Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness
<p>The impact of volcanic ash on seasonal snow and glacier mass balance has been much less studied than that of carbonaceous particles and mineral dust. We present here the first field measurements on the Argentinian Andes, combined with snow albedo and glacier mass balance modeling. Measured...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/4581/2020/tc-14-4581-2020.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818590000290201600 |
|---|---|
| author | J. Gelman Constantin J. Gelman Constantin L. Ruiz G. Villarosa G. Villarosa V. Outes F. N. Bajano C. He H. Bajano L. Dawidowski |
| author_facet | J. Gelman Constantin J. Gelman Constantin L. Ruiz G. Villarosa G. Villarosa V. Outes F. N. Bajano C. He H. Bajano L. Dawidowski |
| author_sort | J. Gelman Constantin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The impact of volcanic ash on seasonal snow and glacier mass balance has been much less studied than that of carbonaceous particles and mineral dust. We present here the first field measurements on the Argentinian Andes, combined with snow albedo and glacier mass balance modeling. Measured impurity content (1.1 <span class="inline-formula">mg kg<sup>−1</sup></span> to 30 000 <span class="inline-formula">mg kg<sup>−1</sup></span>) varied abruptly in snow pits and snow and firn cores, due to high surface enrichment during the ablation season and possibly local or regional wind-driven resuspension and redeposition of dust and volcanic ash. In addition, we observed high spatial heterogeneity, due to glacier topography and the prevailing wind direction. Microscopic characterization showed that the major component was ash from recent Calbuco (2015) and Cordón Caulle (2011) volcanic eruptions, with a minor presence of mineral dust and black carbon. We also found a wide range of measured snow albedo (0.26 to 0.81), which reflected mainly the impurity content and the snow and firn grain size (due to aging). We updated the SNow, ICe, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) albedo model to account for the effect of cloudiness on incident radiation spectra, improving the match of modeled and measured values. We also ran sensitivity studies considering the uncertainty in the main measured parameters (impurity content and composition, snow grain size, layer thickness, etc.) to identify the field measurements that should be improved to facilitate the validation of the snow albedo model. Finally, we studied the impact of these albedo reductions on Alerce Glacier using a spatially distributed surface mass balance model. We found a large impact of albedo changes on glacier mass balance, and we estimated that the effect of observed ash concentrations can be as high as a 1.25 m water equivalent decrease in the annual surface mass balance (due to a 34 % increase in the melt during the ablation season).</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T09:49:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55099f9e2395411eb9b0a7448fdcd5e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T09:49:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-55099f9e2395411eb9b0a7448fdcd5e72022-12-21T22:36:07ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242020-12-01144581460110.5194/tc-14-4581-2020Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudinessJ. Gelman Constantin0J. Gelman Constantin1L. Ruiz2G. Villarosa3G. Villarosa4V. Outes5F. N. Bajano6C. He7H. Bajano8L. Dawidowski9División de Química Atmosférica, Gerencia de Química, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av General Paz 1499, San Martin, B1650KNA Buenos Aires, ArgentinaConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), ArgentinaIANIGLA, Gobierno de Mendoza, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, CONICET, CCT-Mendoza, Mendoza, ArgentinaInstituto Andino Patagónico de Tecnologías Biológicas y Geoambientales (IPATEC), CONICET-UNCo, Bariloche, ArgentinaDepartamento de Geología y Petróleo, Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Bariloche, ArgentinaInstituto Andino Patagónico de Tecnologías Biológicas y Geoambientales (IPATEC), CONICET-UNCo, Bariloche, ArgentinaDivisión de Química Atmosférica, Gerencia de Química, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av General Paz 1499, San Martin, B1650KNA Buenos Aires, ArgentinaResearch Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USADivisión de Química Atmosférica, Gerencia de Química, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av General Paz 1499, San Martin, B1650KNA Buenos Aires, ArgentinaDivisión de Química Atmosférica, Gerencia de Química, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av General Paz 1499, San Martin, B1650KNA Buenos Aires, Argentina<p>The impact of volcanic ash on seasonal snow and glacier mass balance has been much less studied than that of carbonaceous particles and mineral dust. We present here the first field measurements on the Argentinian Andes, combined with snow albedo and glacier mass balance modeling. Measured impurity content (1.1 <span class="inline-formula">mg kg<sup>−1</sup></span> to 30 000 <span class="inline-formula">mg kg<sup>−1</sup></span>) varied abruptly in snow pits and snow and firn cores, due to high surface enrichment during the ablation season and possibly local or regional wind-driven resuspension and redeposition of dust and volcanic ash. In addition, we observed high spatial heterogeneity, due to glacier topography and the prevailing wind direction. Microscopic characterization showed that the major component was ash from recent Calbuco (2015) and Cordón Caulle (2011) volcanic eruptions, with a minor presence of mineral dust and black carbon. We also found a wide range of measured snow albedo (0.26 to 0.81), which reflected mainly the impurity content and the snow and firn grain size (due to aging). We updated the SNow, ICe, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) albedo model to account for the effect of cloudiness on incident radiation spectra, improving the match of modeled and measured values. We also ran sensitivity studies considering the uncertainty in the main measured parameters (impurity content and composition, snow grain size, layer thickness, etc.) to identify the field measurements that should be improved to facilitate the validation of the snow albedo model. Finally, we studied the impact of these albedo reductions on Alerce Glacier using a spatially distributed surface mass balance model. We found a large impact of albedo changes on glacier mass balance, and we estimated that the effect of observed ash concentrations can be as high as a 1.25 m water equivalent decrease in the annual surface mass balance (due to a 34 % increase in the melt during the ablation season).</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/4581/2020/tc-14-4581-2020.pdf |
| spellingShingle | J. Gelman Constantin J. Gelman Constantin L. Ruiz G. Villarosa G. Villarosa V. Outes F. N. Bajano C. He H. Bajano L. Dawidowski Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness The Cryosphere |
| title | Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness |
| title_full | Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness |
| title_fullStr | Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness |
| title_short | Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness |
| title_sort | measurements and modeling of snow albedo at alerce glacier argentina effects of volcanic ash snow grain size and cloudiness |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/4581/2020/tc-14-4581-2020.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jgelmanconstantin measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT jgelmanconstantin measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT lruiz measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT gvillarosa measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT gvillarosa measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT voutes measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT fnbajano measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT che measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT hbajano measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness AT ldawidowski measurementsandmodelingofsnowalbedoatalerceglacierargentinaeffectsofvolcanicashsnowgrainsizeandcloudiness |