Sensitivity of Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass balance to perturbations in sea surface temperature and sea ice cover: a study with the regional climate model MAR
[en] During recent summers (2007–2012), several surface melt records were broken over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). The extreme summer melt resulted in part from a persistent negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), favoring warmer atmospheric conditions than normal over the GrIS. Simultaneously, large anomalies in sea ice cover (SIC) and sea surface temperature (SST) were observed in the North Atlantic, suggesting a possible connection. To assess the direct impact of 2007–2012 SIC and SST anomalies on GrIS surface mass balance (SMB), a set of sensitivity experiments was carried out with the regional climate model MAR forced by ERA-Interim. These simulations suggest that perturbations in SST and SIC in the seas surrounding Greenland do not considerably impact GrIS SMB, as a result of the katabatic wind blocking effect. These offshore-directed winds prevent oceanic near-surface air, influenced by SIC and SST anomalies, from penetrating far inland. Therefore, the ice sheet SMB response is restricted to coastal regions, where katabatic winds cease. A topic for further investigation is how anomalies in SIC and SST might have indirectly affected the surface melt by changing the general circulation in the North Atlantic region, hence favoring more frequent warm air advection towards the GrIS.
Research Center/Unit :
SPHERES - ULiège
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Noël, Brice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Sphères
Fettweis, Xavier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Topoclimatologie
van de Berg, W.J.
van den Broeke, M.R.
Erpicum, Michel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Topoclimatologie
Language :
English
Title :
Sensitivity of Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass balance to perturbations in sea surface temperature and sea ice cover: a study with the regional climate model MAR
Publication date :
20 October 2014
Journal title :
The Cryosphere
ISSN :
1994-0416
eISSN :
1994-0424
Publisher :
Copernicus, Katlenberg-Lindau, Germany
Volume :
8
Pages :
1871-1883
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Tags :
CÉCI : Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif
scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.
Bibliography
Bamber, J. L., Griggs, J. A., Hurkmans, R. T. W. L., Dowdeswell, J. A., Gogineni, S. P., Howat, I., Mouginot, J., Paden, J., Palmer, S., Rignot, E., and Steinhage, D.: A new bed elevation dataset for Greenland, The Cryosphere, 7, 499-510, doi:10.5194/tc-7-499-2013, 2013.
Bindschadler, R.: Hitting the Ice Sheets Where It Hurts, Science, 311, 1720-1721, doi:10.1126/science.1125226, 2006.
Box, J. E., Bromwich, D. H., and Bai, L. S.: Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance 1991-2000: application of Polar MM5 mesoscale model and in situ data, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D16105, doi:10.1029/2003JD004451, 2004.
Brun, E., David, P., Sudul, M., and Brunot, G.: A numerical model to simulate snow-cover stratigraphy for operational avalanche forecasting, J. Glaciol., 38, 13-22, 1992.
Day, J. J., Bamber, J. L., and Valdes, P. J.: The Greenland Ice Sheet's surface mass balance in a seasonally sea ice-free Arctic, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 118, 1533-1544, doi:10.1002/jgrf.20112, 2013.
Dee, D. P., Uppala, S. M., Simmons, A. J., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi, S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M. A., Balsamo, G., Bauer, P., Bechtold, P., Beljaars, A. C. M., van de Berg, L., Bidlot, J., Bormann, N., Delsol, C., Dragani, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A. J., Haimberger, L., Healy, S. B., Hersbach, H., Hólm, E. V., Isaksen, L., Køallberg, P., Köhler, M., Matricardi, M., McNally, A. P., Monge-Sanz, B. M., Morcrette, J.-J., Park, B.-K., Peubey, C., de Rosnay, P., Tavolato, C., Thépaut, J.-N., and Vitart, F.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 137, 553-597, doi:10.1002/qj.828, 2011.
Enderlin, E. M. and Howat, I. M.: Submarine melt rate estimates for floating termini of Greenland outlet glaciers (2000-2010), J. Glaciol., 59, 67-75, doi:10.3189/2013JoG12J049, 2013.
Ettema, J., van den Broeke, M. R., van Meijgaard, E., and van de Berg, W. J.: Climate of the Greenland ice sheet using a highresolution climate model-Part 2: Near-surface climate and energy balance, The Cryosphere, 4, 529-544, doi:10.5194/tc-4-529-2010, 2010.
Fettweis, X.: Reconstruction of the 1979-2006 Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance using the regional climate model MAR, The Cryosphere, 1, 21-40, doi:10.5194/tc-1-21-2007, 2007.
Fettweis, X., Gallée, H., Lefebre, F., and van Ypersele, J.-P.: Greenland surface mass balance simulated by a regional climate model and comparison with satellite-derived data in 1990-1991, Clim. Dynam., 24, 623-640, doi:10.1007/s00382-005-0010-y, 2005.
Fettweis, X., Tedesco, M., van den Broeke, M., and Ettema, J.: Melting trends over the Greenland ice sheet (1958-2009) from spaceborne microwave data and regional climate models, The Cryosphere, 5, 359-375, doi:10.5194/tc-5-359-2011, 2011.
Fettweis, X., Hanna, E., Lang, C., Belleflamme, A., Erpicum, M., and Gallée, H.: Brief communication "Important role of the midtropospheric atmospheric circulation in the recent surface melt increase over the Greenland ice sheet", The Cryosphere, 7, 241-248, doi:10.5194/tc-7-241-2013, 2013.
Franco, B., Fettweis, X., Lang, C., and Erpicum, M.: Impact of spatial resolution on the modelling of the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance between 1990-2010, using the regional climate model MAR, The Cryosphere, 6, 695-711, doi:10.5194/tc-6-695-2012, 2012.
Gallée, H. and Schayes, G.: Development of a Three-Dimensional Meso-Primitive Equation Model: Katabatic Winds Simulation in the Area of Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica, Mon. Weather Rev., 122, 671-685, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1994)1222.0.CO;2, 1994.
Gallée, H., Guyomarc'h, G., and Brun, E.: Impact of snow drift on the Antarctic ice sheet surface mass balance: possible sensitivity to snow-surface properties, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 99, 1-19, 2001.
Gallée, H., Peyaud, V., and Goodwin, I.: Simulation of the net snow accumulation along the Wilkes Land transect, Antarctica, with a regional climate model, Ann. Glaciol., 41, 17-22, doi:10.3189/172756405781813230, 2005.
Hanna, E., Cappelen, J., Fettweis, X., Huybrechts, P., Luckman, A., and Ribergaard, M. H.: Hydrologic response of the Greenland ice sheet: the role of oceanographic warming, Hydrol. Process., 23, 7-30, doi:10.1002/hyp.7090, 2009.
Hanna, E., Fettweis, X., Mernild, S. H., Cappelen, J., Ribergaard, M. H., Shuman, C. A., Steffen, K.,Wood, L., and Mote, T. L.: Atmospheric and oceanic climate forcing of the exceptional Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt in summer 2012, International J. Climatol., 23, 7-30, doi:10.1002/joc.3743, 2013a.
Hanna, E., Jones, J. M., Cappelen, J., Mernild, S. H.,Wood, L., Steffen, K., and Huybrechts, P.: The influence of North Atlantic atmospheric and oceanic forcing effects on 1900-2010 Greenland summer climate and ice melt/runoff, International J. Climatol., 33, 862-880, doi:10.1002/joc.3475, 2013b.
Heinemann, G.: The KABEG'97 field experiment: an aircraft-based study of katabatic wind dynamics over the Greenland ice sheet, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 93, 75-116, 1999.
Hoskins, B. J. and Hodges, K. I.: New perspectives on the Northern Hemisphere winter storm track, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 1041-1061, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(2002)0592.0.CO;2, 2002.
Howat, I. M., Joughin, I., Tulaczyk, S., and Gogineni, S.: Rapid retreat and acceleration of Helheim Glacier, east Greenland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L22502, doi:10.1029/2005GL024737, 2005.
Jaiser, R., Dethloff, K., Handorf, D., Rinke, A., and Cohen, J.: Impact of sea ice cover changes on the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric winter circulation, Tellus, 64, 11595, doi:10.3402/tellusa.v64i0.11595, 2012.
Jones, P. D., Jonsson, T., and Wheeler, D.: Extension to the North Atlantic Oscillation using early instrumental pressure observations from Gibraltar and South-West Iceland, International J. Climatol., 17, 1433-1450, doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(19971115)17:133.0.CO;2-P, 1997.
Koenig, S. J., DeConto, R. M., and Pollard, D.: Impact of Reduced Arctic Sea Ice on Greenland Ice Sheet Variability in a Warmer Than Present Climate, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 3933-3942, doi:10.1002/2014GL059770, 2014.
Lefebre, F., Gallée, H., van Ypersele, J.-P., and Greuell, W.: Modeling of snow and ice melt at ETH Camp (West Greenland): a study of surface albedo, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 4231, doi:10.1029/2001JD001160, 2003.
Lefebre, F., Fettweis, X., Gallée, H., van Ypersele, J.-P., Marbaix, P., Greuell, W., and Calanca, P.: Evaluation of a high-resolution regional climate simulation over Greenland, Clim. Dynam., 25, 99-116, doi:10.1007/s00382-005-0005-8, 2005.
Lenaerts, J. T. M., van den Broeke, M. R., van Angelen, J. H., van Meijgaard, E., and Déry, S. J.: Drifting snow climate of the Greenland ice sheet: a study with a regional climate model, The Cryosphere, 6, 891-899, doi:10.5194/tc-6-891-2012, 2012.
Luckman, A. and Murray, T.: Seasonal variation in velocity before retreat of Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L08501, doi:10.1029/2005GL022519, 2005.
Osborn, T. J.: Simulating the winter North Atlantic Oscillation: the roles of internal variability and greenhouse gas forcing, Clim. Dynam., 22, 605-623, doi:10.1007/s00382-004-0405-1, 2004.
Overland, J. E. and Wang, M.: Large-scale atmospheric circulation changes are associated with the recent loss of Arctic sea ice, Tellus, 62, 1-9, doi:10.1111/j.1600-0870.2009.00421.x, 2010.
Overland, J. E., Francis, J. A., Hanna, E., andWang, M.: The recent shift in early summer Arctic atmospheric circulation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L19804, doi:10.1029/2012GL053268, 2012.
Rae, J. G. L., Aõalgeirsdòttir, G., Edwards, T. L., Fettweis, X., Gregory, J. M., Hewitt, H. T., Lowe, J. A., Lucas-Picher, P., Mottram, R. H., Payne, A. J., Ridley, J. K., Shannon, S. R., van de Berg,W. J., van de Wal, R. S. W., and van den Broeke, M. R.: Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance: evaluating simulations and making projections with regional climate models, The Cryosphere, 6, 1275-1294, doi:10.5194/tc-6-1275-2012, 2012.
Rennermalm, A. K., Smith, L. C., Stroeve, J. C., and Chu, V. W.: Does sea ice influence Greenland ice sheet surface-melt?, Environ. Res. Lett., 4, 024011, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/4/2/024011, 2009.
Ridder, K. D. and Gallée, H.: Land surface-induced regional climate change in Southern Israel, J. Appl. Meteorol., 37, 1470-1485, doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1998)0372.0.CO;2, 1998.
Rignot, E., Velicogna, I., van den Broeke, M. R., Monaghan, A., and Lenaerts, J. T. M.: Acceleration of the contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to sea level rise, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L05503, doi:10.1029/2011GL046583, 2011.
Shepherd, A., Ivins, E. R., A, G., Barletta, V. R., Bentley, M. J., Bettadpur, S., Briggs, K. H., Bromwich, D. H., Forsberg, R., Galin, N., Horwath, M., Jacobs, S., Joughin, I., King, M. A., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Li, J., Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Luckman, A., Luthcke, S. B., McMillan, M., Meister, R., Milne, G., Mouginot, J., Muir, A., Nicolas, J. P., Paden, J., Payne, A. J., Pritchard, H., Rignot, E., Rott, H., Sørensen, L. S., Scambos, T. A., Scheuchl, B., Schrama, E. J. O., Smith, B., Sundal, A. V., van Angelen, J. H., van de Berg, W. J., van den Broeke, M. R., Vaughan, D. G., Velicogna, I.,Wahr, J., Whitehouse, P. L.,Wingham, D. J., Yi, D., Young, D., and Zwally, H. J.: A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance, Science, 338, 1183-1189, doi:10.1126/science.1228102, 2012.
Stark, J. D., Office, E. M., Donlon, C. J., Martin, M. J., and McCulloch, M. E.: OSTIA: An operational, high resolution, real time, global sea surface temperature analysis system, OCEANS 2007-Europe, 1-4, doi:10.1109/OCEANSE.2007.4302251, conference Publications, 2007.
Tedesco, M. and Fettweis, X.: 21st century projections of surface mass balance changes for major drainage systems of the Greenland ice sheet, Environ. Res. Lett., 7, 045405, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/045405, 2012.
Tedesco, M., Fettweis, X., Mote, T., Wahr, J., Alexander, P., Box, J. E., and Wouters, B.: Evidence and analysis of 2012 Greenland records from spaceborne observations, a regional climate model and reanalysis data, The Cryosphere, 7, 615-630, doi:10.5194/tc-7-615-2013, 2013.
Thomas, R. H., Abdalati, W., Frederick, E., Krabill, W. B., Manizade, S., and Steffen, K.: Investigation of surface melting and dynamic thinning on Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland, J. Glaciol., 49, 231-239, doi:10.3189/172756503781830764, 2003.
Van Angelen, J. H., van den Broeke, M. R., Wouters, B., and Lenaerts, J. T. M.: Contemporary (1960-2012) evolution of the climate and surface mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet, Surv. Geophys., 35, 1155-1174, doi:10.1007/s10712-013-9261-z, 2013.
Van den Broeke, M., Bamber, J., Ettema, J., Rignot, E., Schrama, E., van de Berg,W. J., van Meijgaard, E., Velicogna, I., andWouters, B.: Partitioning Recent Greenland Mass Loss, Science, 326, 984-986, doi:10.1126/science.1178176, 2009.
Vernon, C. L., Bamber, J. L., Box, J. E., van den Broeke, M. R., Fettweis, X., Hanna, E., and Huybrechts, P.: Surface mass balance model intercomparison for the Greenland ice sheet, The Cryosphere, 7, 599-614, doi:10.5194/tc-7-599-2013, 2013.
Wouters, B., Bamber, J. L., van den Broeke, M. R., Lenaerts, J. T. M., and Sasgen, I.: Limits in detecting acceleration of ice sheet mass loss due to climate variability, Nat. Geosci., 6, 613-616, doi:10.1038/ngeo1874, 2013.
This website uses cookies to improve user experience. Read more
Save & Close
Accept all
Decline all
Show detailsHide details
Cookie declaration
About cookies
Strictly necessary
Performance
Strictly necessary cookies allow core website functionality such as user login and account management. The website cannot be used properly without strictly necessary cookies.
This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly.
Performance cookies are used to see how visitors use the website, eg. analytics cookies. Those cookies cannot be used to directly identify a certain visitor.
Used to store the attribution information, the referrer initially used to visit the website
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. Websites use cookies to help users navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. Cookies that are required for the website to operate properly are allowed to be set without your permission. All other cookies need to be approved before they can be set in the browser.
You can change your consent to cookie usage at any time on our Privacy Policy page.
