The AntSMB dataset: a comprehensive compilation of surface mass balance field observations over the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Wang, Yetang; Ding, Minghu; Reijmer, C. H.; Smeets, Paul; Hou, Shugui; Xiao, Cunde

doi:10.5194/essd-13-3057-2021

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Rp2 data are available from the authors. SMB observations can be found at https://doi.org/10.11888/Glacio.tpdc.271148 (Wang et al, 2021;Wang, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sensitivity of Antarctic surface climate to a new spectral snow albedo and radiative transfer scheme in RACMO2.3p3

2022

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Abstract. This study investigates the sensitivity of modeled surface melt and subsurface heating on the Antarctic ice sheet to a new spectral snow albedo and radiative transfer scheme in the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO), version 2.3p3 (Rp3). We tune Rp3 to observations by performing several sensitivity experiments and assess the impact on temperature and melt by incrementally changing one parameter at a time. When fully tuned, Rp3 compares well with in situ and remote sensing observations of surface mass and energy balance, melt, near-surface and (sub)surface temperature, albedo and snow grain specific surface area. Near-surface snow temperature is especially sensitive to the prescribed fresh snow specific surface area and fresh dry snow metamorphism. These processes, together with the refreezing water grain size and subsurface heating, are important for melt around the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet. Moreover, small changes in the albedo and the aforementioned processes can lead to an order of magnitude overestimation of melt, locally leading to runoff and a reduced surface mass balance.

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“…Rp2 data are available from the authors. SMB observations can be found at https://doi.org/10.11888/Glacio.tpdc.271148 (Wang et al, 2021;Wang, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2b). Wang (2021) and Wang et al (2021) describe this data set in more detail. In addition, melt fluxes are compared with the output of the surface energy balance model (EBM) of Jakobs et al (2019).…”

Section: Surface Mass Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of Antarctic surface climate to a new spectral snow albedo and radiative transfer scheme in RACMO2.3p3

2022

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“…Snow accumulation measurements over the large scales of interest to this work are few. We use a comprehensive collection of Antarctic SMB measurements derived from various sources and methods including ground penetrating radar (GPR), stakes, snow pits and ice cores referred to as the AntSMB data set (Wang et al., 2021 ). Specifically, we use the multi‐year averaged SMB observations that exceed a 3‐year span, the majority of which are from GPR analysis.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Antarctic Net Snow Accumulation at the Kilometer Scale and Its Impact on Observed Height Changes

Medley

Lenaerts

Wever

et al. 2022

Geophysical Research Letters

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Large-scale snowfall events deposit a substantial amount of freshwater over the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS), acting in opposition to present-day sea-level rise. Approximately 7 mm of global sea-level equivalent falls annually in the form of snow over the entire ice sheet (Mottram et al., 2021); any short-to-long-term deviations in time and space from this mean will directly impact the temporal evolution mass balance of the AIS and its individual glacial drainage systems (Rignot et al., 2019;Smith et al., 2020). State-of-the-art atmospheric models do not agree, however, on the total magnitude of annual snow accumulation (Mottram et al., 2021), ranging by more 500 Gt yr −1 , a value which largely overshadows a reconciled AIS total mass balance of −109 Gt yr −1 (Shepherd et al., 2018). This lack of constraint yields arguably the largest source of uncertainty in estimates of AIS mass balance and its contribution to global sea level (Rignot et al., 2019;Shepherd et al., 2018;Smith et al., 2020). We aim to constrain the magnitude of net snow accumulation over the AIS at fine spatial resolution within a global atmospheric model using airborne and ground-based measurements.While snowfall events over the ice sheet are synoptic, blowing snow processes occurring prior to or after deposition at the surface impart local-scale variability as snow is redistributed or preferentially sublimated (Lenaerts et al., 2019). At present, global atmospheric models are not capable of accounting for these small-scale impacts (Gelaro et al., 2017), and only a small handful of Regional climate models (RCMs) simulate these processes albeit at much coarser scales than they actually occur (Amory et al., 2021;Van Wessem et al., 2018). A lack of observed accumulation rates at the scale necessary to measure these local processes challenged development of both physics-based and empirical models. Recently, ground-based (Das et al., 2013;Spikes et al., 2004) and airborne (Dattler et al., 2019;Medley et al., 2013) radar observations of the ice sheet's near-surface internal stratigraphy have revealed the small-scale variability (SSV) in snow accumulation at fine along-track resolution and over large swaths of the ice sheet. Here, we built on prior work (

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“…In addition, the AWS observations have also been used to evaluate and validate atmospheric reanalysis products, regional climate models and remote sensing retrievals (e.g., Gallée and Gorodetskaya, 2010;Tastula et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2013;Huai et al, 2019). Antarctic AWS observations are also used in the glaciological studies, such as estimates of snow accumulation (e.g., Wang et al, 2021), calculation of the surface energy balance (e.g., van Wessem et al, 2014) and understanding of the AIS mass changes (e.g., Knuth et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The AntAWS dataset: a compilation of Antarctic automatic weather station observations

Wang

Zhang

Ning

et al. 2023

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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Abstract. A new meteorological dataset derived from records of Antarctic automatic weather stations (here called the AntAWS dataset) at 3 h, daily and monthly resolutions including quality control information is presented here. This dataset integrates the measurements of air temperature, air pressure, relative humidity, and wind speed and direction from 267 Antarctic AWSs obtained from 1980 to 2021. The AWS spatial distribution remains heterogeneous, with the majority of instruments located in near-coastal areas and only a few inland on the East Antarctic Plateau. Among these 267 AWSs, 63 have been operating for more than 20 years and 27 of them in excess of more than 30 years. Of the five meteorological parameters, the measurements of air temperature have the best continuity and the highest data integrity. The overarching aim of this comprehensive compilation of AWS observations is to make these data easily and widely accessible for efficient use in local, regional and continental studies; it may be accessed at https://doi.org/10.48567/key7-ch19 (Wang et al., 2022). This dataset is invaluable for improved characterization of the surface climatology across the Antarctic continent, to improve our understanding of Antarctic surface snow–atmosphere interactions including precipitation events associated with atmospheric rivers and to evaluate regional climate models or meteorological reanalysis products.

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The AntSMB dataset: a comprehensive compilation of surface mass balance field observations over the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Cited by 19 publications

References 70 publications

Sensitivity of Antarctic surface climate to a new spectral snow albedo and radiative transfer scheme in RACMO2.3p3

Sensitivity of Antarctic surface climate to a new spectral snow albedo and radiative transfer scheme in RACMO2.3p3

Predicting Antarctic Net Snow Accumulation at the Kilometer Scale and Its Impact on Observed Height Changes

The AntAWS dataset: a compilation of Antarctic automatic weather station observations

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