Articles | Volume 19, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1527-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-1527-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 07 Apr 2025
| 07 Apr 2025
Separating the albedo-reducing effect of different light-absorbing particles on snow using deep learning
Lou-Anne Chevrollier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Environmental Science, iClimate, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
Adrien Wehrlé
Institute of Geography, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Joseph M. Cook
Department of Environmental Science, iClimate, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
Norbert Pirk
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Liane G. Benning
GFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany, and Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Alexandre M. Anesio
Department of Environmental Science, iClimate, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
Martyn Tranter
Department of Environmental Science, iClimate, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 6357–6409, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-6357-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-6357-2026, 2026
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This dataset includes monthly measurements of carbon dioxide and methane exchange between land, water, and the atmosphere from over 1000 sites in Arctic and boreal regions. It combines measurements from a variety of ecosystems, including wetlands, forests, tundra, lakes, and rivers, gathered by over 260 researchers from 1984–2024. This dataset can be used to improve and reduce uncertainty in carbon budgets in order to strengthen our understanding of climate feedbacks in a warming world.
Lukasz Stachnik, Meri Korhonen, Jonathan R. Hawkings, Marlena Szeligowska, Katarzyna Koziorowska, Emilia Trudnowska, Karol Kuliński, Beata Szymczycha, Oskar Głowacki, Małgorzata Kitowska, Katarzyna Dragańska-Deja, Marcin Syczewski, Liane G. Benning, Pablo Forjanes, and Mateusz Moskalik
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4466, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4466, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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By comparing two glacier-fed bays in an Arctic fjord, we found that larger glaciers ending in the sea deliver far more sediment and essential micronutrients (Fe, Mn) to coastal waters than smaller glaciers ending on land. We showed that many of these nutrients are transported in particles that can travel farther offshore. As glaciers continue to shrink and surrounding landscapes become more stable, the supply of these nutrients is likely to decline, potentially affecting productivity.
Astrid Vatne, Norbert Pirk, Kolbjørn Engeland, Ane V. Vollsnes, and Lena M. Tallaksen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 5245–5279, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-5245-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-5245-2026, 2026
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Measurements of evaporation are important to understand how evaporation modifies the water balance of northern ecosystems. However, evaporation data in these regions are scarce. We explored a new dataset of evaporation measurements from four wetland sites in Norway and found that up to 30 % of the annual precipitation evaporate back to the atmosphere. Our results indicate that earlier snow melt-out and drier air can increase annual evaporation in the region.
Antoine Zaninetti, Martin P. Lüthi, Adrien Wehrlé, Janneke van Ginkel, and Ana Nap
The Cryosphere, 20, 4037–4048, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-4037-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-4037-2026, 2026
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We investigate the spectral and thermal properties of the strikingly blue ice present on freshly calved icebergs from polar ice streams using satellite multispectral imaging and on-site thermal imaging. Blue ice exhibits unique properties. Several hypotheses have been proposed, but none can fully explain the phenomenon which might be crucial for the understanding of the fast, complex flow dynamics of ice streams.
Kristoffer Aalstad, Esteban Alonso-González, Norbert Pirk, Sebastian Westermann, Clarissa Willmes, and Ruitang Yang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.20049, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.20049, 2026
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AdaPBS is a new algorithm to combine observations with cryospheric numerical models. AdaPBS is an iterative algorithm that automatically adjusts computing effort to the task, allowing the implementation of early stopping strategies. We tested AdaPBS at multiple sites with different models, matching or outperforming standard methods, when compared against more complex (computationally expensive) algorithms.
Anfisa Pismeniuk, Peter Dörsch, Mats Ippach, Clarissa Willmes, Sunniva Sheffield, Norbert Pirk, and Sebastian Westermann
Biogeosciences, 23, 1497–1514, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1497-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1497-2026, 2026
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Thermokarst ponds in high latitudes are important methane (CH4) sources in summer. Meanwhile, these ponds are ice-covered for around 60 % of the year and can accumulate CH4 in the ice and within the underlying water column, which potentially results in high emissions during the ice-off. Here, we present data on wintertime CH4 storage of ponds located within two peat plateaus in Northern Norway. Our results show that the wintertime CH4 storage can contribute up to 40 % to the annual CH4 budget.
Alouette van Hove, Kristoffer Aalstad, Vibeke Lind, Claudia Arndt, Vincent Odongo, Rodolfo Ceriani, Francesco Fava, John Hulth, and Norbert Pirk
Biogeosciences, 22, 4163–4186, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4163-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4163-2025, 2025
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Research on methane emissions from African livestock is limited. We used a probabilistic method fusing drone and flux tower observations with an atmospheric model to estimate emissions from various herds. This approach proved robust under non-stationary wind conditions and effective in estimating emissions as low as 100 g h-1. We also detected spectral anomalies in satellite data associated with the herds. Our method can be used for diverse point sources, thereby improving emission inventories.
Eva L. Doting, Ian T. Stevens, Anne M. Kellerman, Pamela E. Rossel, Runa Antony, Amy M. McKenna, Martyn Tranter, Liane G. Benning, Robert G. M. Spencer, Jon R. Hawkings, and Alexandre M. Anesio
Biogeosciences, 22, 41–53, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-41-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-41-2025, 2025
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This study provides the first evidence for biogeochemical cycling of supraglacial dissolved organic matter (DOM) in meltwater flowing through the porous crust of weathering ice that covers glacier ice surfaces during the melt season. Movement of water through the weathering crust is slow, allowing microbes and solar radiation to alter the DOM in glacial meltwaters. This is important as supraglacial meltwaters deliver DOM to downstream aquatic environments.
Guillaume Lamarche-Gagnon, Marek Stibal, Alexandre M. Anesio, Jemma L. Wadham, Jon Hawkings, Lukáš Falteisek, Kristýna Vrbická, Petra Klímová, Jakub D. Žárský, Tyler J. Kohler, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Jade E. Hatton, Alex D. Beaton, and Jon Telling
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-817, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-817, 2024
Preprint archived
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To better understand the microbial ecosystems that underlay Earth’s glaciers, studies often rely on indirect sampling of the subglacial environment via proglacial meltwater runoff. Our research in Greenland reveals that fluctuations in glacier melt can affect microbial composition in runoff, highlighting important biases often overlooked in studies of glacial runoff that might skew interpretations as to the subglacial origin of microbial communities exported within meltwaters.
Esteban Alonso-González, Kristoffer Aalstad, Norbert Pirk, Marco Mazzolini, Désirée Treichler, Paul Leclercq, Sebastian Westermann, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4637–4659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, 2023
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Here we explore how to improve hyper-resolution (5 m) distributed snowpack simulations using sparse observations, which do not provide information from all the areas of the simulation domain. We propose a new way of propagating information throughout the simulations adapted to the hyper-resolution, which could also be used to improve simulations of other nature. The method has been implemented in an open-source data assimilation tool that is readily accessible to everyone.
Norbert Pirk, Kristoffer Aalstad, Yeliz A. Yilmaz, Astrid Vatne, Andrea L. Popp, Peter Horvath, Anders Bryn, Ane Victoria Vollsnes, Sebastian Westermann, Terje Koren Berntsen, Frode Stordal, and Lena Merete Tallaksen
Biogeosciences, 20, 2031–2047, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2031-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2031-2023, 2023
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We measured the land–atmosphere exchange of CO2 and water vapor in alpine Norway over 3 years. The extremely snow-rich conditions in 2020 reduced the total annual evapotranspiration to 50 % and reduced the growing-season carbon assimilation to turn the ecosystem from a moderate annual carbon sink to an even stronger source. Our analysis suggests that snow cover anomalies are driving the most consequential short-term responses in this ecosystem’s functioning.
Beatriz Gill-Olivas, Jon Telling, Mark Skidmore, and Martyn Tranter
Biogeosciences, 20, 929–943, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-929-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-929-2023, 2023
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Microbial ecosystems have been found in all subglacial environments sampled to date. Yet, little is known of the sources of energy and nutrients that sustain these microbial populations. This study shows that crushing of sedimentary rocks, which contain organic carbon, carbonate and sulfide minerals, along with previously weathered silicate minerals, produces a range of compounds and nutrients which can be utilised by the diverse suite of microbes that inhabit glacier beds.
Adrien Wehrlé, Martin P. Lüthi, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 17, 309–326, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-309-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-309-2023, 2023
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We characterized short-lived episodes of ice mélange weakening (IMW) at the front of three major Greenland outlet glaciers. Through a continuous detection at the front of Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier during the June-to-September period from 2018 to 2021, we found that 87 % of the IMW episodes occurred prior to a large-scale calving event. Using a simple model for ice mélange motion, we further characterized the IMW process as self-sustained through the existence of an IMW–calving feedback.
Norbert Pirk, Kristoffer Aalstad, Sebastian Westermann, Astrid Vatne, Alouette van Hove, Lena Merete Tallaksen, Massimo Cassiani, and Gabriel Katul
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7293–7314, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7293-2022, 2022
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In this study, we show how sparse and noisy drone measurements can be combined with an ensemble of turbulence-resolving wind simulations to estimate uncertainty-aware surface energy exchange. We demonstrate the feasibility of this drone data assimilation framework in a series of synthetic and real-world experiments. This new framework can, in future, be applied to estimate energy and gas exchange in heterogeneous landscapes more representatively than conventional methods.
Luuk D. van der Valk, Adriaan J. Teuling, Luc Girod, Norbert Pirk, Robin Stoffer, and Chiel C. van Heerwaarden
The Cryosphere, 16, 4319–4341, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4319-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4319-2022, 2022
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Most large-scale hydrological and climate models struggle to capture the spatially highly variable wind-driven melt of patchy snow cover. In the field, we find that 60 %–80 % of the total melt is wind driven at the upwind edge of a snow patch, while it does not contribute at the downwind edge. Our idealized simulations show that the variation is due to a patch-size-independent air-temperature reduction over snow patches and also allow us to study the role of wind-driven snowmelt on larger scales.
Outi Meinander, Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Pavel Amosov, Elena Aseyeva, Cliff Atkins, Alexander Baklanov, Clarissa Baldo, Sarah L. Barr, Barbara Barzycka, Liane G. Benning, Bojan Cvetkovic, Polina Enchilik, Denis Frolov, Santiago Gassó, Konrad Kandler, Nikolay Kasimov, Jan Kavan, James King, Tatyana Koroleva, Viktoria Krupskaya, Markku Kulmala, Monika Kusiak, Hanna K. Lappalainen, Michał Laska, Jerome Lasne, Marek Lewandowski, Bartłomiej Luks, James B. McQuaid, Beatrice Moroni, Benjamin Murray, Ottmar Möhler, Adam Nawrot, Slobodan Nickovic, Norman T. O’Neill, Goran Pejanovic, Olga Popovicheva, Keyvan Ranjbar, Manolis Romanias, Olga Samonova, Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Kerstin Schepanski, Ivan Semenkov, Anna Sharapova, Elena Shevnina, Zongbo Shi, Mikhail Sofiev, Frédéric Thevenet, Throstur Thorsteinsson, Mikhail Timofeev, Nsikanabasi Silas Umo, Andreas Uppstu, Darya Urupina, György Varga, Tomasz Werner, Olafur Arnalds, and Ana Vukovic Vimic
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11889–11930, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11889-2022, 2022
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High-latitude dust (HLD) is a short-lived climate forcer, air pollutant, and nutrient source. Our results suggest a northern HLD belt at 50–58° N in Eurasia and 50–55° N in Canada and at >60° N in Eurasia and >58° N in Canada. Our addition to the previously identified global dust belt (GDB) provides crucially needed information on the extent of active HLD sources with both direct and indirect impacts on climate and environment in remote regions, which are often poorly understood and predicted.
Anders Lindroth, Norbert Pirk, Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir, Christian Stiegler, Leif Klemedtsson, and Mats B. Nilsson
Biogeosciences, 19, 3921–3934, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3921-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3921-2022, 2022
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We measured the fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane between a moist moss tundra and the atmosphere on Svalbard in order to better understand how such ecosystems are affecting the climate and vice versa. We found that the system was a small sink of carbon dioxide and a small source of methane. These fluxes are small in comparison with other tundra ecosystems in the high Arctic. Analysis of temperature sensitivity showed that respiration was more sensitive than photosynthesis above about 6 ℃.
Chloe A. Whicker, Mark G. Flanner, Cheng Dang, Charles S. Zender, Joseph M. Cook, and Alex S. Gardner
The Cryosphere, 16, 1197–1220, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1197-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1197-2022, 2022
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Snow and ice surfaces are important to the global climate. Current climate models use measurements to determine the reflectivity of ice. This model uses physical properties to determine the reflectivity of snow, ice, and darkly pigmented impurities that reside within the snow and ice. Therefore, the modeled reflectivity is more accurate for snow/ice columns under varying climate conditions. This model paves the way for improvements in the portrayal of snow and ice within global climate models.
Mark G. Flanner, Julian B. Arnheim, Joseph M. Cook, Cheng Dang, Cenlin He, Xianglei Huang, Deepak Singh, S. McKenzie Skiles, Chloe A. Whicker, and Charles S. Zender
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 7673–7704, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-7673-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-7673-2021, 2021
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We present the technical formulation and evaluation of a publicly available code and web-based model to simulate the spectral albedo of snow. Our model accounts for numerous features of the snow state and ambient conditions, including the the presence of light-absorbing matter like black and brown carbon, mineral dust, volcanic ash, and snow algae. Carbon dioxide snow, found on Mars, is also represented. The model accurately reproduces spectral measurements of clean and contaminated snow.
Adrien Wehrlé, Martin P. Lüthi, Andrea Walter, Guillaume Jouvet, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 15, 5659–5674, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5659-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5659-2021, 2021
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We developed a novel automated method for the detection and the quantification of ocean waves generated by glacier calving. This method was applied to data recorded with a terrestrial radar interferometer at Eqip Sermia, Greenland. Results show a high calving activity at the glacier front sector ending in deep water linked with more frequent meltwater plumes. This suggests that rising subglacial meltwater plumes strongly affect glacier calving in deep water, but weakly in shallow water.
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Short summary
Light-absorbing particles (LAPs) are often present as a mixture on snow surfaces and are important to disentangle because their darkening effects vary but also because the processes governing their presence and accumulation on snow surfaces are different. This study presents a novel method to retrieve the concentration and albedo-reducing effect of different LAPs present at the snow surface from surface spectral albedo. The method is then successfully applied to ground observations on seasonal snow.
Light-absorbing particles (LAPs) are often present as a mixture on snow surfaces and are...
