Geophysics; Oceanography; Forestry; Aquatic Science; Ecology; Water Science and Technology; Soil Science; Geochemistry and Petrology; Earth-Surface Processes; Atmospheric Science; Space and Planetary Science; Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous); Paleontology
Abstract :
[en] Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) in recent years has been dominated by runoff from surface melt. It is currently being studied extensively, while little interest has been given to the smallest component of surface mass balance (SMB): the vapor flux. Although poorly understood, it is not negligible and could potentially play a larger role in SMB in a warming climate where temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation changes remain uncertain. Here we present an innovative approach to estimate the vapor flux using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) version 6 data and a modified vapor flux model (BMF13) over the GrIS between 2003 and 2014. One modification to the BMF13 model includes a new Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer surface aerodynamic roughness product, which likely produces more accurate estimates of the drag coefficient on the ice sheet. When comparing AIRS data with GC-Net and Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet automatic weather station observations of skin temperature, near-surface air temperature, and humidity, they agree within 2 K, 2.68 K, and 0.34 g kg-1. Largest differences occur in the ablation zone where there is significant subgrid heterogeneity. Overall, the average vapor flux from the GrIS between 2003 and 2014 was found to be 14.6±3.6 Gt yr-1. No statistically significant trends were found during the data record. This data set is compared to the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2.3) vapor flux, and BMF13 produced smaller vapor fluxes in the summer (~0.05 Gt d-1) and slightly more deposition in the winter (~9.4 × 10-3 Gt d-1). Annually, differences between BMF13 and RACMO2.3 were only 30±15%.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Boisvert, Linette N. ; Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), University of Maryland, College Park, United States
Lee, Jae N. ; Joint Center for E and Technology (JCET), University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, United States
Lenaerts, Jan T. M. ; Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Noël, Brice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie ; Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
van den Broeke, Michiel R. ; Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Nolin, Anne W. ; College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, United States
Language :
English
Title :
Using remotely sensed data from AIRS to estimate the vapor flux on the Greenland ice sheet: Comparisons with observations and a regional climate model
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Funding text :
The work of Linette Boisvert and Jae Lee was funded by NASA ROSES 2012 IDS proposal: 12-IDS12-0120. This study is funded by Utrecht University through its strategic theme, Sustainability, Subtheme Water, Climate and Ecosystems. This work was carried out under the program of the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NESSC), financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). J.T.M.L. is supported by NWO ALW through a Veni postdoctoral grant. B.N. and M.R.v.d.B. acknowledge support from the Polar Program of NOW. Data from AIRS can be found at www.airs.jpl. nasa.gov. RACMO2.3 output is freely available by request to Michiel van den Broeke (m.r.vandenbroeke@uu.nl). The MISR roughness data product can be obtained from Anne Nolin (anne. nolin@gmail.com). The authors would like to thank Konrad Steffen for providing the GC-Net station data, which can be found at cires1.colorado. edu/steffen/gcnet. PROMICE data can be found readily available at: http:// www.promice.dk/. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for providing very helpful comments and feedback on this manuscript.
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