Earth-Surface Processes; Water Science and Technology
Abstract :
[en] Abstract. Surface-mass-balance (SMB) and firn-densification (FD)
models are widely used in altimetry studies as a tool to separate
atmospheric-driven from ice-dynamics-driven ice-sheet mass changes and to
partition observed volume changes into ice-mass changes and firn-air-content
changes. Until now, SMB models have been principally validated based on
comparison with ice core and weather station data or comparison with widely
separated flight radar-survey flight lines. Firn-densification models have
been primarily validated based on their ability to match net densification
over decades, as recorded in firn cores, and the short-term time-dependent
component of densification has rarely been evaluated at all. The advent of
systematic ice-sheet-wide repeated ice-surface-height measurements from
ICESat-2 (the Ice Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite, 2) allows us to
measure the net surface-height change of the Greenland ice sheet at
quarterly resolution and compare the measured surface-height differences
directly with those predicted by three FD–SMB models: MARv3.5.11 (Modèle
Atmosphérique Régional version 3.5.11) and GSFCv1.1 and GSFCv1.2 (the
Goddard Space Flight Center FD–SMB models version 1.1 and 1.2). By
segregating the data by season and elevation, and based on the timing and
magnitude of modelled processes in areas where we expect minimal
ice-dynamics-driven height changes, we investigate the models' accuracy in
predicting atmospherically driven height changes. We find that while all
three models do well in predicting the large seasonal changes in the
low-elevation parts of the ice sheet where melt rates are highest, two of
the models (MARv3.5.11 and GSFCv1.1) systematically overpredict, by around a
factor of 2, the magnitude of height changes in the high-elevation parts
of the ice sheet, particularly those associated with melt events. This
overprediction seems to be associated with the melt sensitivity of the
models in the high-elevation part of the ice sheet. The third model,
GSFCv1.2, which has an updated high-elevation melt parameterization, avoids
this overprediction.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Smith, Benjamin E.
Medley, Brooke
Fettweis, Xavier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie
Sutterley, Tyler
Alexander, Patrick
Porter, David
Tedesco, Marco
Language :
English
Title :
Evaluating Greenland surface-mass-balance and firn-densification data using ICESat-2 altimetry
Publication date :
16 February 2023
Journal title :
The Cryosphere
ISSN :
1994-0416
eISSN :
1994-0424
Publisher :
Copernicus GmbH
Volume :
17
Issue :
2
Pages :
789-808
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Tags :
CÉCI : Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif Tier-1 supercomputer
Alexander, P. M., Tedesco, M., Koenig, L., and Fettweis, X.: Evaluating a Regional Climate Model Simulation of Greenland Ice Sheet Snow and Firn Density for Improved Surface Mass Balance Estimates, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 12073–12082, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl084101, 2019.
Amory, C., Kittel, C., Le Toumelin, L., Agosta, C., Delhasse, A., Favier, V., and Fettweis, X.: Performance of MAR (v3.11) in simulating the drifting-snow climate and surface mass balance of Adélie Land, East Antarctica, Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 3487–3510, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3487-2021, 2021.
Banwell, A. F., Willis, I. C., Arnold, N. S., Messerli, A., Rye, C. J., Tedesco, M., and Ahlstrom, A. P.: Calibration and evaluation of a high-resolution surface mass-balance model for Paakitsoq, West Greenland, J. Glaciol., 58, 1047–1062, https://doi.org/10.3189/2012jog12j034, 2012.
Brun, E., Martin, E., Simon, V., Gendre, C., and Coleou, C.: An energy and mass model of snow cover suitable for operational avalanche forecasting, J. Glaciol., 35, 333–342, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000009254, 1989.
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, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000009552, 1992.
Catania, G. A., Stearns, L. A., Moon, T. A., Enderlin, E. M., and Jackson, R. H.: Future Evolution of Greenland’s Marine-Terminating Outlet Glaciers, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 125, e2018JF004873, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jf004873, 2020.
Cullather, R. I., Nowicki, S. M. J., Zhao, B., and Suarez, M. J.: Evaluation of the Surface Representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet in a General Circulation Model, J. Climate, 27, 4835–4856, https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-13-00635.1, 2014.
NEEM Community Members: Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core, Nature, 493, 489–494, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11789, 2013.
DeRidder, K. and Schayes, G.: The IAGL land surface model, J. Appl. Meteorol., 36, 167–182, 1997.
Fettweis, X., Box, J. E., Agosta, C., Amory, C., Kittel, C., Lang, C., van As, D., Machguth, H., and Gallée, H.: Reconstructions of the 1900–2015 Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance using the regional climate MAR model, The Cryosphere, 11, 1015–1033, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1015-2017, 2017.
Fettweis, X., Hofer, S., Krebs-Kanzow, U., Amory, C., Aoki, T., Berends, C. J., Born, A., Box, J. E., Delhasse, A., Fujita, K., Gierz, P., Goelzer, H., Hanna, E., Hashimoto, A., Huybrechts, P., Kapsch, M.-L., King, M. D., Kittel, C., Lang, C., Langen, P. L., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Liston, G. E., Lohmann, G., Mernild, S. H., Mikolajewicz, U., Modali, K., Mottram, R. H., Niwano, M., Noël, B., Ryan, J. C., Smith, A., Streffing, J., Tedesco, M., van de Berg, W. J., van den Broeke, M., van de Wal, R. S. W., van Kampenhout, L., Wilton, D., Wouters, B., Ziemen, F., and Zolles, T.: GrSMBMIP: intercomparison of the modelled 1980–2012 surface mass balance over the Greenland Ice Sheet, The Cryosphere, 14, 3935–3958, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3935-2020, 2020.
Gallee, H. and Schayes, G.: Development of a 3-dimensional mesa-gamma primitive equation model – katabatibc winds simulation in the area of Terra-Nova Bay, Antarctica, Mon. Weather Rev., 122, 671–685, https://doi.org/10.1175/15200493(1994)122<0671:doatdm>2.0.co;2, 1994.
Gelaro, R., McCarty, W., Suarez, M. J., Todling, R., Molod, A., Takacs, L., Randles, C. A., Darmenov, A., Bosilovich, M. G., Reichle, R., Wargan, K., Coy, L., Cullather, R., Draper, C., Akella, S., Buchard, V., Conaty, A., Silva, A. M. da, Gu, W., Kim, G. K., Koster, R., Lucchesi, R., Merkova, D., Nielsen, J. E., Partyka, G., Pawson, S., Putman, W., Rienecker, M., Schubert, S. D., Sienkiewicz, M., and Zhao, B.: The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), J. Climate, 30, 5419–5454, https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0758.1, 2017.
Hawley, R. L., Neumann, T. A., Stevens, C. M., Brunt, K. M., and Sutterley, T. C.: Greenland Ice Sheet Elevation Change: Direct Observation of Process and Attribution at Summit, Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2020GL088864, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl088864, 2020.
Helsen, M. M., Broeke, M. R. van den, Wal, R. S. W. van de, Berg, W. J. van de, van Meijgaard, E., Davis, C. H., Li, Y. H., and Goodwin, I.: Elevation changes in Antarctica mainly determined by accumulation variability, Science, 320, 1626–1629, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1153894, 2008.
Hersbach, H., Bell, B., Berrisford, P., Hirahara, S., Horanyi, A., Munoz-Sabater, J., Nicolas, J., Peubey, C., Radu, R., Schepers, D., Simmons, A., Soci, C., Abdalla, S., Abellan, X., Balsamo, G., Bechtold, P., Biavati, G., Bidlot, J., Bonavita, M., Chiara, G. D., Dahlgren, P., Dee, D., Diamantakis, M., Dragani, R., Flemming, J., Forbes, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A., Haimberger, L., Healy, S., Hogan, R. J., Holm, E., Janiskova, M., Keeley, S., Laloyaux, P., Lopez, P., Lupu, C., Radnoti, G., Rosnay, P. de, Rozum, I., Vamborg, F., Villaume, S., and Thepaut, J. N.: The ERA5 global reanalysis, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 146, 1999–2049, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3803, 2020.
Joughin, I., Smith, B., Howat, I., and Scambos, T.: MEaSUREs Greenland Ice Sheet Velocity Map from InSAR Data, Version 2, Distributed by NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/OC7B04ZM9G6Q, 2015.
Khan, S. A., Sasgen, I., Bevis, M., Dam, T. van, Bamber, J. L., Wahr, J., Willis, M., Kjaer, K. H., Wouters, B., Helm, V., Csatho, B., Fleming, K., Bjork, A. A., Aschwanden, A., Knudsen, P., and Munneke, P. K.: Geodetic measurements reveal similarities between post-Last Glacial Maximum and present-day mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet, Sci. Adv., 2, e1600931, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600931, 2016.
Koenig, L. S., Ivanoff, A., Alexander, P. M., MacGregor, J. A., Fettweis, X., Panzer, B., Paden, J. D., Forster, R. R., Das, I., McConnell, J. R., Tedesco, M., Leuschen, C., and Gogineni, P.: Annual Greenland accumulation rates (2009–2012) from airborne snow radar, The Cryosphere, 10, 1739–1752, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1739-2016, 2016.
Kuipers Munneke, P., Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Noël, B. P. Y., Howat, I. M., Box, J. E., Mosley-Thompson, E., McConnell, J. R., Steffen, K., Harper, J. T., Das, S. B., and van den Broeke, M. R.: Elevation change of the Greenland Ice Sheet due to surface mass balance and firn processes, 1960–2014, The Cryosphere, 9, 2009–2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2009-2015, 2015.
Lai, C. Y., Stevens, L. A., Chase, D. L., Creyts, T. T., Behn, M. D., Das, S. B., and Stone, H. A.: Hydraulic transmissivity inferred from ice-sheet relaxation following Greenland supraglacial lake drainages, Nat. Commun., 12, 3955, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24186-6, 2021.
Li, J. and Zwally, H. J.: Response times of ice-sheet surface heights to changes in the rate of Antarctic firn compaction caused by accumulation and temperature variations, J. Glaciol., 61, 1037–1047, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015jog14j182, 2015.
Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Helsen, M. M., and van den Broeke, M. R.: An improved semi-empirical model for the densification of Antarctic firn, The Cryosphere, 5, 809–819, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-809-2011, 2011.
Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Medley, B., van den Broeke, M. R., and Munneke, P. K.: Antarctic firn compaction rates from repeat-track airborne radar data: II. Firn model evaluation, Ann. Glaciol., 56, 167–174, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015aog70a204, 2015.
Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Kuipers Munneke, P., Noël, B. P. Y., and van den Broeke, M. R.: Brief communication: Improved simulation of the present-day Greenland firn layer (1960–2016), The Cryosphere, 12, 1643–1649, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1643-2018, 2018.
Lundin, J. M. D., Stevens, C. M., Arthern, R., Buizert, C., Orsi, A., Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Simonsen, S. B., Cummings, E., Essery, R., Leahy, W., Harris, P., Helsen, M. M., and Waddington, E. D.: Firn Model Intercomparison Experiment (FirnMICE), J. Glaciol., 63, 401–422, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.114, 2017.
Luthcke, S. B., Thomas, T. C., Pennington, T. A., Rebold, T. W., Nicholas, J. B., Rowlands, D. D., Gardner, A. S., and Bae, S.: ICESat-2 Pointing Calibration and Geolocation Performance, Earth Space Sci., 8, e2020EA001494, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ea001494, 2021.
MacFerrin, M. J., Stevens, C. M., Vandecrux, B., Waddington, E. D., and Abdalati, W.: The Greenland Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) dataset, 2013–2019, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 955–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-955-2022, 2022.
Magruder, L. A., Brunt, K. M., and Alonzo, M.: Early ICESat-2 on-orbit Geolocation Validation Using Ground-Based Corner Cube Retro-Reflectors, Remote Sens.-Basel, 12, 3653, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12213653, 2020.
Martin-Espanol, A., Zammit-Mangion, A., Clarke, P. J., Flament, T., Helm, V., King, M. A., Luthcke, S. B., Petrie, E., Remy, F., Schon, N., Wouters, B., and Bamber, J. L.: Spatial and temporal Antarctic Ice Sheet mass trends, glacio-isostatic adjustment, and surface processes from a joint inversion of satellite altimeter, gravity, and GPS data, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 121, 182–200, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jf003550, 2016.
Medley, B., Joughin, I., Smith, B. E., Das, S. B., Steig, E. J., Conway, H., Gogineni, S., Lewis, C., Criscitiello, A. S., McConnell, J. R., van den Broeke, M. R., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Bromwich, D. H., Nicolas, J. P., and Leuschen, C.: Constraining the recent mass balance of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, West Antarctica, with airborne observations of snow accumulation, The Cryosphere, 8, 1375–1392, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1375-2014, 2014.
Medley, B., Neumann, T. A., Zwally, H. J., Smith, B. E., and Stevens, C. M.: Simulations of firn processes over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets: 1980–2021, The Cryosphere, 16, 3971–4011, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3971-2022, 2022a.
Medley, B., Neumann, T., Zwally, H. J., Smith, B. E., and Stevens, C. M.: NASA GSFC Firn Densification Model version 1.2.1 (GSFC-FDMv1.2.1) for the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets: 1980–2022 (1.2.1 release 2), Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7221954, 2022b.
Montgomery, L., Koenig, L., and Alexander, P.: The SUMup dataset: compiled measurements of surface mass balance components over ice sheets and sea ice with analysis over Greenland, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1959–1985, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1959-2018, 2018.
Montgomery, L., Koenig, L., Lenaerts, J. T. M., and Munneke, P. K.: Accumulation rates (2009-2017) in Southeast Greenland derived from airborne snow radar and comparison with regional climate models, Ann. Glaciol., 61, 225–233, https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.8, 2020.
Moon, T., Joughin, I., and Smith, B.: Seasonal to multiyear variability of glacier surface velocity, terminus position, and sea ice/ice melange in northwest Greenland, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 120, 818–833, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jf003494, 2015.
Morris, E. M. and Wingham, D. J.: Densification of polar snow: Measurements, modeling, and implications for altimetry, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 119, 349–365, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf002898, 2014.
Munneke, P. K., Ligtenberg, S. R. M., Suder, E. A., and van den Broeke, M. R.: A model study of the response of dry and wet firn to climate change, Ann. Glaciol., 56, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015aog70a994, 2015.
Noël, B., van de Berg, W. J., van Meijgaard, E., Kuipers Munneke, P., van de Wal, R. S. W., and van den Broeke, M. R.: Evaluation of the updated regional climate model RACMO2.3: summer snowfall impact on the Greenland Ice Sheet, The Cryosphere, 9, 1831–1844, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1831-2015, 2015.
Sasgen, I., Wouters, B., Gardner, A. S., King, M. D., Tedesco, M., Landerer, F. W., Dahle, C., Save, H., and Fettweis, X.: Return to rapid ice loss in Greenland and record loss in 2019 detected by the GRACE-FO satellites, Commun. Earth Environ., 1, 8, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-0010-1, 2020.
Shepherd, A., Ivins, E., Rignot, E., Smith, B., Broeke, M. van den, Velicogna, I., Whitehouse, P., Briggs, K., Joughin, I., Krinner, G., Nowicki, S., Payne, T., Scambos, T., Schlegel, N., Geruo, A., Agosta, C., Ahlstrom, A., Babonis, G., Barletta, V. R., Bjork, A. A., Blazquez, A., Bonin, J., Colgan, W., Csatho, B., Cullather, R., Engdahl, M. E., Felikson, D., Fettweis, X., Forsberg, R., Hogg, A. E., Gallee, H., Gardner, A., Gilbert, L., Gourmelen, N., Groh, A., Gunter, B., Hanna, E., Harig, C., Helm, V., Horvath, A., Horwath, M., Khan, S., Kjeldsen, K. K., Konrad, H., Langen, P. L., Lecavalier, B., Loomis, B., Luthcke, S., McMillan, M., Melini, D., Mernild, S., Mohajerani, Y., Moore, P., Mottram, R., Mouginot, J., Moyano, G., Muir, A., Nagler, T., Nield, G., Nilsson, J., Noel, B., Otosaka, I., Pattle, M. E., Peltier, W. R., Pie, N., Rietbroek, R., Rott, H., Sorensen, L. S., Sasgen, I., Save, H., Scheuchl, B., Schrama, E., Schroder, L., Seo, K. W., Simonsen, S. B., Slater, T., Spada, G., Sutterley, T., Talpe, M., Tarasov, L., Berg, W. J. van de, Wal, W. van der, Wessem, M. van, Vishwakarma, B. D., Wiese, D., Wilton, D., Wagner, T., Wouters, B., Wuite, J., the IMBIE team: Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018, Nature, 579, 233–239, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1855-2, 2020.
Smith, B., Fricker, H. A., Gardner, A. S., Medley, B., Nilsson, J., Paolo, F. S., Holschuh, N., Adusumilli, S., Brunt, K., Csatho, B., Harbeck, K., Markus, T., Neumann, T., Siegfried, M. R., and Zwally, H. J.: Pervasive ice sheet mass loss reflects competing ocean and atmosphere processes, Science, 368, 1239–1242, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz5845, 2020.
Smith, B., Dickinson, S., Jelley, B. P., Neumann, T. A., Hancock, D., Lee, J., and Harbeck, K.: ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3B Annual Land Ice Height, Version 4 [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL11.004, 2021.
Stevens, C. M., Verjans, V., Lundin, J. M. D., Kahle, E. C., Horlings, A. N., Horlings, B. I., and Waddington, E. D.: The Community Firn Model (CFM) v1.0, Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4355–4377, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4355-2020, 2020.
Sutterley, T. C., Velicogna, I., Fettweis, X., Rignot, E., Noel, B., and Broeke, M. van den: Evaluation of Reconstructions of Snow/Ice Melt in Greenland by Regional Atmospheric Climate Models Using Laser Altimetry Data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 8324–8333, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl078645, 2018.
Tedesco, M. and Fettweis, X.: Unprecedented atmospheric conditions (1948–2019) drive the 2019 exceptional melting season over the Greenland ice sheet, The Cryosphere, 14, 1209–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1209-2020, 2020.
Trusel, L. D., Das, S. B., Osman, M. B., Evans, M. J., Smith, B., Fettweis, X., McConnell, J. R., Noel, B. P. Y., and Broeke, M. R. van den: Nonlinear rise in Greenland runoff in response to post-industrial Arctic warming, Nature, 564, 104–108, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0752-4, 2018.
Verjans, V., Leeson, A. A., McMillan, M., Stevens, C. M., Wessem, J. M. van, Berg, W. J. van de, Broeke, M. R. van den, Kittel, C., Amory, C., Fettweis, X., Hansen, N., Boberg, F., and Mottram, R.: Uncertainty in East Antarctic Firn Thickness Constrained Using a Model Ensemble Approach, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2020GL092060, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl092060, 2021.
