Articles | Volume 17, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1185-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1185-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Mar 2023
Research article |
| 10 Mar 2023
| 10 Mar 2023
Exploring the role of snow metamorphism on the isotopic composition of the surface snow at EastGRIP
Romilly Harris Stuart
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR8212, CNRS – Gif sur Yvette, France
Anne-Katrine Faber
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Sonja Wahl
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Maria Hörhold
Department of Geosciences, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Sepp Kipfstuhl
Department of Geosciences, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Kristian Vasskog
Department of Geography, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Melanie Behrens
Department of Geosciences, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Alexandra M. Zuhr
Department of Geosciences, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, Potsdam, Germany
University of Potsdam, Institute of Geosciences, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Hans Christian Steen-Larsen
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Related authors
Romilly Harris Stuart, Amaëlle Landais, Laurent Arnaud, Christo Buizert, Emilie Capron, Marie Dumont, Quentin Libois, Robert Mulvaney, Anaïs Orsi, Ghislain Picard, Frédéric Prié, Jeffery Severinghaus, Barbara Stenni, and Patricia Martinerie
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2585, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2585, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The influence of local accumulation rate and temperature on δO2/N2 ice core records, a key dating tool, are not fully understood, but required for a full mechanistic understanding. We show evidence that mean δO2/N2 is strongly dependent on local accumulation rate and temperature, in addition to the well documented insolation dependence. Snowpack modelling is used to investigate which physical properties drive the mechanistic dependence on these local parameters.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Sonja Wahl, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Maria Hörhold, Hanno Meyer, Vasileios Gkinis, and Thomas Laepple
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1861–1874, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1861-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present stable water isotope data from the accumulation zone of the Greenland ice sheet. A spatial sampling scheme covering 39 m and three depth layers was carried out between 14 May and 3 August 2018. The data suggest spatial and temporal variability related to meteorological conditions, such as wind-driven snow redistribution and vapour–snow exchange processes. The data can be used to study the formation of the stable water isotopes signal, which is seen as a climate proxy.
Sonja Wahl, Benjamin Walter, Franziska Aemisegger, Luca Bianchi, and Michael Lehning
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-745, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-745, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Wind-driven airborne transport of snow is a frequent phenomenon in snow-covered regions and a process difficult to study in the field as it is unfolding over large distances. Thus, we use a ring wind tunnel with infinite fetch positioned in a cold-laboratory to study the evolution of the shape and size of airborne snow. With the help of stable water isotope analyses, we identify the hitherto unobserved process of airborne snow metamorphism that leads to snow particle rounding and growth.
Inès Ollivier, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Barbara Stenni, Laurent Arnaud, Mathieu Casado, Alexandre Cauquoin, Giuliano Dreossi, Christophe Genthon, Bénédicte Minster, Ghislain Picard, Martin Werner, and Amaëlle Landais
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-685, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-685, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The role of post-depositional processes taking place at the ice sheet's surface on the water stable isotope signal measured in polar ice cores is not fully understood. Using field observations and modelling results, we show that the original precipitation isotopic signal at Dome C, East Antarctica, is modified by post-depositional processes and provide the first quantitative estimation of their mean impact on the isotopic signal observed in the snow.
Qinggang Gao, Louise C. Sime, Alison J. McLaren, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Emilie Capron, Rachael H. Rhodes, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Xiaoxu Shi, and Martin Werner
The Cryosphere, 18, 683–703, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-683-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-683-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Antarctic precipitation is a crucial component of the climate system. Its spatio-temporal variability impacts sea level changes and the interpretation of water isotope measurements in ice cores. To better understand its climatic drivers, we developed water tracers in an atmospheric model to identify moisture source conditions from which precipitation originates. We find that mid-latitude surface winds exert an important control on moisture availability for Antarctic precipitation.
Laura J. Dietrich, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Sonja Wahl, Anne-Katrine Faber, and Xavier Fettweis
The Cryosphere, 18, 289–305, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-289-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-289-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The contribution of the humidity flux to the surface mass balance in the accumulation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet is uncertain. Here, we evaluate the regional climate model MAR using a multi-annual dataset of eddy covariance measurements and bulk estimates of the humidity flux. The humidity flux largely contributes to the summer surface mass balance (SMB) in the accumulation zone, indicating its potential importance for the annual SMB in a warming climate.
Michael Town, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Sonja Wahl, Anne-Katrine Faber, Melanie Behrens, Tyler Jones, and Arny Sveinbjornsdottir
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2462, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2462, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A polar snow isotope data from Northeast Greenland shows the snow changes after deposition. Summer snow sometimes enriches in oxygen-18, making it seem warmer than it actually was. Deuterium excess signals sometimes change after deposition making it seem that the snow came from warmer, closer, or more humid places. After a year of aging, summer layer deuterium excess always increases. Some reinterpretation of the deuterium-excess signals used to tune isotope-enabled models is necessary.
Romilly Harris Stuart, Amaëlle Landais, Laurent Arnaud, Christo Buizert, Emilie Capron, Marie Dumont, Quentin Libois, Robert Mulvaney, Anaïs Orsi, Ghislain Picard, Frédéric Prié, Jeffery Severinghaus, Barbara Stenni, and Patricia Martinerie
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2585, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2585, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The influence of local accumulation rate and temperature on δO2/N2 ice core records, a key dating tool, are not fully understood, but required for a full mechanistic understanding. We show evidence that mean δO2/N2 is strongly dependent on local accumulation rate and temperature, in addition to the well documented insolation dependence. Snowpack modelling is used to investigate which physical properties drive the mechanistic dependence on these local parameters.
Chiara I. Paleari, Florian Mekhaldi, Tobias Erhardt, Minjie Zheng, Marcus Christl, Florian Adolphi, Maria Hörhold, and Raimund Muscheler
Clim. Past, 19, 2409–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we test the use of excess meltwater from continuous flow analysis from a firn core from Greenland for the measurement of 10Be for solar activity reconstructions. We show that the quality of results is similar to the measurements on clean firn, which opens the possibility to obtain continuous 10Be records without requiring large amounts of clean ice. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of identifying solar storm signals in 10Be records from Greenland and Antarctica.
Tobias Erhardt, Camilla Marie Jensen, Florian Adolphi, Helle Astrid Kjær, Remi Dallmayr, Birthe Twarloh, Melanie Behrens, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Kaori Fukuda, Jun Ogata, François Burgay, Federico Scoto, Ilaria Crotti, Azzurra Spagnesi, Niccoló Maffezzoli, Delia Segato, Chiara Paleari, Florian Mekhaldi, Raimund Muscheler, Sophie Darfeuil, and Hubertus Fischer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5079–5091, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5079-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5079-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The presented paper provides a 3.8 kyr long dataset of aerosol concentrations from the East Greenland Ice coring Project (EGRIP) ice core. The data consists of 1 mm depth-resolution profiles of calcium, sodium, ammonium, nitrate, and electrolytic conductivity as well as decadal averages of these profiles. Alongside the data a detailed description of the measurement setup as well as a discussion of the uncertainties are given.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Erik Loebel, Marek Muchow, Donovan Dennis, Luisa von Albedyll, Frigga Kruse, Heidemarie Kassens, Johanna Grabow, Dieter Piepenburg, Sören Brandt, Rainer Lehmann, Marlene Jessen, Friederike Krüger, Monika Kallfelz, Andreas Preußer, Matthias Braun, Thorsten Seehaus, Frank Lisker, Daniela Röhnert, and Mirko Scheinert
Polarforschung, 91, 73–80, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-91-73-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-91-73-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Polar research is an interdisciplinary and multi-faceted field of research. Its diversity ranges from history to geology and geophysics to social sciences and education. This article provides insights into the different areas of German polar research. This was made possible by a seminar series, POLARSTUNDE, established in the summer of 2020 and organized by the German Society of Polar Research and the German National Committee of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS Germany).
Nora Hirsch, Alexandra Zuhr, Thomas Münch, Maria Hörhold, Johannes Freitag, Remi Dallmayr, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 17, 4207–4221, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4207-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Stable water isotopes from firn cores provide valuable information on past climates, yet their utility is hampered by stratigraphic noise, i.e. the irregular deposition and wind-driven redistribution of snow. We found stratigraphic noise on the Antarctic Plateau to be related to the local accumulation rate, snow surface roughness and slope inclination, which can guide future decisions on sampling locations and thus increase the resolution of climate reconstructions from low-accumulation areas.
Hans Christian Steen-Larsen and Daniele Zannoni
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-160, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-160, 2023
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Short summary
Short summary
The water vapor generation module is completely scalable allowing autonomous calibrations to use N standards and measurements to use an integration time only restricted by sample availability. Using this module, we document an improved reproducibility in 17O-excess liquid measurements of nearly a factor two compared to previously reported measurement capabilities using laser spectroscopy analyzers. This improvement is making spectroscopy measurements comparable isotope-ratio mass spectrometry.
Sune Olander Rasmussen, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Hubertus Fischer, Katrin Fuhrer, Steffen Bo Hansen, Margareta Hansson, Christine S. Hvidberg, Ulf Jonsell, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Urs Ruth, Jakob Schwander, Marie-Louise Siggaard-Andersen, Giulia Sinnl, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Anders M. Svensson, and Bo M. Vinther
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3351–3364, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3351-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3351-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Timescales are essential for interpreting palaeoclimate data. The data series presented here were used for annual-layer identification when constructing the timescales named the Greenland Ice-Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) and the revised version GICC21. Hopefully, these high-resolution data sets will be useful also for other purposes.
Benjamin Walter, Hagen Weigel, Sonja Wahl, and Henning Löwe
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-112, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-112, 2023
Revised manuscript under review for TC
Short summary
Short summary
The topmost layer of a snowpack forms the interface to the atmosphere and is frequently affected by wind. We performed, for the first time, controlled experiments in a wind tunnel under laboratory conditions to systematically quantify the evolution of the surface snow microstructure for different wind speeds, temperatures, and snow transport durations. Our results have implications for cryospheric processes like radiative transfer, avalanche formation or alpine and polar mass balances.
Andrew W. Seidl, Harald Sodemann, and Hans Christian Steen-Larsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 769–790, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-769-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-769-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
It is challenging to make field measurements of stable water isotopes in the Arctic. To this end, we present a modular stable-water-isotope analyzer profiling system. The system operated for a 2-week field campaign on Svalbard during the Arctic winter. We evaluate the system’s performance and analyze any potential impact that the field conditions might have had on the isotopic measurements and the system's ability to resolve isotope gradients in the lowermost layer of the atmosphere.
Lena Nicola, Erik Loebel, and Alexandra M. Zuhr
Polarforschung, 90, 81–84, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-90-81-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-90-81-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To facilitate the search for funding within Germany and internationally, APECS Germany has started to host a list of grant, fellowship and other funding opportunities at https://apecs-germany.de/funding/. In our article, we present our new website while describing the different stages of the quest to find funding and to highlight best practices for, for example, writing grant proposals.
Antoine Grisart, Mathieu Casado, Vasileios Gkinis, Bo Vinther, Philippe Naveau, Mathieu Vrac, Thomas Laepple, Bénédicte Minster, Frederic Prié, Barbara Stenni, Elise Fourré, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Jean Jouzel, Martin Werner, Katy Pol, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Maria Hoerhold, Trevor Popp, and Amaelle Landais
Clim. Past, 18, 2289–2301, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2289-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2289-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a compilation of high-resolution (11 cm) water isotopic records, including published and new measurements, for the last 800 000 years from the EPICA Dome C ice core, Antarctica. Using this new combined water isotopes (δ18O and δD) dataset, we study the variability and possible influence of diffusion at the multi-decadal to multi-centennial scale. We observe a stronger variability at the onset of the interglacial interval corresponding to a warm period.
Julien Westhoff, Giulia Sinnl, Anders Svensson, Johannes Freitag, Helle Astrid Kjær, Paul Vallelonga, Bo Vinther, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
Clim. Past, 18, 1011–1034, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1011-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a melt event record from an ice core from central Greenland, which covers the past 10 000 years. Our record displays warm summer events, which can be used to enhance our understanding of the past climate. We compare our data to anomalies in tree ring width, which also represents summer temperatures, and find a good correlation. Furthermore, we investigate an outstandingly warm event in the year 986 AD or 991 AD, which has not been analyzed before.
Nicolas Stoll, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Jan Eichler, Camilla Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 16, 667–688, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We mapped and analysed solid inclusion in the upper 1340 m of the EGRIP ice core with Raman spectroscopy and microstructure mapping, based on bulk dust content derived via continuous flow analysis. We observe a large variety in mineralogy throughout the core and samples. The main minerals are sulfates, especially gypsum, and terrestrial dust minerals, such as quartz, mica, and feldspar. A change in mineralogy occurs around 900 m depth indicating a climate-related imprint.
Nicolas Stoll, Jan Eichler, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Camilla Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 15, 5717–5737, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5717-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5717-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We did a systematic analysis of the location of inclusions in the EGRIP ice core, the first ice core from an ice stream. We combine this with crystal orientation and grain size data, enabling the first overview about the microstructure of this unique ice core. Micro-inclusions show a strong spatial variability and patterns (clusters or horizontal layers); roughly one-third is located at grain boundaries. More holistic approaches are needed to understand deformation processes in the ice better.
Kevin S. Rozmiarek, Bruce H. Vaughn, Tyler R. Jones, Valerie Morris, William B. Skorski, Abigail G. Hughes, Jack Elston, Sonja Wahl, Anne-Katrine Faber, and Hans Christian Steen-Larsen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7045–7067, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We have designed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sampling platform for operation in extreme polar environments that is capable of sampling atmospheric water vapor for subsequent measurement of water isotopes. During flight, we measure location, temperature, humidity, and pressure to determine the height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) using algorithms, allowing for strategic decision-making by the pilot to collect samples in glass flasks contained in the nose cone of the UAV.
Abigail G. Hughes, Sonja Wahl, Tyler R. Jones, Alexandra Zuhr, Maria Hörhold, James W. C. White, and Hans Christian Steen-Larsen
The Cryosphere, 15, 4949–4974, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4949-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4949-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Water isotope records in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores are a valuable proxy for paleoclimate reconstruction and are traditionally thought to primarily reflect precipitation input. However,
post-depositional processes are hypothesized to contribute to the isotope climate signal. In this study we use laboratory experiments, field experiments, and modeling to show that sublimation and vapor–snow isotope exchange can rapidly influence the isotopic composition of the snowpack.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Thomas Münch, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Maria Hörhold, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 15, 4873–4900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Firn and ice cores are used to infer past temperatures. However, the imprint of the climatic signal in stable water isotopes is influenced by depositional modifications. We present and use a photogrammetry structure-from-motion approach and find variability in the amount, the timing, and the location of snowfall. Depositional modifications of the surface are observed, leading to mixing of snow from different snowfall events and spatial locations and thus creating noise in the proxy record.
Laura Crick, Andrea Burke, William Hutchison, Mika Kohno, Kathryn A. Moore, Joel Savarino, Emily A. Doyle, Sue Mahony, Sepp Kipfstuhl, James W. B. Rae, Robert C. J. Steele, R. Stephen J. Sparks, and Eric W. Wolff
Clim. Past, 17, 2119–2137, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2119-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2119-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The ~ 74 ka eruption of Toba was one of the largest eruptions of the last 100 ka. We have measured the sulfur isotopic composition for 11 Toba eruption candidates in two Antarctic ice cores. Sulfur isotopes allow us to distinguish between large eruptions that have erupted material into the stratosphere and smaller ones that reach lower altitudes. Using this we have identified the events most likely to be Toba and place the eruption on the transition into a cold period in the Northern Hemisphere.
Saeid Bagheri Dastgerdi, Melanie Behrens, Jean-Louis Bonne, Maria Hörhold, Gerrit Lohmann, Elisabeth Schlosser, and Martin Werner
The Cryosphere, 15, 4745–4767, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4745-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4745-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, for the first time, water vapour isotope measurements in Antarctica for all seasons of a year are performed. Local temperature is identified as the main driver of δ18O and δD variability. A similar slope of the temperature–δ18O relationship in vapour and surface snow points to the water vapour isotope content as a potential key driver. This dataset can be used as a new dataset to evaluate the capability of isotope-enhanced climate models.
Helle Astrid Kjær, Lisa Lolk Hauge, Marius Simonsen, Zurine Yoldi, Iben Koldtoft, Maria Hörhold, Johannes Freitag, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Anders Svensson, and Paul Vallelonga
The Cryosphere, 15, 3719–3730, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3719-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3719-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ice core analyses are often done in home laboratories after costly transport of samples from the field. This limits the amount of sample that can be analysed.
Here, we present the first truly field-portable continuous flow analysis (CFA) system for the analysis of impurities in snow, firn and ice cores while still in the field: the lightweight in situ analysis (LISA) box.
LISA is demonstrated in Greenland to reconstruct accumulation, conductivity and peroxide in snow cores.
Patrick Chazette, Cyrille Flamant, Harald Sodemann, Julien Totems, Anne Monod, Elsa Dieudonné, Alexandre Baron, Andrew Seidl, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Pascal Doira, Amandine Durand, and Sylvain Ravier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10911–10937, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10911-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10911-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
To gain understanding on the vertical structure of atmospheric water vapour above mountain lakes and to assess its link to the isotopic composition of the lake water and small-scale dynamics, the L-WAIVE field campaign was conducted in the Annecy valley in the French Alps in June 2019. Based on a synergy between ground-based, boat-borne, and airborne measuring platforms, significant gradients of isotopic content have been revealed at the transitions to the lake and to the free troposphere.
Helle Astrid Kjær, Patrick Zens, Ross Edwards, Martin Olesen, Ruth Mottram, Gabriel Lewis, Christian Terkelsen Holme, Samuel Black, Kasper Holst Lund, Mikkel Schmidt, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Bo Vinther, Anders Svensson, Nanna Karlsson, Jason E. Box, Sepp Kipfstuhl, and Paul Vallelonga
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-337, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-337, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
We have reconstructed accumulation in 6 firn cores and 8 snow cores in Northern Greenland and compared with a regional Climate model over Greenland. We find the model underestimate precipitation especially in north-eastern part of the ice cap- an important finding if aiming to reconstruct surface mass balance.
Temperatures at 10 meters depth at 6 sites in Greenland were also determined and show a significant warming since the 1990's of 0.9 to 2.5 °C.
Seyedhamidreza Mojtabavi, Frank Wilhelms, Eliza Cook, Siwan M. Davies, Giulia Sinnl, Mathias Skov Jensen, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Anders Svensson, Bo M. Vinther, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Gwydion Jones, Nanna B. Karlsson, Sergio Henrique Faria, Vasileios Gkinis, Helle Astrid Kjær, Tobias Erhardt, Sarah M. P. Berben, Kerim H. Nisancioglu, Iben Koldtoft, and Sune Olander Rasmussen
Clim. Past, 16, 2359–2380, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2359-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2359-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present a first chronology for the East Greenland Ice-core Project (EGRIP) over the Holocene and last glacial termination. After field measurements and processing of the ice-core data, the GICC05 timescale is transferred from the NGRIP core to the EGRIP core by means of matching volcanic events and common patterns (381 match points) in the ECM and DEP records. The new timescale is named GICC05-EGRIP-1 and extends back to around 15 kyr b2k.
Alexander H. Weinhart, Johannes Freitag, Maria Hörhold, Sepp Kipfstuhl, and Olaf Eisen
The Cryosphere, 14, 3663–3685, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
From 1 m snow profiles along a traverse on the East Antarctic Plateau, we calculated a representative surface snow density of 355 kg m−3 for this region with an error less than 1.5 %.
This density is 10 % higher and density fluctuations seem to happen on smaller scales than climate model outputs suggest. Our study can help improve the parameterization of surface snow density in climate models to reduce the error in future sea level predictions.
Jann Schrod, Dominik Kleinhenz, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Sarah Richter, Frank Wilhelms, Hubertus Fischer, Martin Ebert, Birthe Twarloh, Damiano Della Lunga, Camilla M. Jensen, Joachim Curtius, and Heinz G. Bingemer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12459–12482, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12459-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12459-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations of the last 6 centuries are presented from an ice core in Greenland. The data are accompanied by physical and chemical aerosol data. INPs are correlated to the dust signal from the ice core and seem to follow the annual input of mineral dust. We find no clear trend in the INP concentration. However, modern-day concentrations are higher and more variable than the concentrations of the past. This might have significant atmospheric implications.
René Sedlak, Alexandra Zuhr, Carsten Schmidt, Sabine Wüst, Michael Bittner, Goderdzi G. Didebulidze, and Colin Price
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5117–5128, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5117-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5117-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Gravity wave (GW) activity in the UMLT in the period range 6-480 min is calculated by applying a wavelet analysis to nocturnal temperature time series derived from OH* airglow spectrometers. We analyse measurements from eight different locations at different latitudes.
GW activity shows strong period dependence. We find hardly any seasonal variability for periods below 60 min and a semi-annual cycle for periods longer than 60 min that evolves into an annual cycle around a period of 200 min.
Jean-Louis Bonne, Hanno Meyer, Melanie Behrens, Julia Boike, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Benjamin Rabe, Toni Schmidt, Lutz Schönicke, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, and Martin Werner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10493–10511, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10493-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10493-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study introduces 2 years of continuous near-surface in situ observations of the stable isotopic composition of water vapour in parallel with precipitation in north-eastern Siberia. We evaluate the atmospheric transport of moisture towards the region of our observations with simulations constrained by meteorological reanalyses and use this information to interpret the temporal variations of the vapour isotopic composition from seasonal to synoptic timescales.
Anders Svensson, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Thomas Blunier, Sune O. Rasmussen, Bo M. Vinther, Paul Vallelonga, Emilie Capron, Vasileios Gkinis, Eliza Cook, Helle Astrid Kjær, Raimund Muscheler, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Frank Wilhelms, Thomas F. Stocker, Hubertus Fischer, Florian Adolphi, Tobias Erhardt, Michael Sigl, Amaelle Landais, Frédéric Parrenin, Christo Buizert, Joseph R. McConnell, Mirko Severi, Robert Mulvaney, and Matthias Bigler
Clim. Past, 16, 1565–1580, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1565-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1565-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We identify signatures of large bipolar volcanic eruptions in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores during the last glacial period, which allows for a precise temporal alignment of the ice cores. Thereby the exact timing of unexplained, abrupt climatic changes occurring during the last glacial period can be determined in a global context. The study thus provides a step towards a full understanding of elements of the climate system that may also play an important role in the future.
Iris Thurnherr, Anna Kozachek, Pascal Graf, Yongbiao Weng, Dimitri Bolshiyanov, Sebastian Landwehr, Stephan Pfahl, Julia Schmale, Harald Sodemann, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Alessandro Toffoli, Heini Wernli, and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5811–5835, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Stable water isotopes (SWIs) are tracers of moist atmospheric processes. We analyse the impact of large- to small-scale atmospheric processes and various environmental conditions on the variability of SWIs using ship-based SWI measurement in water vapour from the Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Furthermore, simultaneous measurements of SWIs at two altitudes are used to illustrate the potential of such measurements for future research to estimate sea spray evaporation and turbulent moisture fluxes.
Damiano Della Lunga, Hörhold Maria, Birthe Twarloh, Behrens Melanie, Dallmayr Remi, Erhardt Tobias, Jensen Camille Marie, and Wilhelms Frank
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-215, 2019
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
The extent of sea ice plays a major role in the present Arctic warming, and it is possibly one of its first victims, since it has been predicted to disappear in the near future, if warming proceed. Our manuscript validates ice core proxies for the reconstruction of the variability of sea ice extent around Greenland in the last 600 years, and simultanesouly infers the evolution of the proxy-sources with time. Understanding past sea ice extent variability, is thus crucial in predicting its future.
Hera Guðlaugsdóttir, Jesper Sjolte, Árný Erla Sveinbjörnsdóttir, and Hans Christian Steen-Larsen
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-99, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-99, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
In the North Atlantic four modes of climate variability dominate weather. Here we assess how these modes are affected after both equatorial and high latitude eruptions, known to influence temperature in the atmosphere. Main results show that the modes associated with extreme weather events tend to follow high latitude eruptions as opposed to equatorial eruptions. These modes have also become more frequent as a result of anthropogenic warming, providing an insight into the dominating mechanism.
Andrew O. Hoffman, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Knut Christianson, and Christine Hvidberg
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 8, 149–159, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-149-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-149-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the design considerations and deployment of an autonomous modular terrestrial rover for ice-sheet exploration that is inexpensive, easy to construct, and allows for instrumentation customization. The rover proved capable of driving over 20 km on a single charge with a drawbar pull of 250 N, which is sufficient to tow commercial ground-penetrating radars. Due to its low cost, low power requirements, and simple modular design, mass deployments of this rover design are practicable.
Tetsuro Taranczewski, Johannes Freitag, Olaf Eisen, Bo Vinther, Sonja Wahl, and Sepp Kipfstuhl
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-280, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-280, 2019
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
We used melt layers detected in ice cores from the Renland ice cap in East Greenland to find evidence of past climate trends in this region. Our record provides such information for the past 10,000 years. We developed an attempt to increase the reliability of such a record by correcting deformation-induced biases. It proves that such simple to obtain melt records can be used to gather information about paleoclimate especially for regions where climate records are sparse.
Nancy A. N. Bertler, Howard Conway, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Daniel B. Emanuelsson, Mai Winstrup, Paul T. Vallelonga, James E. Lee, Ed J. Brook, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Taylor J. Fudge, Elizabeth D. Keller, W. Troy Baisden, Richard C. A. Hindmarsh, Peter D. Neff, Thomas Blunier, Ross Edwards, Paul A. Mayewski, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Christo Buizert, Silvia Canessa, Ruzica Dadic, Helle A. Kjær, Andrei Kurbatov, Dongqi Zhang, Edwin D. Waddington, Giovanni Baccolo, Thomas Beers, Hannah J. Brightley, Lionel Carter, David Clemens-Sewall, Viorela G. Ciobanu, Barbara Delmonte, Lukas Eling, Aja Ellis, Shruthi Ganesh, Nicholas R. Golledge, Skylar Haines, Michael Handley, Robert L. Hawley, Chad M. Hogan, Katelyn M. Johnson, Elena Korotkikh, Daniel P. Lowry, Darcy Mandeno, Robert M. McKay, James A. Menking, Timothy R. Naish, Caroline Noerling, Agathe Ollive, Anaïs Orsi, Bernadette C. Proemse, Alexander R. Pyne, Rebecca L. Pyne, James Renwick, Reed P. Scherer, Stefanie Semper, Marius Simonsen, Sharon B. Sneed, Eric J. Steig, Andrea Tuohy, Abhijith Ulayottil Venugopal, Fernando Valero-Delgado, Janani Venkatesh, Feitang Wang, Shimeng Wang, Dominic A. Winski, V. Holly L. Winton, Arran Whiteford, Cunde Xiao, Jiao Yang, and Xin Zhang
Clim. Past, 14, 193–214, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-193-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-193-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Temperature and snow accumulation records from the annually dated Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution (RICE) ice core show that for the past 2 700 years, the eastern Ross Sea warmed, while the western Ross Sea showed no trend and West Antarctica cooled. From the 17th century onwards, this dipole relationship changed. Now all three regions show concurrent warming, with snow accumulation declining in West Antarctica and the eastern Ross Sea.
Thomas Laepple, Thomas Münch, Mathieu Casado, Maria Hoerhold, Amaelle Landais, and Sepp Kipfstuhl
The Cryosphere, 12, 169–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-169-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-169-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We explain why snow pits across different sites in East Antarctica show visually similar isotopic variations. We argue that the similarity and the apparent cycles of around 20 cm in the δD and δ18O variations are the result of a seasonal cycle in isotopes, noise, for example from precipitation intermittency, and diffusion. The near constancy of the diffusion length across many ice-coring sites explains why the structure and cycle length is largely independent of the accumulation conditions.
Tim Carlsen, Gerit Birnbaum, André Ehrlich, Johannes Freitag, Georg Heygster, Larysa Istomina, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Anaïs Orsi, Michael Schäfer, and Manfred Wendisch
The Cryosphere, 11, 2727–2741, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2727-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2727-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The optical size of snow grains (ropt) affects the reflectivity of snow surfaces and thus the local surface energy budget in particular in polar regions. The temporal evolution of ropt retrieved from ground-based, airborne, and spaceborne remote sensing could reproduce optical in situ measurements for a 2-month period in central Antarctica (2013/14). The presented validation study provided a unique testbed for retrievals of ropt under Antarctic conditions where in situ data are scarce.
Thomas Münch, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Johannes Freitag, Hanno Meyer, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 11, 2175–2188, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2175-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2175-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The importance of post-depositional changes for the temperature interpretation of water isotopes is poorly constrained by observations. Here, for the first time, temporal isotope changes in the open-porous firn are directly analysed using a large array of shallow isotope profiles. By this, we can reject the possibility of post-depositional change beyond diffusion and densification as the cause of the discrepancy between isotope and local temperature variations at Kohnen Station, East Antarctica.
Ilka Weikusat, Ernst-Jan N. Kuiper, Gill M. Pennock, Sepp Kipfstuhl, and Martyn R. Drury
Solid Earth, 8, 883–898, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-883-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-883-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the flow of large ice masses on Earth is a major challenge in our changing climate. Deformation mechanisms are governed by the strong anisotropy of ice. As anisotropy is currently moving into the focus of ice sheet flow studies, we provide a detailed analysis of microstructure data from natural ice core samples which directly relate to anisotropic plasticity. Our findings reveal surprising dislocation activity which seems to contradict the concept of macroscopic ice anisotropy.
Anne-Katrine Faber, Bo Møllesøe Vinther, Jesper Sjolte, and Rasmus Anker Pedersen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5865–5876, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5865-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5865-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The recent decades loss of Arctic sea ice provide an interesting opportunity to study the impact of sea ice changes on the isotopic composition of Arctic precipitation. Using a climate model that can simulate water isotopes, we find that reduced sea ice extent yields more enriched isotope values while increased sea ice extent yields more
depleted isotope values. Results also show that the spatial distribution of the sea ice extent are important.
Jan Eichler, Ina Kleitz, Maddalena Bayer-Giraldi, Daniela Jansen, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Wataru Shigeyama, Christian Weikusat, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 11, 1075–1090, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1075-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1075-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study contributes to investigations of the effect of impurities on ice microstructure and flow properties. For the first time we mapped over 5000 micro-inclusions in four samples from the EDML and NEEM polar ice cores. The particle distributions show no correlation with grain boundaries and thus we conclude that particle pinning plays only a secondary role for the microstructure evolution. Alternative mechanisms are discussed.
Christoph Florian Schaller, Johannes Freitag, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Thomas Laepple, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, and Olaf Eisen
The Cryosphere, 10, 1991–2002, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1991-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1991-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Along a traverse through North Greenland in May 2015 we collected snow cores up to 2 m in depth and analyzed their properties (e.g., density). A new technique for this sampling and an adapted algorithm for comparing data sets from different positions and aligning stratigraphic features are presented. We find good agreement of the density layering in the snowpack over hundreds of kilometers. This allows the construction of a representative density profile that is statistically validated.
François Ritter, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Martin Werner, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Anais Orsi, Melanie Behrens, Gerit Birnbaum, Johannes Freitag, Camille Risi, and Sepp Kipfstuhl
The Cryosphere, 10, 1647–1663, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1647-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1647-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We present successful continuous measurements of water vapor isotopes performed in Antarctica in January 2013. The interest is to understand the impact of the water vapor isotopic composition on the near-surface snow isotopes. Our study reveals a diurnal cycle in the snow isotopic composition in phase with the vapor. This finding suggests fractionation during the sublimation of the ice, which has an important consequence on the interpretation of water isotope variations in ice cores.
Thomas Münch, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Johannes Freitag, Hanno Meyer, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 12, 1565–1581, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1565-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1565-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-core oxygen isotope ratios are a key climate archive to infer past temperatures, an interpretation however complicated by non-climatic noise. Based on 50 m firn trenches, we present for the first time a two-dimensional view (vertical × horizontal) of how oxygen isotopes are stored in Antarctic firn. A statistical noise model allows inferences for the validity of ice coring efforts to reconstruct past temperatures, highlighting the need of replicate cores for Holocene climate reconstructions.
D. Jansen, M.-G. Llorens, J. Westhoff, F. Steinbach, S. Kipfstuhl, P. D. Bons, A. Griera, and I. Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 10, 359–370, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-359-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-359-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we present examples of typical small-scale folds observed in the NEEM ice core, North Greenland, and discuss their characteristics. Numerical modelling of viscoplastic deformation and dynamic recrystallisation was used to improve the understanding of the formation of the observed structures under simple shear boundary conditions. We conclude that the folds originate from bands of grains with a tilted lattice relative to the strong lattice preferred orientation below 1500 m depth.
S. Weißbach, A. Wegner, T. Opel, H. Oerter, B. M. Vinther, and S. Kipfstuhl
Clim. Past, 12, 171–188, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-171-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-171-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Based on a set of 12 intermediate deep ice cores, covering an area of about 200 000 km2, we studied the spatial and temporal d18O patterns of northern Greenland over the past millennium and found a strong east-west gradient related to the main ice divide. A stacked record with significantly reduced noise revealed distinct climate variations with a pronounced Little Ice Age and distinct warm events such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly, around AD 1420 and in the 20th century.
A. Svensson, S. Fujita, M. Bigler, M. Braun, R. Dallmayr, V. Gkinis, K. Goto-Azuma, M. Hirabayashi, K. Kawamura, S. Kipfstuhl, H. A. Kjær, T. Popp, M. Simonsen, J. P. Steffensen, P. Vallelonga, and B. M. Vinther
Clim. Past, 11, 1127–1137, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1127-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1127-2015, 2015
J. Christmann, R. Müller, K. G. Webber, D. Isaia, F. H. Schader, S. Kipfstuhl, J. Freitag, and A. Humbert
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 7, 87–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-7-87-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-7-87-2015, 2015
C. Elsässer, D. Wagenbach, I. Levin, A. Stanzick, M. Christl, A. Wallner, S. Kipfstuhl, I. K. Seierstad, H. Wershofen, and J. Dibb
Clim. Past, 11, 115–133, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-115-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-115-2015, 2015
P. Vallelonga, K. Christianson, R. B. Alley, S. Anandakrishnan, J. E. M. Christian, D. Dahl-Jensen, V. Gkinis, C. Holme, R. W. Jacobel, N. B. Karlsson, B. A. Keisling, S. Kipfstuhl, H. A. Kjær, M. E. L. Kristensen, A. Muto, L. E. Peters, T. Popp, K. L. Riverman, A. M. Svensson, C. Tibuleac, B. M. Vinther, Y. Weng, and M. Winstrup
The Cryosphere, 8, 1275–1287, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1275-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1275-2014, 2014
H. C. Steen-Larsen, V. Masson-Delmotte, M. Hirabayashi, R. Winkler, K. Satow, F. Prié, N. Bayou, E. Brun, K. M. Cuffey, D. Dahl-Jensen, M. Dumont, M. Guillevic, S. Kipfstuhl, A. Landais, T. Popp, C. Risi, K. Steffen, B. Stenni, and A. E. Sveinbjörnsdottír
Clim. Past, 10, 377–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-377-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-377-2014, 2014
S. O. Rasmussen, P. M. Abbott, T. Blunier, A. J. Bourne, E. Brook, S. L. Buchardt, C. Buizert, J. Chappellaz, H. B. Clausen, E. Cook, D. Dahl-Jensen, S. M. Davies, M. Guillevic, S. Kipfstuhl, T. Laepple, I. K. Seierstad, J. P. Severinghaus, J. P. Steffensen, C. Stowasser, A. Svensson, P. Vallelonga, B. M. Vinther, F. Wilhelms, and M. Winstrup
Clim. Past, 9, 2713–2730, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2713-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2713-2013, 2013
A. Svensson, M. Bigler, T. Blunier, H. B. Clausen, D. Dahl-Jensen, H. Fischer, S. Fujita, K. Goto-Azuma, S. J. Johnsen, K. Kawamura, S. Kipfstuhl, M. Kohno, F. Parrenin, T. Popp, S. O. Rasmussen, J. Schwander, I. Seierstad, M. Severi, J. P. Steffensen, R. Udisti, R. Uemura, P. Vallelonga, B. M. Vinther, A. Wegner, F. Wilhelms, and M. Winstrup
Clim. Past, 9, 749–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-749-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-749-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Discipline: Snow | Subject: Greenland
Relating snowfall observations to Greenland ice sheet mass changes: an atmospheric circulation perspective
Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet
Satellite observations of snowfall regimes over the Greenland Ice Sheet
Michael R. Gallagher, Matthew D. Shupe, Hélène Chepfer, and Tristan L'Ecuyer
The Cryosphere, 16, 435–450, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-435-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-435-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
By using direct observations of snowfall and mass changes, the variability of daily snowfall mass input to the Greenland ice sheet is quantified for the first time. With new methods we conclude that cyclones west of Greenland in summer contribute the most snowfall, with 1.66 Gt per occurrence. These cyclones are contextualized in the broader Greenland climate, and snowfall is validated against mass changes to verify the results. Snowfall and mass change observations are shown to agree well.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Thomas Münch, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Maria Hörhold, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 15, 4873–4900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Firn and ice cores are used to infer past temperatures. However, the imprint of the climatic signal in stable water isotopes is influenced by depositional modifications. We present and use a photogrammetry structure-from-motion approach and find variability in the amount, the timing, and the location of snowfall. Depositional modifications of the surface are observed, leading to mixing of snow from different snowfall events and spatial locations and thus creating noise in the proxy record.
Elin A. McIlhattan, Claire Pettersen, Norman B. Wood, and Tristan S. L'Ecuyer
The Cryosphere, 14, 4379–4404, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020, 2020
Short summary
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.
Cited articles
Birnbaum, G., Freitag, J., Brauner, R., König, G., König-Langlo, K.,
Schulz, E., Kipfstuhl, S., Oerter, H., Reijmer, C. H., Schlosser, E., Faria,
S. H., Ries, H., Loose, B., Herber, A., Duda, M. G., Powers, J. G., Manning,
K. W., and Van Den Broeke, M. R.: Strong-wind events and their influence on
the formation of snow dunes: observations from Kohnen station, Dronning Maud
Land, Antarctica, J. Glaciol., 56, 891–902, 2010. a
Carmagnola, C. M., Domine, F., Dumont, M., Wright, P., Strellis, B., Bergin, M., Dibb, J., Picard, G., Libois, Q., Arnaud, L., and Morin, S.: Snow spectral albedo at Summit, Greenland: measurements and numerical simulations based on physical and chemical properties of the snowpack, The Cryosphere, 7, 1139–1160, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1139-2013, 2013. a, b
Casado, M., Landais, A., Picard, G., Münch, T., Laepple, T., Stenni, B., Dreossi, G., Ekaykin, A., Arnaud, L., Genthon, C., Touzeau, A., Masson-Delmotte, V., and Jouzel, J.: Archival processes of the water stable isotope signal in East Antarctic ice cores, The Cryosphere, 12, 1745–1766, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018, 2018. a
Casado, M., Münch, T., and Laepple, T.: Climatic information archived in ice cores: impact of intermittency and diffusion on the recorded isotopic signal in Antarctica, Clim. Past, 16, 1581–1598, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1581-2020, 2020. a
Christiansen, H. H.: Snow-cover depth, distribution and duration data from
northeast Greenland obtained by continuous automatic digital photography,
Ann. Glaciol., 32, 102–108, 2001. a
Ciais, P. and Jouzel, J.: Deuterium and oxygen 18 in precipitation: Isotopic model, including mixed cloud processes, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 793–809, https://doi.org/10.1029/94JD00412, 1994. a
Colbeck, S. C.: Thermodynamics of snow metamorphism due to variations in
curvature, J. Glaciol., 26, 291–301, 1980. a
Colbeck, S. C.: Theory of metamorphism of dry snow., J. Geophys.
Res., 88, 5475–5482, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC088iC09p05475, 1983. a, b, c
Dansgaard, W.: Stable isotopes in precipitation, Tellus, 16, 436–468,
https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v16i4.8993, 1964. a, b, c
Domine, F., Taillandier, A. S., and Simpson, W. R.: A parameterization of the
specific surface area of seasonal snow for field use and for models of
snowpack evolution, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 112,
F02031, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000512, 2007. a
Domine, F., Taillandier, A.-S., Cabanes, A., Douglas, T. A., and Sturm, M.: Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time, The Cryosphere, 3, 31–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009, 2009. a, b
Ebner, P. P., Schneebeli, M., and Steinfeld, A.: Tomography-based monitoring of isothermal snow metamorphism under advective conditions, The Cryosphere, 9, 1363–1371, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1363-2015, 2015. a
Ebner, P. P., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Stenni, B., Schneebeli, M., and Steinfeld, A.: Experimental observation of transient δ18O interaction between snow and advective airflow under various temperature gradient conditions, The Cryosphere, 11, 1733–1743, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1733-2017, 2017. a, b, c, d
Faber, A.-K., Møllesøe Vinther, B., Sjolte, J., and Anker Pedersen, R.: How does sea ice influence δ18O of Arctic precipitation?, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5865–5876, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5865-2017, 2017. a
Fausto, R. S., van As, D., Mankoff, K. D., Vandecrux, B., Citterio, M., Ahlstrøm, A. P., Andersen, S. B., Colgan, W., Karlsson, N. B., Kjeldsen, K. K., Korsgaard, N. J., Larsen, S. H., Nielsen, S., Pedersen, A. Ø., Shields, C. L., Solgaard, A. M., and Box, J. E.: Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) automatic weather station data, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3819–3845, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3819-2021, 2021. a, b
Feher, R., Voiculescu, M., Chiroiu, P., and Perşoiu, A.: The stable isotope
composition of hoarfrost, Isot. Environ. Health S., 57, 386–399, https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2021.1917567, 2021. a
Flin, F. and Brzoska, J. B.: The temperature-gradient metamorphism of snow:
Vapour diffusion model and application to tomographic images, Ann.
Glaciol., 49, 17–21, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408787814834, 2008. a
Gallet, J.-C., Domine, F., Arnaud, L., Picard, G., and Savarino, J.: Vertical profile of the specific surface area and density of the snow at Dome C and on a transect to Dumont D'Urville, Antarctica – albedo calculations and comparison to remote sensing products, The Cryosphere, 5, 631–649, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-631-2011, 2011. a
Gallet, J.-C., Domine, F., Savarino, J., Dumont, M., and Brun, E.: The growth of sublimation crystals and surface hoar on the Antarctic plateau, The Cryosphere, 8, 1205–1215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1205-2014, 2014. a
Genthon, C., Piard, L., Vignon, E., Madeleine, J.-B., Casado, M., and Gallée, H.: Atmospheric moisture supersaturation in the near-surface atmosphere at Dome C, Antarctic Plateau, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 691–704, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-691-2017, 2017. a
Holme, C., Gkinis, V., and Vinther, B. M.: Molecular diffusion of stable water
isotopes in polar firn as a proxy for past temperatures, Geochim.
Cosmochim. Ac., 225, 128–145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.01.015, 2018. a
Hörhold, M., Behrens, M., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Faber, A.-K., Kipfstuhl, S., Madsen, M., Meyer, H., Vladimirova, D., Wahl, S., Zuhr, A., Stuart, R. H.: 10 daily measurements of water isotopic composition of the surface 2.5 cm of snow from EastGRIP during summer of 2017–2019, PANGAEA [data set], https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.946729 (last access: 27 February 2023), 2022. a
Hughes, A. G., Wahl, S., Jones, T. R., Zuhr, A., Hörhold, M., White, J. W. C., and Steen-Larsen, H. C.: The role of sublimation as a driver of climate signals in the water isotope content of surface snow: laboratory and field experimental results, The Cryosphere, 15, 4949–4974, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4949-2021, 2021. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Johnsen, S. J., Clausen, H. B., Cuffey, K. M., Hoffmann, G., Schwander, J., and
Creyts, T.: Diffusion of stable isotopes in polar firn and ice: the isotope
effect in firn diffusion, in: Physics of Ice Core Records, Hokkaido University Press, 121–142, http://hdl.handle.net/2115/32465 (last access: 1 October 2021), 2000. a
Johnsen, S. J., Dansgaard, W., and White, J. W.: The origin of Arctic
precipitation under present and glacial conditions, Tellus B, 41,
452–468, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v41i4.15100, 1989. a
Jouzel, J. and Merlivat, L.: Deuterium and oxygen 18 in precipitation:
modeling of the isotopic effects during snow formation, J.
Geophys. Res., 89, 749–757, https://doi.org/10.1029/jd089id07p11749, 1984. a
Klein, K.: Variability in dry Antarctic firn – Investigations on spatially distributed snow and firn samples from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, PhD thesis, University of Bremen, https://doi.org/10013/epic.44893, 2014. a
Kokhanovsky, A., Lamare, M., Danne, O., Brockmann, C., Dumont, M., Picard, G.,
Arnaud, L., Favier, V., Jourdain, B., Meur, E. L., Di Mauro, B., Aoki, T.,
Niwano, M., Rozanov, V., Korkin, S., Kipfstuhl, S., Freitag, J., Hoerhold,
M., Zuhr, A., Vladimirova, D., Faber, A. K., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Wahl, S.,
Andersen, J. K., Vandecrux, B., van As, D., Mankoff, K. D., Kern, M., Zege,
E., and Box, J. E.: Retrieval of snow properties from the Sentinel-3 Ocean
and Land Colour Instrument, Remote Sensing, 11, 2280, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11192280,
2019. a
Laepple, T., Münch, T., Casado, M., Hoerhold, M., Landais, A., and Kipfstuhl, S.: On the similarity and apparent cycles of isotopic variations in East Antarctic snow pits, The Cryosphere, 12, 169–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-169-2018, 2018. a
Landais, A., Barnola, J. M., Kawamura, K., Caillon, N., Delmotte, M.,
Van Ommen, T., Dreyfus, G., Jouzel, J., Masson-Delmotte, V., Minster, B.,
Freitag, J., Leuenberger, M., Schwander, J., Huber, C., Etheridge, D., and
Morgan, V.: Firn-air δ15N in modern polar sites and
glacial-interglacial ice: A model-data mismatch during glacial periods in
Antarctica?, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 25, 49–62,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.06.007, 2006. a
Legagneux, L. and Domine, F.: A mean field model of the decrease of the
specific surface area of dry snow during isothermal metamorphism, J.
Geophys. Res.-Earth, 110, F04011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JF000181, 2005. a
Legagneux, L., Cabanes, A., and Dominé, F.: Measurement of the specific
surface area of 176 snow samples using methane adsorption at 77 K, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, 4335–4350, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD001016,
2002. a, b
Legagneux, L., Lauzier, T., Dominé, F., Kuhs, W. F., Heinrichs, T., and
Techmer, K.: Rate of decay of specific surface area of snow during
isothermal experiments and morphological changes studied by scanning electron
microscopy, Can. J. Phys., 81, 459–468,
https://doi.org/10.1139/p03-025, 2003. a, b, c, d, e
Li, L. and Pomeroy, J. W.: Estimates of threshold wind speeds for snow
transport using meteorological data, J. Appl. Meteorol., 36,
205–213, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1997)036<0205:EOTWSF>2.0.CO;2, 1997. a
Linow, S., Hörhold, M. W., and Freitag, J.: Grain-size evolution of
polar firn: A new empirical grain growth parameterization based on X-ray
microcomputer tomography measurements, J. Glaciol., 58,
1245–1252, https://doi.org/10.3189/2012JoG11J256, 2012. a, b
Madsen, M. V., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Hörhold, M., Box, J., Berben, S. M.,
Capron, E., Faber, A. K., Hubbard, A., Jensen, M. F., Jones, T. R.,
Kipfstuhl, S., Koldtoft, I., Pillar, H. R., Vaughn, B. H., Vladimirova, D.,
and Dahl-Jensen, D.: Evidence of Isotopic Fractionation During Vapor
Exchange Between the Atmosphere and the Snow Surface in Greenland, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 2932–2945,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029619, 2019. a, b, c
Martin, J. and Schneebeli, M.: Impact of the sampling procedure on the specific surface area of snow measurements with the IceCube, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-501, 2022. a
Masson-Delmotte, V., Landais, A., Stievenard, M., Cattani, O., Falourd, S.,
Jouzel, J., Johnsen, S. J., Dahl-Jensen, D., Sveinsbjornsdottir, A., White,
J. W., Popp, T., and Fischer, H.: Holocene climatic changes in Greenland:
Different deuterium excess signals at Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) and
NorthGRIP, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 110, D14102,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD005575, 2005. a
Merlivat, L. and Jouzel, J.: Global climatic interpretation of the
deuterium-oxygen 16 relationship for precipitation., J. Geophys.
Res., 84, 5029–5033, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC084iC08p05029, 1979. a
Picard, G., Domine, F., Krinner, G., Arnaud, L., and Lefebvre, E.: Inhibition
of the positive snow-albedo feedback by precipitation in interior
Antarctica, Nat. Clim. Change, 2, 795–798, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1590,
2012. a
Picard, G., Royer, A., Arnaud, L., and Fily, M.: Influence of meter-scale wind-formed features on the variability of the microwave brightness temperature around Dome C in Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 8, 1105–1119, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1105-2014, 2014. a
Picard, G., Arnaud, L., Caneill, R., Lefebvre, E., and Lamare, M.: Observation of the process of snow accumulation on the Antarctic Plateau by time lapse laser scanning, The Cryosphere, 13, 1983–1999, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1983-2019, 2019. a
Pinzer, B. R., Schneebeli, M., and Kaempfer, T. U.: Vapor flux and recrystallization during dry snow metamorphism under a steady temperature gradient as observed by time-lapse micro-tomography, The Cryosphere, 6, 1141–1155, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1141-2012, 2012. a
Ritter, F., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Werner, M., Masson-Delmotte, V., Orsi, A., Behrens, M., Birnbaum, G., Freitag, J., Risi, C., and Kipfstuhl, S.: Isotopic exchange on the diurnal scale between near-surface snow and lower atmospheric water vapor at Kohnen station, East Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 10, 1647–1663, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1647-2016, 2016. a, b, c
Schaller, C. F., Freitag, J., and Eisen, O.: Critical porosity of gas enclosure in polar firn independent of climate, Clim. Past, 13, 1685–1693, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1685-2017, 2017. a
Sime, L. C., Risi, C., Tindall, J. C., Sjolte, J., Wolff, E. W.,
Masson-delmotte, V., and Capron, E.: Warm climate isotopic simulations :
what do we learn about interglacial signals in Greenland ice cores?,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 67, 59–80,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.01.009, 2013. a
Sodemann, H., Masson-Delmotte, V., Schwierz, C., Vinther, B. M., and Wernli,
H.: Interannual variability of Greenland winter precipitation sources: 2.
Effects of North Atlantic Oscillation variability on stable isotopes in
precipitation, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 113, D12111,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009416, 2008. a
Sokratov, S. A. and Golubev, V. N.: Snow isotopic content change by
sublimation, J. Glaciol., 55, 823–828,
https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309790152456, 2009. a
Steen-Larsen, H. C. and Wahl, S.: 2 m processed sensible and latent heat flux, friction velocity and stability at EastGRIP site on Greenland Ice Sheet, summer 2019, PANGAEA [data set], https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.928827, 2021. a
Steen-Larsen, H. C., Sveinbjörnsdottir, A. E., Peters, A. J., Masson-Delmotte, V., Guishard, M. P., Hsiao, G., Jouzel, J., Noone, D., Warren, J. K., and White, J. W. C.: Climatic controls on water vapor deuterium excess in the marine boundary layer of the North Atlantic based on 500 days of in situ, continuous measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7741–7756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7741-2014, 2014. a, b
Steen-Larsen, H. C., Hörhold, M., Kipfstuhl, S., Faber, A.-K., Freitag, J., Hughes, A. G., Madsen, M., Behrens, M. K., Meyer, H., Vladimirova, D., Wahl, S., Zuhr, A., Stuart, R. H.: 10 daily surface measurements over 90 m transect, SSA, Density and Accumulation, from EastGRIP summer (May–August) of 2016–2019, PANGAEA [data set], https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.946763, 2022. a
Steffensen, J. P., Andersen, K. K., Bigler, M., Clausen, H. B., Dahl-Jensen,
D., Fischer, H., Goto-Azuma, K., Hansson, M., Johnsen, S. J., Jouzel, J.,
Masson-Delmotte, V., Popp, T., Rasmussen, S. O., Röthlisberger, R.,
Ruth, U., Stauffer, B., Siggaard-Andersen, M. L., Sveinbjörnsdottir,
Ø. E., Svensson, A., and White, J. W.: High-resolution greenland ice core
data show abrupt climate change happens in few years, Science, 321,
680–684, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1157707, 2008. a
Stenni, B., Masson-Delmotte, V., Selmo, E., Oerter, H., Meyer, H.,
Röthlisberger, R., Jouzel, J., Cattani, O., Falourd, S., Fischer, H.,
Hoffmann, G., Iacumin, P., Johnsen, S. J., Minster, B., and Udisti, R.: The
deuterium excess records of EPICA Dome C and Dronning Maud Land ice cores
(East Antarctica), Quaternary Sci. Rev., 29, 146–159,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.10.009, 2010. a
Stenni, B., Scarchilli, C., Masson-Delmotte, V., Schlosser, E., Ciardini, V., Dreossi, G., Grigioni, P., Bonazza, M., Cagnati, A., Karlicek, D., Risi, C., Udisti, R., and Valt, M.: Three-year monitoring of stable isotopes of precipitation at Concordia Station, East Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 10, 2415–2428, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2415-2016, 2016. a
Touzeau, A., Landais, A., Stenni, B., Uemura, R., Fukui, K., Fujita, S., Guilbaud, S., Ekaykin, A., Casado, M., Barkan, E., Luz, B., Magand, O., Teste, G., Le Meur, E., Baroni, M., Savarino, J., Bourgeois, I., and Risi, C.: Acquisition of isotopic composition for surface snow in East Antarctica and the links to climatic parameters, The Cryosphere, 10, 837–852, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-837-2016, 2016. a
Touzeau, A., Landais, A., Morin, S., Arnaud, L., and Picard, G.: Numerical experiments on vapor diffusion in polar snow and firn and its impact on isotopes using the multi-layer energy balance model Crocus in SURFEX v8.0, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 2393–2418, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2393-2018, 2018. a, b
Van As, D.: Warming, glacier melt and surface energy budget from weather
station observations in the Melville Bay region of northwest Greenland,
J. Glaciol., 47, 208–220, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311796405898,
2011. a
Vandecrux, B., Box, J. E., Wehrlé, A., Kokhanovsky, A. A., Picard, G.,
Niwano, M., Hörhold, M., Faber, A. K., and Steen-Larsen, H. C.: The
Determination of the Snow Optical Grain Diameter and Snowmelt Area on the
Greenland Ice Sheet Using Spaceborne Optical Observations, Remote Sensing,
14, 932, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14040932, 2022. a
Van Geldern, R. and Barth, J. A.: Optimization of instrument setup and
post-run corrections for oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope measurements of
water by isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy (IRIS), Limnol.
Oceanogr.-Meth., 10, 1024–1036, https://doi.org/10.4319/lom.2012.10.1024, 2012. a
Vinther, B. M., Buchardt, S., Clausen, H., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S.,
Fisher, D., Koerner, R., Raynaud, D., Lipenkov, V., Andersen, K., Blunier,
T., Rasmussen, S., Steffensen, J., and Svensson, A.: Holocene thinning of
the Greenland ice sheet, Nature, 461, 385–388, 2009. a
Wahl, S., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Hughes, A. G., Dietrich, L. J., Zuhr, A.,
Behrens, M., Faber, A., and Hörhold, M.: Atmosphere-Snow Exchange
Explains Surface Snow Isotope Variability, Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL099529,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099529, 2022. a, b, c, d
Zuanon, N.: IceCube, a portable and reliable instrument for snow specific
surface area measurement in the field, International Snow Science Workshop, Grenoble – Chamonix Mont-Blanc, 7–11 October 2013,
1020–1023, https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/item/1905 (last access: 1 October 2021), 2013.
a
Zuhr, A. M., Münch, T., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Hörhold, M., and Laepple, T.: Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet, The Cryosphere, 15, 4873–4900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, 2021. a
Short summary
This empirical study uses continuous daily measurements from the Greenland Ice Sheet to document changes in surface snow properties. Consistent changes in snow isotopic composition are observed in the absence of deposition due to surface processes, indicating the isotopic signal of deposited precipitation is not always preserved. Our observations have potential implications for the interpretation of water isotopes in ice cores – historically assumed to reflect isotopic composition at deposition.
This empirical study uses continuous daily measurements from the Greenland Ice Sheet to document...
