Global differences in the energy balance and melt rates of debris-covered glacier surfaces

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Miles ◽  
Jakob Steiner ◽  
Pascal Buri ◽  
Walter Immerzeel ◽  
Francesca Pellicciotti
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Mass Loss ◽  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Random Sets ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Mountain Glacier

<p>Supraglacial debris covers 4% of mountain glacier area globally and generally reduces glacier surface melt. Studies have identified enhanced energy absorption at ice cliffs and supraglacial ponds scattered across the debris surface. Although these features generally cover a small portion of glacier surface area (5-10%) they contribute disproportionately to mass loss at the local glacier scales (20-40%). While past studies have identified their melt-enhancing role in High Mountain Asia, Alaska, and the Alps, it is not clear to what degree they enhance mass loss in other areas of the globe.</p><p>We model the surface energy balance for debris-covered ice, ice cliffs, and supraglacial ponds using meteorological records (4 radiative fluxes, wind speed, air temperature, humidity) from a set of on-glacier automated weather stations representing the global prevalence of debris covered glaciers. We generate 5000 random sets of values for physical parameters using probability distributions derived from literature. We also model the hypothetical energy balance of a debris-free glacier surface at each site, which we use to investigate the melt rates of distinct surface types relative to that of a clean ice glacier. This approach allows us to isolate the melt responses of debris, cliffs and ponds to the site specific meteorological forcing.</p><p>For each site we determine an Østrem curve for sub-debris melt as a function of debris thickness and a probabilistic understanding of surface energy absorption for ice cliffs, supraglacial ponds, and debris-covered ice. While debris leads to strong reductions in melt at all sites, we find an order-of-magnitude spread in sub-debris melt rates due solely to climatic differences between sites. The melt enhancement of ice cliffs relative to debris-covered ice is starkly apparent at all sites, and ice cliffs melt rates are generally 1.5-2.5 times the ablation rate for a clean ice surface. The supraglacial pond energy balance varies regionally, and is sensitive to wind speed and relative humidity, leading to energy absorption 0.4-1.2 times that of clean ice, but 5-10 times higher than debris-covered ice. Our results support the few past assessments of melt rates for cliffs and ponds, and indicate sub-regional coherence in the energy balance response of these features to climate.</p>

scholarly journals Surface energy balance sensitivity to meteorological variability on Haig Glacier, Canadian Rocky Mountains

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2799-2819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samaneh Ebrahimi ◽  
Shawn J. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Interannual Variations ◽  
Canadian Rocky Mountains ◽  
Glacier Surface

Abstract. Energy exchanges between the atmosphere and the glacier surface control the net energy available for snow and ice melt. This paper explores the response of a midlatitude glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to daily and interannual variations in the meteorological parameters that govern the surface energy balance. We use an energy balance model to run sensitivity tests to perturbations in temperature, specific humidity, wind speed, incoming shortwave radiation, glacier surface albedo, and winter snowpack depth. Variables are perturbed (i) in isolation, (ii) including internal feedbacks, and (iii) with co-evolution of meteorological perturbations, derived from the North American regional climate reanalysis (NARR) over the period 1979–2014. Summer melt at this site has the strongest sensitivity to interannual variations in temperature, albedo, and specific humidity, while fluctuations in cloud cover, wind speed, and winter snowpack depth have less influence. Feedbacks to temperature forcing, in particular summer albedo evolution, double the melt sensitivity to a temperature change. When meteorological perturbations covary through the NARR forcing, summer temperature anomalies remain important in driving interannual summer energy balance and melt variability, but they are reduced in importance relative to an isolated temperature forcing. Covariation of other variables (e.g., clear skies, giving reduced incoming longwave radiation) may be partially compensating for the increase in temperature. The methods introduced in this paper provide a framework that can be extended to compare the sensitivity of glaciers in different climate regimes, e.g., polar, maritime, or tropical environments, and to assess the importance of different meteorological parameters in different regions.

scholarly journals Application of an improved surface energy balance model to two large valley glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Tim Hill ◽  
Christine F. Dow ◽  
Eleanor A. Bash ◽  
Luke Copland
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Surface Melt

Abstract Glacier surficial melt rates are commonly modelled using surface energy balance (SEB) models, with outputs applied to extend point-based mass-balance measurements to regional scales, assess water resource availability, examine supraglacial hydrology and to investigate the relationship between surface melt and ice dynamics. We present an improved SEB model that addresses the primary limitations of existing models by: (1) deriving high-resolution (30 m) surface albedo from Landsat 8 imagery, (2) calculating shadows cast onto the glacier surface by high-relief topography to model incident shortwave radiation, (3) developing an algorithm to map debris sufficiently thick to insulate the glacier surface and (4) presenting a formulation of the SEB model coupled to a subsurface heat conduction model. We drive the model with 6 years of in situ meteorological data from Kaskawulsh Glacier and Nàłùdäy (Lowell) Glacier in the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada, and validate outputs against in situ measurements. Modelled seasonal melt agrees with observations within 9% across a range of elevations on both glaciers in years with high-quality in situ observations. We recommend applying the model to investigate the impacts of surface melt for individual glaciers when sufficient input data are available.

scholarly journals The Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) for estimation of turbulent heat fluxes

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Su
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Evaporative Fraction ◽  
Balance System ◽  
Turbulent Heat Fluxes

Abstract. A Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) is proposed for the estimation of atmospheric turbulent fluxes and evaporative fraction using satellite earth observation data, in combination with meteorological information at proper scales. SEBS consists of: a set of tools for the determination of the land surface physical parameters, such as albedo, emissivity, temperature, vegetation coverage etc., from spectral reflectance and radiance measurements; a model for the determination of the roughness length for heat transfer; and a new formulation for the determination of the evaporative fraction on the basis of energy balance at limiting cases. Four experimental data sets are used to assess the reliabilities of SEBS. Based on these case studies, SEBS has proven to be capable to estimate turbulent heat fluxes and evaporative fraction at various scales with acceptable accuracy. The uncertainties in the estimated heat fluxes are comparable to in-situ measurement uncertainties. Keywords: Surface energy balance, turbulent heat flux, evaporation, remote sensing

scholarly journals Evaluation of different methods to model near-surface turbulent fluxes for a mountain glacier in the Cariboo Mountains, BC, Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2897-2918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Radić ◽  
Brian Menounos ◽  
Joseph Shea ◽  
Noel Fitzpatrick ◽  
Mekdes A. Tessema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Friction Velocity ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Katabatic Flow ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Mountain Glacier ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Wind Speed Maximum ◽  
Turbulent Heat Fluxes

Abstract. As part of surface energy balance models used to simulate glacier melting, choosing parameterizations to adequately estimate turbulent heat fluxes is extremely challenging. This study aims to evaluate a set of four aerodynamic bulk methods (labeled as C methods), commonly used to estimate turbulent heat fluxes for a sloped glacier surface, and two less commonly used bulk methods developed from katabatic flow models. The C methods differ in their parameterizations of the bulk exchange coefficient that relates the fluxes to the near-surface measurements of mean wind speed, air temperature, and humidity. The methods' performance in simulating 30 min sensible- and latent-heat fluxes is evaluated against the measured fluxes from an open-path eddy-covariance (OPEC) method. The evaluation is performed at a point scale of a mountain glacier, using one-level meteorological and OPEC observations from multi-day periods in the 2010 and 2012 summer seasons. The analysis of the two independent seasons yielded the same key findings, which include the following: first, the bulk method, with or without the commonly used Monin–Obukhov (M–O) stability functions, overestimates the turbulent heat fluxes over the observational period, mainly due to a substantial overestimation of the friction velocity. This overestimation is most pronounced during the katabatic flow conditions, corroborating the previous findings that the M–O theory works poorly in the presence of a low wind speed maximum. Second, the method based on a katabatic flow model (labeled as the KInt method) outperforms any C method in simulating the friction velocity; however, the C methods outperform the KInt method in simulating the sensible-heat fluxes. Third, the best overall performance is given by a hybrid method, which combines the KInt approach with the C method; i.e., it parameterizes eddy viscosity differently than eddy diffusivity. An error analysis reveals that the uncertainties in the measured meteorological variables and the roughness lengths produce errors in the modeled fluxes that are smaller than the differences between the modeled and observed fluxes. This implies that further advances will require improvement to model theory rather than better measurements of input variables. Further data from different glaciers are needed to investigate any universality of these findings.

scholarly journals Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Olson ◽  
Summer B. Rupper
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Direct Solar Radiation ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
North And South ◽  
Predictable Characteristics

Abstract. Topographic shading, including both shaded relief and cast shadowing, plays a fundamental role in determining direct solar radiation on glacier ice. However, this parameter has been oversimplified or incorrectly incorporated in surface energy balance models in some past studies. Here we develop a topographic solar radiation model to examine the variability in irradiance throughout the glacier melt season due to topographic shading and combined slope and aspect. We apply the model to multiple glaciers in High Mountain Asia (HMA), and test the sensitivity of shading to valley-aspect and latitude. Our results show that topographic shading significantly alters the potential direct clear-sky solar radiation received at the surface for valley glaciers in HMA, particularly for north- and south-facing glaciers. Additionally, we find that shading can be extremely impactful in the ablation zone. Cast shadowing is the dominant mechanism in determining total shading for valley glaciers in parts of HMA, especially at lower elevations. Although shading has some predictable characteristics, it is overall extremely variable between glacial valleys. Our results suggest that topographic shading is not only an important factor contributing to surface energy balance, but could also influence glacier response and mass balance estimates throughout HMA.

scholarly journals Surface-layer turbulence, energy-balance and links to atmospheric circulations over a mountain glacier in the French Alps

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Litt ◽  
Jean-Emmanuel Sicart ◽  
Delphine Six ◽  
Patrick Wagnon ◽  
Warren D. Helgason
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
Energy Balance ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Turbulent Fluxes ◽  
Turbulence Energy ◽  
Mountain Glacier ◽  
French Alps ◽  
Effective Roughness ◽  
Wind Speed Maximum

Abstract. Over mountain glaciers, large errors may affect turbulent surface heat fluxes estimated with the bulk-aerodynamic (BA) method. That might lead to uncertainties in estimating melt from surface energy balance (SEB). During the summers of 2006 and 2009, in the atmospheric surface layer of Saint-Sorlin Glacier (French Alps, 45° N, 6.1° E, ~3 km2), mean air-temperature and wind-speed vertical profiles and high frequency Eddy-Covariance (EC) data were collected to characterize the turbulence and the turbulent fluxes. We studied the influence of the BA method errors on the melt estimations, calculating the SEB alternatively with turbulent fluxes obtained from the BA and the EC methods. We classified our results in terms of large-scale forcing. In weak synoptic forcing, local thermal effects dominated the wind circulation. On the glacier, weak katabatic flows with a wind-speed maximum at low height (2–3 m) were detected 71 % of the time and were generally associated with weak turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulent fluxes. When the large-scale forcing was strong, the wind in the valley aligned with the glacier flow, intense downslope flows were observed, no wind-speed maximum was visible below 5 m, TKE and turbulent fluxes were often intense. For both regimes, the surface layer turbulence production was probably not at equilibrium with dissipation because of the interaction of large-scale orographic disturbances with the flow when the forcing was strong, or low-frequency oscillations of the katabatic flow when the forcing was weak. When TKE was low, all turbulent fluxes calculation methods provided similar fluxes. When TKE was large, the EC method provided larger fluxes than the BA method. This underestimation was compensated by increasing the BA flux estimates using melt-calibrated effective roughness lengths. Though strong forcing was more frequently associated with large TKE events than weak forcing conditions, differences between the different SEB estimates remained in both cases within the error range of observed melt.

scholarly journals Surface Energy Balance Sensitivity to Meteorological Variability on Haig Glacier, Canadian Rocky Mountains

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ebrahimi ◽  
S. J. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Surface Albedo ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Interannual Variations ◽  
Canadian Rocky Mountains ◽  
Glacier Surface

Abstract. Energy exchanges between the atmosphere and the glacier surface control the net energy available for snow and ice melt. Meteorological and glaciological observations are not always available to measure glacier energy and mass balance directly, so models of energy balance processes are often necessary to understand glacier response to meteorological variability and climate change. This paper explores the theoretical and empirical response of a mid-latitude glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to the daily and interannual variations in the meteorological parameters that govern the surface energy balance. The model's reference conditions are based on 11 years of in situ observations from an automatic weather station at an elevation of 2660 m, in the upper ablation area of Haig Glacier. We use an energy balance model to run sensitivity tests to perturbations in temperature, specific humidity, wind speed, incoming shortwave radiation, and glacier surface albedo. The variables were perturbed one at a time for the duration of the glacier melt season, May to September, for the years 2002–2012. The experiments indicate that summer melt has the strongest sensitivity to interannual variations in incoming shortwave radiation, albedo, and temperature, in that order. To explore more realistic scenarios where meteorological variables and internal feedbacks such as the surface albedo co-evolve, we use the same perturbation approach using meteorological forcing from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) over the period 1979–2014. These experiments provide an estimate of historical variability in Haig Glacier surface energy balance an d melt for years prior to our observational study. The methods introduced in this paper provide a methodology that can be employed in distributed energy balance modelling at regional scales. They also provide the foundation for theoretical framework that can be adapted to compare the climatic sensitivity of glaciers in different climate regimes, e.g., polar, maritime, or tropical environments.

scholarly journals Changes in Wind Speed under Heat Waves Enhance Urban Heat Islands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 2369-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Li ◽  
Ting Sun ◽  
Maofeng Liu ◽  
Linlin Wang ◽  
Zhiqiu Gao
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
Urban Heat

AbstractThe interaction between urban heat islands (UHIs) and heat waves (HWs) is studied using measurements collected at two towers in the Beijing, China, metropolitan area and an analytical model. Measurements show that 1) the positive interaction between UHIs and HWs not only exists at the surface but also persists to higher levels (up to ~70 m) and 2) the urban wind speed is enhanced by HWs during daytime but reduced during nighttime as compared with its rural counterpart. A steady-state advection–diffusion model coupled to the surface energy balance equation is then employed to understand the implication of changes in wind speed on UHIs, which reveals that the observed changes in wind speed positively contribute to the interaction between UHIs and HWs in both daytime and nighttime. The vertical structure of the positive interaction between UHIs and HWs is thus likely an outcome resulting from a combination of changes in the surface energy balance and wind profile.

scholarly journals Surface energy balance and meltwater production for a Dry Valley glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 603-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen J. Lewis ◽  
Andrew G. Fountain ◽  
Gayle L. Dana
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Ablation Zone ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Taylor Valley ◽  
Meltwater Runoff ◽  
Valley Glacier ◽  
Dry Valley

The surface energy balance was calculated to estimate sublimation and melt on the surface and terminus of Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica, during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 austral summers. Our results indicate that sublimation accounted for roughly 80% of the observed 1994-95 summer ablation and 40% of the observed 1995-96 summer ablation on the surface of the glacier. Sublimation Oil the terminus cliffs appears to be less significant than sublimation on the glacier surface, probably accounting for at most 10-15% of the measured ablation. Based on these results, both surface and terminus cliff melt were calculated and compared with gauged flow in the Glaciol streams. We found thai while the terminus cliffs represent only 2% of the total ablation zone, they account for 10— 40% of the total meltwater runoff. Given pur current instrumentation, we can estimate meltwater discharge from the glacier with an accuracy of ±20%.

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