Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica
Owing to drifting snow processes, snow accumulation and surface density in polar environments are variable in space and time. We present new field data of manual measurements, repeat terrestrial laser scanning and snow micro-penetrometry from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, showing the density of ne...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022001022/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827891314227675136 |
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| author | Nander Wever Eric Keenan Charles Amory Michael Lehning Armin Sigmund Hendrik Huwald Jan T. M. Lenaerts |
| author_facet | Nander Wever Eric Keenan Charles Amory Michael Lehning Armin Sigmund Hendrik Huwald Jan T. M. Lenaerts |
| author_sort | Nander Wever |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Owing to drifting snow processes, snow accumulation and surface density in polar environments are variable in space and time. We present new field data of manual measurements, repeat terrestrial laser scanning and snow micro-penetrometry from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, showing the density of new snow accumulations. We combine these data with published drifting snow mass flux observations, to evaluate the performance of the 1-D, detailed, physics-based snow cover model SNOWPACK in representing drifting snow and surface density. For two sites in East Antarctica with multiple years of data, we found a coefficient of determination for the simulated drifting snow of r2 = 0.42 and r2 = 0.50, respectively. The field observations show the existence of low-density snow accumulations during low wind conditions. Successive high wind speed events generally erode these low-density layers while producing spatially variable erosion/deposition patterns with typical length scales of a few metres. We found that a model setup that is able to represent low-density snow accumulating during low wind speed conditions, as well as subsequent snow erosion and redeposition at higher densities during drifting snow events was mostly able to describe the observed temporal variability of surface density in the field. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:23:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b984331f2f354fa787fd3d71b1a7127a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:23:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b984331f2f354fa787fd3d71b1a7127a2023-07-28T10:47:45ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522023-08-016982384010.1017/jog.2022.102Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of AntarcticaNander Wever0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4829-8585Eric Keenan1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1511-9093Charles Amory2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5906-4303Michael Lehning3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8442-0875Armin Sigmund4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3587-1132Hendrik Huwald5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3769-7342Jan T. M. Lenaerts6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4309-4011Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USACNRS, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, FranceSchool of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, SwitzerlandSchool of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, SwitzerlandSchool of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, SwitzerlandDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USAOwing to drifting snow processes, snow accumulation and surface density in polar environments are variable in space and time. We present new field data of manual measurements, repeat terrestrial laser scanning and snow micro-penetrometry from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, showing the density of new snow accumulations. We combine these data with published drifting snow mass flux observations, to evaluate the performance of the 1-D, detailed, physics-based snow cover model SNOWPACK in representing drifting snow and surface density. For two sites in East Antarctica with multiple years of data, we found a coefficient of determination for the simulated drifting snow of r2 = 0.42 and r2 = 0.50, respectively. The field observations show the existence of low-density snow accumulations during low wind conditions. Successive high wind speed events generally erode these low-density layers while producing spatially variable erosion/deposition patterns with typical length scales of a few metres. We found that a model setup that is able to represent low-density snow accumulating during low wind speed conditions, as well as subsequent snow erosion and redeposition at higher densities during drifting snow events was mostly able to describe the observed temporal variability of surface density in the field.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022001022/type/journal_articlePolar firnsnow/ice surface processeswind-blown snow |
| spellingShingle | Nander Wever Eric Keenan Charles Amory Michael Lehning Armin Sigmund Hendrik Huwald Jan T. M. Lenaerts Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Polar firn snow/ice surface processes wind-blown snow |
| title | Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica |
| title_full | Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica |
| title_fullStr | Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica |
| title_short | Observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow-dominated environment of Antarctica |
| title_sort | observations and simulations of new snow density in the drifting snow dominated environment of antarctica |
| topic | Polar firn snow/ice surface processes wind-blown snow |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022001022/type/journal_article |
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