distributed snow and glacier mass changes. The model has a modular structure so that the exchange of routines or parameterizations of physical processes is possible with little effort for the user. The model has a modular structure so that the exchange of routines or parameterizations of physical processes is possible with little effort for the user. The framework consists of a computational kernel, which forms the runtime environment and takes care of the initialization, the input-output routines, the parallelization as well as the grid and data structures. This structure offers maximum flexibility without having to worry about the internal numerical flow. The adaptive sub-surface scheme allows an efficient and fast calculation of the otherwise computationally demanding fundamental equations. The surface energy-balance scheme uses established standard parameterizations for radiation as well as for the energy exchange between atmosphere and surface. The schemes are coupled by solving both surface energy balance and subsurface fluxes iteratively in such that consistent surface skin temperature is returned at the interface. COSIPY uses a one-dimensional approach limited to the vertical fluxes of energy and matter but neglects any lateral processes. Accordingly, the model can be easily set up in parallel computational environments for calculating both energy balance and climatic surface mass balance of glacier surfaces based on flexible horizontal grids and with varying temporal resolution. The model is made available on a freely accessible site and can be used for non-profit purposes. Scientists are encouraged to actively participate in the extension and improvement of the model code.

scholarly journals The diurnal Energy Balance Model (dEBM): A convenient surface mass balance solution for ice sheets in Earth System modeling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uta Krebs-Kanzow ◽  
Paul Gierz ◽  
Christian B. Rodehacke ◽  
Shan Xu ◽  
Hu Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Earth System Modeling ◽  
Surface Mass

Abstract. The surface mass balance scheme dEBM (diurnal Energy Balance Model) provides a novel interface between the atmosphere and land ice for Earth System modeling, which is based on the energy balance of glaciated surfaces. In contrast to empirical schemes, dEBM accounts for changes in the Earth's orbit and atmospheric composition. The scheme only requires monthly atmospheric forcing (precipitation, temperature, shortwave and longwave radiation, and cloud cover). It is also computationally inexpensive, which makes it particularly suitable to investigate the ice sheets' response to long-term climate change. After calibration and validation, we analyze the surface mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) based on climate simulations representing two warm climate states: a simulation of the Mid Holocene (approximately 6000 years before present) and a climate projection based on an extreme emission scenario which extends to the year 2100. The former period features an intensified summer insolation while the 21st century is characterized by reduced outgoing long wave radiation. Specifically, we investigate whether the temperature-melt relationship, as used in empirical temperature-index methods, remains stable under changing insolation and atmospheric composition. Our results indicate that the temperature-melt relation is sensitive to changes in insolation on orbital time scales but remains mostly invariant under the projected warming climate of the 21st century.

scholarly journals Distributed Energy Balance Flux Modelling of Mass Balances in the Artesonraju Glacier and Discharge in the Basin of Artesoncocha, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
María Fernanda Lozano Gacha ◽  
Manfred Koch
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Radiative Energy ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Threshold Temperature ◽  
Mass Balances ◽  
Distributed Energy ◽  
Cordillera Blanca

A distributed energy balance model (DEBAM) is applied to estimate the mass balance of the Artesonraju glacier in the Cordillera Blanca (CB), Peru, and to simulate the ensuing discharge into its respective basin, Artesoncocha. The energy balance model calibrations show that, by using seasonal albedos, reasonable results for mass balances and discharge can be obtained, as witnessed by annually aggregated Nash Sutcliffe coefficients (E) of 0.60–0.87 for discharge and of 0.58–0.71 for mass measurements carried out in the period 2004–2007. Mass losses between −1.42 and −0.45 m.w.e. are calculated for that period. The elevation line altitudes (ELAs), which lie between 5009 and 5050 m.a.s.l., are also well simulated, compared to those measured by the Unidad Glaciologica de Recursos Hídricos del Perú (UGRH). It is demonstrated that the net radiation which drives the energy balance and melting processes is mainly affected by the amount of reflected shortwave radiation from the different surfaces. Moreover, the longwave radiation sinks between 63 and 73% of solar radiative energy in the dry season. Further sensitivity studies indicate that the assumed threshold temperature T0 is crucial in mass balance simulations, as it determines the extension of areas with different albedos. An optimal T0 between 2.6 and 3.8 °C is deduced from these simulations.

scholarly journals COSIPY v1.3 – an open-source coupled snowpack and ice surface energy and mass balance model

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5645-5662
Author(s):  
Tobias Sauter ◽  
Anselm Arndt ◽  
Christoph Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Mass Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Ice Surface

Abstract. Glacier changes are a vivid example of how environmental systems react to a changing climate. Distributed surface mass balance models, which translate the meteorological conditions on glaciers into local melting rates, help to attribute and detect glacier mass and volume responses to changes in the climate drivers. A well-calibrated model is a suitable test bed for sensitivity, detection, and attribution analyses for many scientific applications and often serves as a tool for quantifying the inherent uncertainties. Here, we present the open-source COupled Snowpack and Ice surface energy and mass balance model in PYthon (COSIPY), which provides a flexible and user-friendly framework for modeling distributed snow and glacier mass changes. The model has a modular structure so that the exchange of routines or parameterizations of physical processes is possible with little effort for the user. The framework consists of a computational kernel, which forms the runtime environment and takes care of the initialization, the input–output routines, and the parallelization, as well as the grid and data structures. This structure offers maximum flexibility without having to worry about the internal numerical flow. The adaptive subsurface scheme allows an efficient and fast calculation of the otherwise computationally demanding fundamental equations. The surface energy balance scheme uses established standard parameterizations for radiation as well as for the energy exchange between atmosphere and surface. The schemes are coupled by solving both surface energy balance and subsurface fluxes iteratively such that consistent surface skin temperature is returned at the interface. COSIPY uses a one-dimensional approach limited to the vertical fluxes of energy and matter but neglects any lateral processes. Accordingly, the model can be easily set up in parallel computational environments for calculating both energy balance and climatic surface mass balance of glacier surfaces based on flexible horizontal grids and with varying temporal resolution. The model is made available on a freely accessible site and can be used for non-profit purposes. Scientists are encouraged to actively participate in the extension and improvement of the model code.

scholarly journals The diurnal Energy Balance Model (dEBM): a convenient surface mass balance solution for ice sheets in Earth system modeling

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 2295-2313
Author(s):  
Uta Krebs-Kanzow ◽  
Paul Gierz ◽  
Christian B. Rodehacke ◽  
Shan Xu ◽  
Hu Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Earth System Modeling ◽  
Surface Mass

Abstract. The surface mass balance scheme dEBM (diurnal Energy Balance Model) provides a novel interface between the atmosphere and land ice for Earth system modeling, which is based on the energy balance of glaciated surfaces. In contrast to empirical schemes, dEBM accounts for changes in the Earth’s orbit and atmospheric composition. The scheme only requires monthly atmospheric forcing (precipitation, temperature, shortwave and longwave radiation, and cloud cover). It is also computationally inexpensive, which makes it particularly suitable to investigate the ice sheets' response to long-term climate change. After calibration and validation, we analyze the surface mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) based on climate simulations representing two warm climate states: a simulation of the mid-Holocene (approximately 6000 years before present) and a climate projection based on an extreme emission scenario which extends to the year 2100. The former period features an intensified summer insolation while the 21st century is characterized by reduced outgoing longwave radiation. Specifically, we investigate whether the temperature–melt relationship, as used in empirical temperature-index methods, remains stable under changing insolation and atmospheric composition. Our results indicate that the temperature–melt relation is sensitive to changes in insolation on orbital timescales but remains mostly invariant under the projected warming climate of the 21st century.

Modelling the surface mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 6000 BP to the year 2200

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uta Krebs-Kanzow ◽  
Shan Xu ◽  
Hu Yang ◽  
Paul Gierz ◽  
Gerrit Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Wave Radiation ◽  
System Modelling ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Mass

<p>The surface mass balance scheme dEBM (diurnal Energy Balance Model) provides a novel interface between atmosphere and land ice for Earth System modelling, which is based on the energy balance of glaciated surfaces. In contrast to empirical schemes, dEBM accounts for changes in the Earth’s orbit and atmospheric composition. The scheme only requires monthly atmospheric forcing (precipitation, temperature, shortwave and longwave radiation and cloud cover) and is computationally inexpensive, which makes it particularly suitable to investigate the response of ice sheets to long term climate change.<br>Here, we analyze the surface mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS)  based on a climate simulation which covers the last 6000 years and a climate projection which extends to the year 2200. We validate our results with recent surface mass balance estimates from observations and regional modelling. Our model results allow to compare two distinctly different warm periods: the Mid Holocene (approx. 6000 years before present), which is characterized by intensified summer insolation, and the next centuries,  which will be characterized by reduced outgoing long wave radiation. We also investigate whether the temperature - melt relationship, as used in empirical  schemes, remains stable under changing insolation and atmospheric composition.</p><p><em>Krebs-Kanzow, U., Gierz, P., & Lohmann, G. (2018). Brief communication: An ice surface melt scheme including the diurnal cycle of solar radiation. The Cryosphere, 12(12), 3923-3930.</em></p>

Estimation of mass and energy balance of glaciers using a distributed energy balance model over the Chandra river basin (Western Himalaya)

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akansha Patel ◽  
Ajanta Goswami ◽  
Jaydeo K. Dharpure ◽  
Meloth Thamban ◽  
Parmanand Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Distributed Energy

scholarly journals Analysis of the surface mass balance for deglacial climate simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1131-1156
Author(s):  
Marie-Luise Kapsch ◽  
Uwe Mikolajewicz ◽  
Florian A. Ziemen ◽  
Christian B. Rodehacke ◽  
Clemens Schannwell
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Surface Mass

Abstract. A realistic simulation of the surface mass balance (SMB) is essential for simulating past and future ice-sheet changes. As most state-of-the-art Earth system models (ESMs) are not capable of realistically representing processes determining the SMB, most studies of the SMB are limited to observations and regional climate models and cover the last century and near future only. Using transient simulations with the Max Planck Institute ESM in combination with an energy balance model (EBM), we extend previous research and study changes in the SMB and equilibrium line altitude (ELA) for the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets throughout the last deglaciation. The EBM is used to calculate and downscale the SMB onto a higher spatial resolution than the native ESM grid and allows for the resolution of SMB variations due to topographic gradients not resolved by the ESM. An evaluation for historical climate conditions (1980–2010) shows that derived SMBs compare well with SMBs from regional modeling. Throughout the deglaciation, changes in insolation dominate the Greenland SMB. The increase in insolation and associated warming early in the deglaciation result in an ELA and SMB increase. The SMB increase is caused by compensating effects of melt and accumulation: the warming of the atmosphere leads to an increase in melt at low elevations along the ice-sheet margins, while it results in an increase in accumulation at higher levels as a warmer atmosphere precipitates more. After 13 ka, the increase in melt begins to dominate, and the SMB decreases. The decline in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation after 9 ka leads to an increasing SMB and decreasing ELA. Superimposed on these long-term changes are centennial-scale episodes of abrupt SMB and ELA decreases related to slowdowns of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) that lead to a cooling over most of the Northern Hemisphere.

scholarly journals Climate sensitivity of glaciers in southern Norway: application of an energy-balance model to Nigardsbreen, Hellstugubreen and Alfotbreen

1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (129) ◽  
pp. 223-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Oerlemans
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Climate Sensitivity ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Calculated Mass ◽  
Southern Norway

AbstractThree glaciers in southern Norway, with very different mass-balance characteristics, are studied with an energy-balance model of the ice/snow surface. The model simulates the observed mass-balance profiles in a satisfactory way, and can thus be used with some confidence in a study of climate sensitivity. Calculated changes in equilibrium-line altitude for a 1 K temperature increase are 110, 108 and 135 m for Nigardsbreen, Hellstugubreen and Alfotbreen, respectively. The corresponding changes in mass balance, averaged over the entire glacier area, are −0.88, −0.715 and −1.11 m year−1 (water equivalent).Runs with an ice-flow model for Nigardsbreen, to which calculated mass-balance profiles arc imposed, predict that the front will advance by 3 km for a 1 K cooling, and will retreat by as much as 6.5 km for a 1 K warming. The response to a 10% increase in precipitation would be a 2 km advance of the snout, whereas a 4 km retreat is predicted for a 10% decrease. This large sensitivity (as compared to many other glaciers) is to a large extent due to the geometry of Nigardsbreen.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document