The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 14, issue 12
Articles | Volume 14, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 14, issue 12
Research article
 | 
04 Dec 2020
Research article |  | 04 Dec 2020

Satellite observations of snowfall regimes over the Greenland Ice Sheet

Elin A. McIlhattan, Claire Pettersen, Norman B. Wood, and Tristan S. L'Ecuyer

Data sets

Microwave radiometer snow categorization tool for Summit, Greenland, 2010–2015 C. Pettersen and A. Merrelli https://doi.org/10.18739/A2R28Q

Millimeter Cloud Radar measurements taken at Summit Station, Greenland M. Shupe https://doi.org/10.18739/A20G3GZ8B

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Short summary
Snowfall builds the mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and reduces melt by brightening the surface. We present satellite observations of GrIS snowfall events divided into two regimes: those coincident with ice clouds and those coincident with mixed-phase clouds. Snowfall from ice clouds plays the dominant role in building the GrIS, producing ~ 80 % of total accumulation. The two regimes have similar snowfall frequency in summer, brightening the surface when solar insolation is at its peak.
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