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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Glaciology

Greenland Annual Accumulation Along The Egig Line, 1959–2004, From Asiras Airborne Radar And Neutron-Probe Density Measurements, Thomas B. Overly, Robert L. Hawley, Veit Helm, Elizabeth M. Morris, Rohan N. Chaudhary Aug 2016

Greenland Annual Accumulation Along The Egig Line, 1959–2004, From Asiras Airborne Radar And Neutron-Probe Density Measurements, Thomas B. Overly, Robert L. Hawley, Veit Helm, Elizabeth M. Morris, Rohan N. Chaudhary

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report annual snow accumulation rates from 1959 to 2004 along a 250 km segment of the Expéditions Glaciologiques Internationales au Groenland (EGIG) line across central Greenland using Airborne SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter System (ASIRAS) radar layers and high resolution neutron-probe (NP) density profiles. ASIRAS-NP-derived accumulation rates are not statistically different (95 % confidence interval) from in situ EGIG accumulation measurements from 1985 to 2004. ASIRAS-NP-derived accumulation increases by 20 % below 3000 m elevation, and increases by 13 % above 3000 m elevation for the period 1995 to 2004 compared to 1985 to 1994. Three Regional Climate Models (PolarMM5, RACMO2.3, …


Influence Of Sea Ice On Arctic Precipitation, Ben G. Kopec, Xiahong Feng, Fred A. Michel, Eric S. Posmentier Jan 2016

Influence Of Sea Ice On Arctic Precipitation, Ben G. Kopec, Xiahong Feng, Fred A. Michel, Eric S. Posmentier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Global climate is influenced by the Arctic hydrologic cycle, which is, in part, regulated by sea ice through its control on evaporation and precipitation. However, the quantitative link between precipitation and sea ice extent is poorly constrained. Here we present observational evidence for the response of precipitation to sea ice reduction and assess the sensitivity of the response. Changes in the proportion of moisture sourced from the Arctic with sea ice change in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland Sea regions over the past two decades are inferred from annually averaged deuterium excess (d-excess) measurements from six sites. Other influences on …


On The Uncertainty Of Sea-Ice Isostasy, Cathleen Geiger, Peter Wadhams, Hans-Reinhard Müller, Jacqueline Richter-Menge Jan 2015

On The Uncertainty Of Sea-Ice Isostasy, Cathleen Geiger, Peter Wadhams, Hans-Reinhard Müller, Jacqueline Richter-Menge

Dartmouth Scholarship

During late winter 2007, coincident measurements of sea ice were collected using various sensors at an ice camp in the Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic. Analysis of the archived data provides new insight into sea-ice isostasy and its related R-factor through case studies at three scales using different combinations of snow and ice thickness components. At the smallest scale (<1 m; point scale), isostasy is not expected, so we calculate a residual and define this as �� (‘zjey’) to describe vertical displacement due to deformation. From 1 to 10 m length scales, we explore traditional isostasy and identify a specific sequence of thickness calculations which minimize freeboard and elevation uncertainty. An effective solution exists when the R-factor is allowed to vary: ranging from 2 to 12, with mean of 5.17, mode of 5.88 and skewed distribution. At regional scales, underwater, airborne and spaceborne platforms are always missing thickness variables from either above or below sea level. For such situations, realistic agreement is found by applying small-scale skewed ranges for the R-factor. These findings encourage a broader isostasy solution as a function of potential energy and length scale. Overall, results add insight to data collection strategies and metadata characteristics of different thickness products.


Trace-Element And Physical Response To Melt Percolation In Summit (Greenland) Snow, Gifford J. Wong, Robert L. Hawley, Eric R. Lutz, Erich C. Osterberg Jan 2013

Trace-Element And Physical Response To Melt Percolation In Summit (Greenland) Snow, Gifford J. Wong, Robert L. Hawley, Eric R. Lutz, Erich C. Osterberg

Dartmouth Scholarship

Surface melt on a glacier can perturb the glaciochemical record beyond the natural variability. While the centre of the Greenland ice sheet is usually devoid of surface melt, many high- Arctic and alpine ice cores document frequent summertime melt events. Current hypotheses interpreting melt-affected ice-core chemistry rely on preferential elution of certain major ions. However, the precise nature of chemistry alteration is unknown because it is difficult to distinguish natural variability from melt effects in a perennially melt-affected site. We use eight trace-element snow chemistry records recovered from Summit, Greenland, to study spatial variability and melt effects on insoluble trace …


Transition In The Fractal Geometry Of Arctic Melt Ponds, C. Hohenegger, B. Alali, K. R. Steffen, D. K. Perovich, K. M. Golden Oct 2012

Transition In The Fractal Geometry Of Arctic Melt Ponds, C. Hohenegger, B. Alali, K. R. Steffen, D. K. Perovich, K. M. Golden

Dartmouth Scholarship

During the Arctic melt season, the sea ice surface undergoes a remarkable transformation from vast expanses of snow covered ice to complex mosaics of ice and melt ponds. Sea ice albedo, a key parameter in climate modeling, is determined by the complex evolution of melt pond configurations. In fact, ice–albedo feedback has played a major role in the recent declines of the summer Arctic sea ice pack. However, understanding melt pond evolution remains a significant challenge to improving climate projections. By analyzing area–perimeter data from hundreds of thousands of melt ponds, we find here an unexpected separation of scales, where …


Arctic Sea-Ice Melt In 2008 And The Role Of Solar Heating, Donald K. Perovich, Jacqueline A. Richter-Menge, Kathleen F. Jones, Bonnie Light Jan 2011

Arctic Sea-Ice Melt In 2008 And The Role Of Solar Heating, Donald K. Perovich, Jacqueline A. Richter-Menge, Kathleen F. Jones, Bonnie Light

Dartmouth Scholarship

There has been a marked decline in the summer extent of Arctic sea ice over the past few decades. Data from autonomous ice mass-balance buoys can enhance our understanding of this decline. These buoys monitor changes in snow deposition and ablation, ice growth, and ice surface and bottom melt. Results from the summer of 2008 showed considerable large-scale spatial variability in the amount of surface and bottom melt. Small amounts of melting were observed north of Greenland, while melting in the southern Beaufort Sea was quite large. Comparison of net solar heat input to the ice and heat required for …