scholarly journals Spatial and temporal variability in the snowpack of a High Arctic ice cap: implications for mass-change measurements

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Bell ◽  
Douglas Mair ◽  
David Burgess ◽  
Martin Sharp ◽  
Michael Demuth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Full Range ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Simple Relationship ◽  
Layer Formation ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Arctic Ice

AbstractInterpretation of ice mass elevation changes observed by satellite altimetry demands quantification of the proportion of elevation change which is attributable to variations in firn densification. Detailed stratigraphic logging of snowpack structure and density was carried out at ~1km intervals along a 47 km transect on Devon Ice Cap, Canada, in spring (pre-melt) and autumn (during/ after melt) 2004 and 2006 to characterize seasonal snowpack variability across the full range of snow facies. Simultaneous meteorological measurements were gathered. Spring (pre-melt) snowpacks show low variability over large spatial scales, with low-magnitude changes in density. The end-of-summer/ autumn density profiles show high variability in both 2004 and 2006, with vastly different melt regimes generating dissimilar patterns of ice-layer formation over the two melt seasons. Dye-tracing experiments from spring to autumn 2006 reveal that vertical and horizontal distribution of meltwater flow within and below the annual snowpack is strongly affected by the pre-existing, often subtle stratigraphic interfaces in the snowpack, rather than its bulk properties. Strong interannual variability suggests that using a simple relationship between air temperature, elevation and snowpack densification to derive mass change from measurements of elevation change across High Arctic ice caps may be misguided. Melt timing and duration are important extrinsic factors governing snowpack densification and ice-layer formation in summer, rather than averaged air temperatures.

scholarly journals CryoSat-2 delivers monthly and inter-annual surface elevation change for Arctic ice caps

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 2821-2865 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gray ◽  
D. Burgess ◽  
L. Copland ◽  
M. N. Demuth ◽  
T. Dunse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Radar Altimeter ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Winter Snow ◽  
Surface Elevation Change ◽  
Devon Ice Cap ◽  
Arctic Ice

Abstract. We show that the CryoSat-2 radar altimeter can provide useful estimates of surface elevation change on a variety of Arctic ice caps, on both monthly and yearly time scales. Changing conditions, however, can lead to a varying bias between the elevation estimated from the radar altimeter and the physical surface due to changes in the contribution of subsurface to surface backscatter. Under melting conditions the radar returns are predominantly from the surface so that if surface melt is extensive across the ice cap estimates of summer elevation loss can be made with the frequent coverage provided by CryoSat-2. For example, the average summer elevation decreases on the Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island, Canada were 2.05 ± 0.36 m (2011), 2.55 ± 0.32 m (2012), 1.38 ± 0.40 m (2013) and 1.44 ± 0.37 m (2014), losses which were not balanced by the winter snow accumulation. As winter-to-winter conditions were similar, the net elevation losses were 1.0 ± 0.2 m (winter 2010/2011 to winter 2011/2012), 1.39 ± 0.2 m (2011/2012 to 2012/2013) and 0.36 ± 0.2 m (2012/2013 to 2013/2014); for a total surface elevation loss of 2.75 ± 0.2 m over this 3 year period. In contrast, the uncertainty in height change results from Devon Ice Cap, Canada, and Austfonna, Svalbard, can be up to twice as large because of the presence of firn and the possibility of a varying bias between the true surface and the detected elevation due to changing year-to-year conditions. Nevertheless, the surface elevation change estimates from CryoSat for both ice caps are consistent with field and meteorological measurements. For example, the average 3 year elevation difference for footprints within 100 m of a repeated surface GPS track on Austfonna differed from the GPS change by 0.18 m.

scholarly journals Taxon interactions control the distributions of cryoconite bacteria colonizing a High Arctic ice cap

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (15) ◽  
pp. 3752-3767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarishma K. Gokul ◽  
Andrew J. Hodson ◽  
Eli R. Saetnan ◽  
Tristram D. L. Irvine-Fynn ◽  
Philippa J. Westall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Arctic Ice

scholarly journals Continuous Non-Marine Inputs of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to the High Arctic: A Multi-Decadal Temporal Record

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi M. Pickard ◽  
Alison S. Criscitiello ◽  
Christine Spencer ◽  
Martin J. Sharp ◽  
Derek C. G. Muir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solid Phase ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Devon Ice Cap ◽  
Pollutant Sources ◽  
Arctic Ice ◽  
Changes Over Time

Abstract. Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent, bioaccumulative compounds found ubiquitously within the environment. They can be formed from the atmospheric oxidation of volatile precursor compounds and undergo long-range transport through the atmosphere and ocean to remote locations. Ice caps preserve a temporal record of PFAA deposition making them useful in studying the atmospheric trends in LRT of PFAAs as well as understanding major pollutant sources and production changes over time. A 15 m ice core representing 38 years of deposition (1977–2015) was collected from the Devon Ice Cap in Nunavut, providing us with the first multi-decadal temporal ice record in PFAA deposition to the Arctic. Ice core samples were concentrated using solid phase extraction and analyzed by liquid and ion chromatography methods. Both perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) were detected in the samples, with fluxes ranging from

scholarly journals CryoSat-2 delivers monthly and inter-annual surface elevation change for Arctic ice caps

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1895-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gray ◽  
D. Burgess ◽  
L. Copland ◽  
M. N. Demuth ◽  
T. Dunse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Radar Altimeter ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Winter Snow ◽  
Surface Elevation Change ◽  
Devon Ice Cap ◽  
Arctic Ice

Abstract. We show that the CryoSat-2 radar altimeter can provide useful estimates of surface elevation change on a variety of Arctic ice caps, on both monthly and yearly timescales. Changing conditions, however, can lead to a varying bias between the elevation estimated from the radar altimeter and the physical surface due to changes in the ratio of subsurface to surface backscatter. Under melting conditions the radar returns are predominantly from the surface so that if surface melt is extensive across the ice cap estimates of summer elevation loss can be made with the frequent coverage provided by CryoSat-2. For example, the average summer elevation decreases on the Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island, Canada were 2.05 ± 0.36 m (2011), 2.55 ± 0.32 m (2012), 1.38 ± 0.40 m (2013) and 1.44 ± 0.37 m (2014), losses which were not balanced by the winter snow accumulation. As winter-to-winter conditions were similar, the net elevation losses were 1.0 ± 0.20 m (winter 2010/11 to winter 2011/12), 1.39 ± 0.20 m (2011/12 to 2012/13) and 0.36 ± 0.20 m (2012/13 to 2013/14); for a total surface elevation loss of 2.75 ± 0.20 m over this 3-year period. In contrast, the uncertainty in height change from Devon Ice Cap, Canada, and Austfonna, Svalbard, can be up to twice as large because of the presence of firn and the possibility of a varying bias between the true surface and the detected elevation due to changing year-to-year conditions. Nevertheless, the surface elevation change estimates from CryoSat for both ice caps are consistent with field and meteorological measurements.

Changes in Northwest Greenland Ice Sheet Elevation and Mass

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inès Otosaka ◽  
Andrew Shepherd ◽  
Andreas Groh
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Laser Altimetry ◽  
Mass Budget ◽  
Airborne Laser ◽  
The Impact

<p>About a third of Greenland’s total ice losses come from the Northwest sector, a sector that includes a large number of marine-terminating outlet glaciers, which have all experienced widespread retreat triggered by ocean-induced melting. Here, we derive changes in surface elevation, volume and mass in the Northwest sector of the Greenland Ice Sheet using a decade of CryoSat-2 observations. We find an average elevation change rate of 18.7 ± 0.4 cm/yr, with rapid thinning at the ice sheet margins at a rate of 42.7 ± 0.9 cm/yr. We compare our CryoSat-2 rates of elevation change to airborne laser altimetry data from Operation IceBridge. Overall, there is a good agreement between the two datasets with a mean difference of 6.5 ± 0.5 cm/yr and standard deviation of 31.1 cm/yr. We further compute volume change, which we convert to mass change by testing three alternate density models and we find that the northwest sector has lost 386 ± 3.7 Gt of ice between July 2010 and July 2019. We compare our mass balance estimate to independent estimates from gravimetry and the mass budget method across different spatial scales. First, we compare the different estimates by splitting the sector into two and four regions. While our altimetry estimate is the least negative across all regions, the gravimetry and mass budget estimates alternate in recording the largest ice losses. We further compare mass changes derived from altimetry and the mass budget method in each of the 74 individual glacier basins of the Northwest sector. We find a high correlation of 0.81 between rates of mass change from altimetry and the mass budget method, with the highest differences recorded in Steenstrup-Dietrichson and Kjer Gletscher basins. Our comparisons show that the spatial pattern of the differences between mass balance estimates is complex, suggesting that discrepancies between techniques do not solely originate from one single region or technique. Finally, we explore several factors that could potentially bias our altimetry mass balance estimation, by investigating differences between satellite radar and airborne laser altimetry, the dependency on grid spatial resolution and the impact of using different density models.</p>

scholarly journals Mass change of Arctic ice caps and glaciers: implications of regionalizing elevation changes

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 5889-5920 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Nilsson ◽  
L. Sandberg Sørensen ◽  
V. R. Barletta ◽  
R. Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Satellite Altimetry ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Annual Variability ◽  
Change Pattern ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Arctic Ice

Abstract. Recent studies have determined mass changes of Arctic ice caps and glaciers from satellite altimetry. Determining regional mass balance of ice caps and glaciers using this technique is inherently difficult due to their size and geometry. Furthermore these studies have mostly relied on one method or the same types of methods to determine the regional mass balance, by extrapolating elevation changes using their relation to elevation. This makes the estimation of mass balance heavily dependent on the method used to regionalize the elevation changes. Left without consideration large discrepancies can arise in the mass change estimates and the interpretation of them. In this study we use Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) derived elevation changes from 2003–2009 and determine the impact of different regionalizing schemes on the mass change estimates of the Arctic ice caps and glaciers. Four different methods, based on interpolation and extrapolation of the elevation changes were used to quantify this effect on the regional mass changes. Secondly, a statistical criteria was developed to determine the optimum method for each region in order to derive robust mass changes and reduce the need of external validation data. In this study we found that the range or spread of the estimated mass changes, for the different regions, was highly correlated to the inter-annual variability of the elevation changes, driven by the different climatic conditions of the regions. Regions affected by a maritime climate show a large range in estimated values, on average 1.5–2 times larger than the predicted errors. For regions in a continental regime the opposite was observed, and the range of the values lies well inside the error estimates. We also found that the extrapolation methods tend on average to produce more negative values than the interpolation methods and that our four methods do not fully reproduce the original histogram. Instead, they produce more negative distributions than the original which may indicate that previous and these current estimates using ICESat observations might be overestimate by as much as 4–19%, depending on region. This should therefore be taken into account when deriving regional mass balance from satellite altimetry in regions which show high inter-annual variability of elevation changes. In these regions several different independent methods should be used to capture the elevation change pattern and then analyzed to determine the most suitable method. For regions in a continental climate regime, and with low variability of elevation changes, a single method may be sufficient to capture the regional elevation change pattern and hence mass balance.

scholarly journals Mass changes in Arctic ice caps and glaciers: implications of regionalizing elevation changes

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Nilsson ◽  
L. Sandberg Sørensen ◽  
V. R. Barletta ◽  
R. Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Cross Validation ◽  
Mass Change ◽  
Constant Density ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Arctic Ice

Abstract. The mass balance of glaciers and ice caps is sensitive to changing climate conditions. The mass changes derived in this study are determined from elevation changes derived measured by the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) for the time period 2003–2009. Four methods, based on interpolation and extrapolation, are used to regionalize these elevation changes to areas without satellite coverage. A constant density assumption is then applied to estimate the mass change by integrating over the entire glaciated region. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of the regional mass balance of Arctic ice caps and glaciers to different regionalization schemes. The sensitivity analysis is based on studying the spread of mass changes and their associated errors, and the suitability of the different regionalization techniques is assessed through cross-validation. The cross-validation results shows comparable accuracies for all regionalization methods, but the inferred mass change in individual regions, such as Svalbard and Iceland, can vary up to 4 Gt a−1, which exceeds the estimated errors by roughly 50% for these regions. This study further finds that this spread in mass balance is connected to the magnitude of the elevation change variability. This indicates that care should be taken when choosing a regionalization method, especially for areas which exhibit large variability in elevation change.

CONSTRAINING LATEST HOLOCENE EXPANSION AND 20TH CENTURY RETREAT OF A SMALL CANADIAN ARCTIC ICE CAP USING ENTOMBED VEGETATION

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon L. Pendleton ◽  
◽  
Gifford H. Miller ◽  
Robert S. Anderson ◽  
Sarah E. Crump
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Arctic Ice

scholarly journals Substantial hysteresis in emergent temperature sensitivity of global wetland CH4 emissions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuang-Yu Chang ◽  
William J. Riley ◽  
Sara H. Knox ◽  
Robert B. Jackson ◽  
Gavin McNicol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Sensitivity ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Biogeochemical Models ◽  
Model Parameterization ◽  
Machine Learning Model ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Global Carbon

AbstractWetland methane (CH4) emissions ($${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 ) are important in global carbon budgets and climate change assessments. Currently, $${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 projections rely on prescribed static temperature sensitivity that varies among biogeochemical models. Meta-analyses have proposed a consistent $${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 temperature dependence across spatial scales for use in models; however, site-level studies demonstrate that $${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 are often controlled by factors beyond temperature. Here, we evaluate the relationship between $${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 and temperature using observations from the FLUXNET-CH4 database. Measurements collected across the globe show substantial seasonal hysteresis between $${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 and temperature, suggesting larger $${F}_{{{CH}}_{4}}$$ F C H 4 sensitivity to temperature later in the frost-free season (about 77% of site-years). Results derived from a machine-learning model and several regression models highlight the importance of representing the large spatial and temporal variability within site-years and ecosystem types. Mechanistic advancements in biogeochemical model parameterization and detailed measurements in factors modulating CH4 production are thus needed to improve global CH4 budget assessments.

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