Downscaled surface mass balance in Antarctica: impacts of subsurface processes and large-scale atmospheric circulation

Hansen, Nicolaj; Langen, Peter L.; Boberg, Fredrik; Forsberg, Rene; Simonsen, Sebastian B.; Thejll, Peter; Vandecrux, Baptiste; Mottram, Ruth

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4315-2021

Articles | Volume 15, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4315-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4315-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 15, issue 9

Research article

|

08 Sep 2021

Research article |

| 08 Sep 2021

Downscaled surface mass balance in Antarctica: impacts of subsurface processes and large-scale atmospheric circulation

Nicolaj Hansen, Peter L. Langen, Fredrik Boberg, Rene Forsberg, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Peter Thejll, Baptiste Vandecrux, and Ruth Mottram

Model code and software

SEB_Firn_model: GEUS surface energy balance and firn model v0.3 B. Vandecrux https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4542767

Short summary

We have used computer models to estimate the Antarctic surface mass balance (SMB) from 1980 to 2017. Our estimates lies between 2473.5 ± 114.4 Gt per year and 2564.8 ± 113.7 Gt per year. To evaluate our models, we compared the modelled snow temperatures and densities to in situ measurements. We also investigated the spatial distribution of the SMB. It is very important to have estimates of the Antarctic SMB because then it is easier to understand global sea level changes.