Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1757-2025
© 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-19-1757-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Impact of shrub branches on the shortwave vertical irradiance profile in snow
Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval (Canada) and CNRS-INSU (France), Québec, Canada
Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Department of Chemistry, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Mireille Quémener
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Québec, Canada
Ludovick Bégin
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Québec, Canada
Benjamin Bouchard
Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Department of Civil and Water Engineering, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
CentrEau – Water Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Valérie Dionne
Department of Chemistry, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Sébastien Jerczynski
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Québec, Canada
Raphaël Larouche
Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval (Canada) and CNRS-INSU (France), Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Félix Lévesque-Desrosiers
Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Université Laval (Canada) and CNRS-INSU (France), Québec, Canada
Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Simon-Olivier Philibert
Department of Chemistry, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Marc-André Vigneault
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Québec, Canada
Ghislain Picard
IGE, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
Daniel C. Côté
CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers, Québec, Canada
Related authors
Vincent Vionnet, Nicolas Romain Leroux, Vincent Fortin, Maria Abrahamowicz, Georgina Woolley, Giulia Mazzotti, Manon Gaillard, Matthieu Lafaysse, Alain Royer, Florent Domine, Nathalie Gauthier, Nick Rutter, Chris Derksen, and Stéphane Bélair
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3396, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3396, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Snow microstructure controls snowpack properties, but most land surface models overlook this factor. To support future satellite missions, we created a new land surface model based on the Crocus scheme that simulates snow microstructure. Key improvements include better snow albedo representation, enhanced Arctic snow modeling, and improved forest module to capture Canada's diverse snow conditions. Results demonstrate improved simulations of snow density and melt across large regions of Canada.
Cecile B. Menard, Sirpa Rasmus, Ioanna Merkouriadi, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Annett Bartsch, Chris Derksen, Florent Domine, Marie Dumont, Dorothee Ehrich, Richard Essery, Bruce C. Forbes, Gerhard Krinner, David Lawrence, Glen Liston, Heidrun Matthes, Nick Rutter, Melody Sandells, Martin Schneebeli, and Sari Stark
The Cryosphere, 18, 4671–4686, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4671-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4671-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Computer models, like those used in climate change studies, are written by modellers who have to decide how best to construct the models in order to satisfy the purpose they serve. Using snow modelling as an example, we examine the process behind the decisions to understand what motivates or limits modellers in their decision-making. We find that the context in which research is undertaken is often more crucial than scientific limitations. We argue for more transparency in our research practice.
Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, François Anctil, Tobias Jonas, and Étienne Tremblay
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2745–2765, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Observations and simulations from an exceptionally low-snow and warm winter, which may become the new norm in the boreal forest of eastern Canada, show an earlier and slower snowmelt, reduced soil temperature, stronger vertical temperature gradients in the snowpack, and a significantly lower spring streamflow. The magnitude of these effects is either amplified or reduced with regard to the complex structure of the canopy.
Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, Nander Wever, Adrien Michel, Michael Lehning, and Pierre-Erik Isabelle
The Cryosphere, 18, 2783–2807, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Observations over several winters at two boreal sites in eastern Canada show that rain-on-snow (ROS) events lead to the formation of melt–freeze layers and that preferential flow is an important water transport mechanism in the sub-canopy snowpack. Simulations with SNOWPACK generally show good agreement with observations, except for the reproduction of melt–freeze layers. This was improved by simulating intercepted snow microstructure evolution, which also modulates ROS-induced runoff.
Florent Domine, Denis Sarrazin, Daniel F. Nadeau, Georg Lackner, and Maria Belke-Brea
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1523–1541, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1523-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1523-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The forest–tundra ecotone is the transition region between the boreal forest and Arctic tundra. It spans over 13 000 km across the Arctic and is evolving rapidly because of climate change. We provide extensive data sets of two sites 850 m apart, one in tundra and one in forest in this ecotone for use in various models. Data include meteorological and flux data and unique snow and soil physics data.
Gauthier Vérin, Florent Domine, Marcel Babin, Ghislain Picard, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 16, 3431–3449, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3431-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Snow physical properties on Arctic sea ice are monitored during the melt season. As snow grains grow, and the snowpack thickness is reduced, the surface albedo decreases. The extra absorbed energy accelerates melting. Radiative transfer modeling shows that more radiation is then transmitted to the snow–sea-ice interface. A sharp increase in transmitted radiation takes place when the snowpack thins significantly, and this coincides with the initiation of the phytoplankton bloom in the seawater.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 3357–3373, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We compared the snowpack at two sites separated by less than 1 km, one in shrub tundra and the other one within the boreal forest. Even though the snowpack was twice as thick at the forested site, we found evidence that the vertical transport of water vapor from the bottom of the snowpack to its surface was important at both sites. The snow model Crocus simulates no water vapor fluxes and consequently failed to correctly simulate the observed density profiles.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Annie-Claude Parent, François Anctil, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 127–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-127-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-127-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The surface energy budget is the sum of all incoming and outgoing energy fluxes at the Earth's surface and has a key role in the climate. We measured all these fluxes for an Arctic snowpack and found that most incoming energy from radiation is counterbalanced by thermal radiation and heat convection while sublimation was negligible. Overall, the snow model Crocus was able to simulate the observed energy fluxes well.
Maria Belke-Brea, Florent Domine, Ghislain Picard, Mathieu Barrere, and Laurent Arnaud
Biogeosciences, 18, 5851–5869, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Expanding shrubs in the Arctic change snowpacks into a mix of snow, impurities and buried branches. Snow is a translucent medium into which light penetrates and gets partly absorbed by branches or impurities. Measurements of light attenuation in snow in Northern Quebec, Canada, showed (1) black-carbon-dominated light attenuation in snowpacks without shrubs and (2) buried branches influence radiation attenuation in snow locally, leading to melting and pockets of large crystals close to branches.
Florent Domine, Georg Lackner, Denis Sarrazin, Mathilde Poirier, and Maria Belke-Brea
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4331–4348, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Current sophisticated snow physics models were mostly designed for alpine conditions and cannot adequately simulate the physical properties of Arctic snowpacks. New snow models will require Arctic data sets for forcing and validation. We provide an extensive driving and testing data set from a high Arctic herb tundra site in Canada. Unique validating data include continuous time series of snow and soil thermal conductivity and temperature profiles. Field observations in spring are provided.
Kévin Fourteau, Florent Domine, and Pascal Hagenmuller
The Cryosphere, 15, 2739–2755, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2739-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2739-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The thermal conductivity of snow is an important physical property governing the thermal regime of a snowpack and its substrate. We show that it strongly depends on the kinetics of water vapor sublimation and that previous experimental data suggest a rather fast kinetics. In such a case, neglecting water vapor leads to an underestimation of thermal conductivity by up to 50 % for light snow. Moreover, the diffusivity of water vapor in snow is then directly related to the thermal conductivity.
Kévin Fourteau, Florent Domine, and Pascal Hagenmuller
The Cryosphere, 15, 389–406, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-389-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-389-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
There has been a long controversy to determine whether the effective diffusion coefficient of water vapor in snow is superior to that in free air. Using theory and numerical modeling, we show that while water vapor diffuses more than inert gases thanks to its interaction with the ice, the effective diffusion coefficient of water vapor in snow remains inferior to that in free air. This suggests that other transport mechanisms are responsible for the large vapor fluxes observed in some snowpacks.
Adrien Ooms, Mathieu Casado, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Maria Hörhold, Andrea Spolaor, Rita Traversi, Joel Savarino, Patrick Ginot, Pete Akers, Birthe Twarloh, and Valérie Masson-Delmotte
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3259, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3259, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
This work presents a new approach to the estimation of accumulation rates at Concordia Station, East-Antarctica, for the last 20 years, from a new data set of chemical tracers and snow micro-scale properties measured in a snow trench. Multi-annual and meter to decameter scale variability of accumulation rates are compared again in-situ measurements of surface laser scanner and stake farm, with very good agreement. This further constrains SMB estimation for Antarctica at high temporal resolution.
Vincent Vionnet, Nicolas Romain Leroux, Vincent Fortin, Maria Abrahamowicz, Georgina Woolley, Giulia Mazzotti, Manon Gaillard, Matthieu Lafaysse, Alain Royer, Florent Domine, Nathalie Gauthier, Nick Rutter, Chris Derksen, and Stéphane Bélair
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3396, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3396, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Snow microstructure controls snowpack properties, but most land surface models overlook this factor. To support future satellite missions, we created a new land surface model based on the Crocus scheme that simulates snow microstructure. Key improvements include better snow albedo representation, enhanced Arctic snow modeling, and improved forest module to capture Canada's diverse snow conditions. Results demonstrate improved simulations of snow density and melt across large regions of Canada.
Titouan Tcheng, Elise Fourré, Christophe Leroy-Dos-Santos, Frédéric Parrenin, Emmanuel Le Meur, Frédéric Prié, Olivier Jossoud, Roxanne Jacob, Bénédicte Minster, Olivier Magand, Cécile Agosta, Niels Dutrievoz, Vincent Favier, Léa Baubant, Coralie Lassalle-Bernard, Mathieu Casado, Martin Werner, Alexandre Cauquoin, Laurent Arnaud, Bruno Jourdain, Ghislain Picard, Marie Bouchet, and Amaëlle Landais
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2863, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2863, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
Studying Antarctic ice cores is crucial to assess past climate changes, as they hold historical climate data. This study examines multiple ice cores from three sites in coastal Adélie Land to see if combining cores improves data interpretability. It does at two sites, but at a third, wind-driven snow layer mixing limited benefits. We show that using multiple ice cores from one location can better uncover climate history, especially in areas with less wind disturbance.
Léa Elise Bonnefoy, Catherine Prigent, Ghislain Picard, Clément Soriot, Alice Le Gall, Lise Kilic, and Carlos Jimenez
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3972, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3972, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Microwave radiometry senses the thermal emission from a target, whereas its active counterpart, radar, sends a signal to the target and measures the signal reflected back. We simultaneously model radar and radiometry over the East Antarctic ice sheet, which we propose as an analog for icy moons: we can reproduce most data with a unique model. Saturn's moons' radar brightness cannot be reproduced and must be caused by processes unaccounted for in the model and less active in the Antarctic.
Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Ghislain Picard, Pierre Zeiger, and Giovanni Macelloni
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-732, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-732, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a quantitative and synthetic classification of the snowpack in 10 dry-wet status by aggregating separate binary indicators derived from satellite observations. The classification follows the expected evolution of the melt season: night refreezing is frequent at the onset, sustained melting is observed during the summer peak, and remnant liquid water at depth occurs at the end. This dataset improves the knowledge of melt processes using passive microwave remote sensing.
Raphaël Larouche, Bastian Raulier, Christian Katlein, Simon Lambert-Girard, Simon Thibault, and Marcel Babin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5V955, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5V955, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a new method to study how light interacts with sea ice using a compact 360-degree camera. By lowering this camera into drilled holes in ice, we captured detailed light patterns inside different ice layers. Our research revealed how light is absorbed and scattered in both Arctic multi-year ice and thinner, seasonal ice in Quebec. These findings improve our understanding of sea ice structure and its role in the climate system, helping representation sea ice in models.
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
The Cryosphere, 19, 173–200, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-173-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-173-2025, 2025
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.
Ghislain Picard and Quentin Libois
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 8927–8953, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-8927-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-8927-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Two-streAm Radiative TransfEr in Snow (TARTES) is a radiative transfer model to compute snow albedo in the solar domain and the profiles of light and energy absorption in a multi-layered snowpack whose physical properties are user defined. It uniquely considers snow grain shape flexibly, based on recent insights showing that snow does not behave as a collection of ice spheres but instead as a random medium. TARTES is user-friendly yet performs comparably to more complex models.
Cecile B. Menard, Sirpa Rasmus, Ioanna Merkouriadi, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Annett Bartsch, Chris Derksen, Florent Domine, Marie Dumont, Dorothee Ehrich, Richard Essery, Bruce C. Forbes, Gerhard Krinner, David Lawrence, Glen Liston, Heidrun Matthes, Nick Rutter, Melody Sandells, Martin Schneebeli, and Sari Stark
The Cryosphere, 18, 4671–4686, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4671-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4671-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Computer models, like those used in climate change studies, are written by modellers who have to decide how best to construct the models in order to satisfy the purpose they serve. Using snow modelling as an example, we examine the process behind the decisions to understand what motivates or limits modellers in their decision-making. We find that the context in which research is undertaken is often more crucial than scientific limitations. We argue for more transparency in our research practice.
Melody Sandells, Nick Rutter, Kirsty Wivell, Richard Essery, Stuart Fox, Chawn Harlow, Ghislain Picard, Alexandre Roy, Alain Royer, and Peter Toose
The Cryosphere, 18, 3971–3990, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3971-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3971-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite microwave observations are used for weather forecasting. In Arctic regions this is complicated by natural emission from snow. By simulating airborne observations from in situ measurements of snow, this study shows how snow properties affect the signal within the atmosphere. Fresh snowfall between flights changed airborne measurements. Good knowledge of snow layering and structure can be used to account for the effects of snow and could unlock these data to improve forecasts.
Sara Arioli, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Simon Gascoin, Esteban Alonso-González, Marine Poizat, and Mark Irvine
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3913–3934, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3913-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3913-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
High-accuracy precision maps of the surface temperature of snow were acquired with an uncooled thermal-infrared camera during winter 2021–2022 and spring 2023. The accuracy – i.e., mean absolute error – improved from 1.28 K to 0.67 K between the seasons thanks to an improved camera setup and temperature stabilization. The dataset represents a major advance in the validation of satellite measurements and physical snow models over a complex topography.
Romilly Harris Stuart, Amaëlle Landais, Laurent Arnaud, Christo Buizert, Emilie Capron, Marie Dumont, Quentin Libois, Robert Mulvaney, Anaïs Orsi, Ghislain Picard, Frédéric Prié, Jeffrey Severinghaus, Barbara Stenni, and Patricia Martinerie
The Cryosphere, 18, 3741–3763, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3741-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3741-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice core δO2/N2 records are useful dating tools due to their local insolation pacing. A precise understanding of the physical mechanism driving this relationship, however, remain ambiguous. By compiling data from 15 polar sites, we find a strong dependence of mean δO2/N2 on 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.
Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, François Anctil, Tobias Jonas, and Étienne Tremblay
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2745–2765, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Observations and simulations from an exceptionally low-snow and warm winter, which may become the new norm in the boreal forest of eastern Canada, show an earlier and slower snowmelt, reduced soil temperature, stronger vertical temperature gradients in the snowpack, and a significantly lower spring streamflow. The magnitude of these effects is either amplified or reduced with regard to the complex structure of the canopy.
Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, Nander Wever, Adrien Michel, Michael Lehning, and Pierre-Erik Isabelle
The Cryosphere, 18, 2783–2807, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Observations over several winters at two boreal sites in eastern Canada show that rain-on-snow (ROS) events lead to the formation of melt–freeze layers and that preferential flow is an important water transport mechanism in the sub-canopy snowpack. Simulations with SNOWPACK generally show good agreement with observations, except for the reproduction of melt–freeze layers. This was improved by simulating intercepted snow microstructure evolution, which also modulates ROS-induced runoff.
Julien Meloche, Melody Sandells, Henning Löwe, Nick Rutter, Richard Essery, Ghislain Picard, Randall K. Scharien, Alexandre Langlois, Matthias Jaggi, Josh King, Peter Toose, Jérôme Bouffard, Alessandro Di Bella, and Michele Scagliola
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1583, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1583, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Sea ice thickness is essential for climate studies. Radar altimetry has provided sea ice thickness measurement, but uncertainty arises from interaction of the signal with the snow cover. Therefore, modelling the signal interaction with the snow is necessary to improve retrieval. A radar model was used to simulate the radar signal from the snow-covered sea ice. This work paved the way to improved physical algorithm to retrieve snow depth and sea ice thickness for radar altimeter missions.
Naomi E. Ochwat, Ted A. Scambos, Alison F. Banwell, Robert S. Anderson, Michelle L. Maclennan, Ghislain Picard, Julia A. Shates, Sebastian Marinsek, Liliana Margonari, Martin Truffer, and Erin C. Pettit
The Cryosphere, 18, 1709–1731, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
On the Antarctic Peninsula, there is a small bay that had sea ice fastened to the shoreline (
fast ice) for over a decade. The fast ice stabilized the glaciers that fed into the ocean. In January 2022, the fast ice broke away. Using satellite data we found that this was because of low sea ice concentrations and a high long-period ocean wave swell. We find that the glaciers have responded to this event by thinning, speeding up, and retreating by breaking off lots of icebergs at remarkable rates.
Florent Domine, Denis Sarrazin, Daniel F. Nadeau, Georg Lackner, and Maria Belke-Brea
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1523–1541, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1523-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1523-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The forest–tundra ecotone is the transition region between the boreal forest and Arctic tundra. It spans over 13 000 km across the Arctic and is evolving rapidly because of climate change. We provide extensive data sets of two sites 850 m apart, one in tundra and one in forest in this ecotone for use in various models. Data include meteorological and flux data and unique snow and soil physics data.
Justin Murfitt, Claude Duguay, Ghislain Picard, and Juha Lemmetyinen
The Cryosphere, 18, 869–888, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-869-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-869-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This research focuses on the interaction between microwave signals and lake ice under wet conditions. Field data collected for Lake Oulujärvi in Finland were used to model backscatter under different conditions. The results of the modelling likely indicate that a combination of increased water content and roughness of different interfaces caused backscatter to increase. These results could help to identify areas where lake ice is unsafe for winter transportation.
Claudio Stefanini, Giovanni Macelloni, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Vincent Favier, Benjamin Pohl, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 18, 593–608, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-593-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-593-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Local and large-scale meteorological conditions have been considered in order to explain some peculiar changes of snow grains on the East Antarctic Plateau from 2000 to 2022, by using remote sensing observations and reanalysis. We identified some extreme grain size events on the highest ice divide, resulting from a combination of conditions of low wind speed and low temperature. Moreover, the beginning of seasonal grain growth has been linked to the occurrence of atmospheric rivers.
Jean Emmanuel Sicart, Victor Ramseyer, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Catherine Coulaud, Guilhem Freche, Damien Soubeyrand, Yves Lejeune, Marie Dumont, Isabelle Gouttevin, Erwan Le Gac, Frédéric Berger, Jean-Matthieu Monnet, Laurent Borgniet, Éric Mermin, Nick Rutter, Clare Webster, and Richard Essery
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5121–5133, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5121-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5121-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Forests strongly modify the accumulation, metamorphism and melting of snow in midlatitude and high-latitude regions. Two field campaigns during the winters 2016–17 and 2017–18 were conducted in a coniferous forest in the French Alps to study interactions between snow and vegetation. This paper presents the field site, instrumentation and collection methods. The observations include forest characteristics, meteorology, snow cover and snow interception by the canopy during precipitation events.
Thomas Dethinne, Quentin Glaude, Ghislain Picard, Christoph Kittel, Patrick Alexander, Anne Orban, and Xavier Fettweis
The Cryosphere, 17, 4267–4288, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4267-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4267-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the sensitivity of the regional climate model
Modèle Atmosphérique Régional(MAR) to the assimilation of wet-snow occurrence estimated by remote sensing datasets. The assimilation is performed by nudging the MAR snowpack temperature. The data assimilation is performed over the Antarctic Peninsula for the 2019–2021 period. The results show an increase in the melt production (+66.7 %) and a decrease in surface mass balance (−4.5 %) of the model for the 2019–2020 melt season.
Yaowen Zheng, Nicholas R. Golledge, Alexandra Gossart, Ghislain Picard, and Marion Leduc-Leballeur
The Cryosphere, 17, 3667–3694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3667-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Positive degree-day (PDD) schemes are widely used in many Antarctic numerical ice sheet models. However, the PDD approach has not been systematically explored for its application in Antarctica. We have constructed a novel grid-cell-level spatially distributed PDD (dist-PDD) model and assessed its accuracy. We suggest that an appropriately parameterized dist-PDD model can be a valuable tool for exploring Antarctic surface melt beyond the satellite era.
Esteban Alonso-González, Simon Gascoin, Sara Arioli, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 17, 3329–3342, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3329-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3329-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Data assimilation techniques are a promising approach to improve snowpack simulations in remote areas that are difficult to monitor. This paper studies the ability of satellite-observed land surface temperature to improve snowpack simulations through data assimilation. We show that it is possible to improve snowpack simulations, but the temporal resolution of the observations and the algorithm used are critical to obtain satisfactory results.
Sara Arioli, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, and Vincent Favier
The Cryosphere, 17, 2323–2342, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2323-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2323-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To assess the drivers of the snow grain size evolution during snow drift, we exploit a 5-year time series of the snow grain size retrieved from spectral-albedo observations made with a new, autonomous, multi-band radiometer and compare it to observations of snow drift, snowfall and snowmelt at a windy location of coastal Antarctica. Our results highlight the complexity of the grain size evolution in the presence of snow drift and show an overall tendency of snow drift to limit its variations.
Ghislain Picard, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Alison F. Banwell, Ludovic Brucker, and Giovanni Macelloni
The Cryosphere, 16, 5061–5083, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Using a snowpack radiative transfer model, we investigate in which conditions meltwater can be detected from passive microwave satellite observations from 1.4 to 37 GHz. In particular, we determine the minimum detectable liquid water content, the maximum depth of detection of a buried wet snow layer and the risk of false alarm due to supraglacial lakes. These results provide information for the developers of new, more advanced satellite melt products and for the users of the existing products.
Dominic Saunderson, Andrew Mackintosh, Felicity McCormack, Richard Selwyn Jones, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 16, 4553–4569, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4553-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4553-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the variability in surface melt on the Shackleton Ice Shelf in East Antarctica over the last 2 decades (2003–2021). Using daily satellite observations and the machine learning approach of a self-organising map, we identify nine distinct spatial patterns of melt. These patterns allow comparisons of melt within and across melt seasons and highlight the importance of both air temperatures and local controls such as topography, katabatic winds, and albedo in driving surface melt.
Ghislain Picard, Henning Löwe, and Christian Mätzler
The Cryosphere, 16, 3861–3866, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3861-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3861-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Microwave satellite observations used to monitor the cryosphere require radiative transfer models for their interpretation. These models represent how microwaves are scattered by snow and ice. However no existing theory is suitable for all types of snow and ice found on Earth. We adapted a recently published generic scattering theory to snow and show how it may improve the representation of snows with intermediate densities (~500 kg/m3) and/or with coarse grains at high microwave frequencies.
Gauthier Vérin, Florent Domine, Marcel Babin, Ghislain Picard, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 16, 3431–3449, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3431-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Snow physical properties on Arctic sea ice are monitored during the melt season. As snow grains grow, and the snowpack thickness is reduced, the surface albedo decreases. The extra absorbed energy accelerates melting. Radiative transfer modeling shows that more radiation is then transmitted to the snow–sea-ice interface. A sharp increase in transmitted radiation takes place when the snowpack thins significantly, and this coincides with the initiation of the phytoplankton bloom in the seawater.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 3357–3373, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We compared the snowpack at two sites separated by less than 1 km, one in shrub tundra and the other one within the boreal forest. Even though the snowpack was twice as thick at the forested site, we found evidence that the vertical transport of water vapor from the bottom of the snowpack to its surface was important at both sites. The snow model Crocus simulates no water vapor fluxes and consequently failed to correctly simulate the observed density profiles.
Alvaro Robledano, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Fanny Larue, and Inès Ollivier
The Cryosphere, 16, 559–579, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-559-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-559-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Topography controls the surface temperature of snow-covered, mountainous areas. We developed a modelling chain that uses ray-tracing methods to quantify the impact of a few topographic effects on snow surface temperature at high spatial resolution. Its large spatial and temporal variations are correctly simulated over a 50 km2 area in the French Alps, and our results show that excluding a single topographic effect results in cooling (or warming) effects on the order of 1 °C.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Annie-Claude Parent, François Anctil, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 127–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-127-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-127-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The surface energy budget is the sum of all incoming and outgoing energy fluxes at the Earth's surface and has a key role in the climate. We measured all these fluxes for an Arctic snowpack and found that most incoming energy from radiation is counterbalanced by thermal radiation and heat convection while sublimation was negligible. Overall, the snow model Crocus was able to simulate the observed energy fluxes well.
Maria Belke-Brea, Florent Domine, Ghislain Picard, Mathieu Barrere, and Laurent Arnaud
Biogeosciences, 18, 5851–5869, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Expanding shrubs in the Arctic change snowpacks into a mix of snow, impurities and buried branches. Snow is a translucent medium into which light penetrates and gets partly absorbed by branches or impurities. Measurements of light attenuation in snow in Northern Quebec, Canada, showed (1) black-carbon-dominated light attenuation in snowpacks without shrubs and (2) buried branches influence radiation attenuation in snow locally, leading to melting and pockets of large crystals close to branches.
Florent Domine, Georg Lackner, Denis Sarrazin, Mathilde Poirier, and Maria Belke-Brea
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4331–4348, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Current sophisticated snow physics models were mostly designed for alpine conditions and cannot adequately simulate the physical properties of Arctic snowpacks. New snow models will require Arctic data sets for forcing and validation. We provide an extensive driving and testing data set from a high Arctic herb tundra site in Canada. Unique validating data include continuous time series of snow and soil thermal conductivity and temperature profiles. Field observations in spring are provided.
Kévin Fourteau, Florent Domine, and Pascal Hagenmuller
The Cryosphere, 15, 2739–2755, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2739-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2739-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The thermal conductivity of snow is an important physical property governing the thermal regime of a snowpack and its substrate. We show that it strongly depends on the kinetics of water vapor sublimation and that previous experimental data suggest a rather fast kinetics. In such a case, neglecting water vapor leads to an underestimation of thermal conductivity by up to 50 % for light snow. Moreover, the diffusivity of water vapor in snow is then directly related to the thermal conductivity.
Alison F. Banwell, Rajashree Tri Datta, Rebecca L. Dell, Mahsa Moussavi, Ludovic Brucker, Ghislain Picard, Christopher A. Shuman, and Laura A. Stevens
The Cryosphere, 15, 909–925, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-909-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-909-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ice shelves are thick floating layers of glacier ice extending from the glaciers on land that buttress much of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and help to protect it from losing ice to the ocean. However, the stability of ice shelves is vulnerable to meltwater lakes that form on their surfaces during the summer. This study focuses on the northern George VI Ice Shelf on the western side of the AP, which had an exceptionally long and extensive melt season in 2019/2020 compared to the previous 31 seasons.
Kévin Fourteau, Florent Domine, and Pascal Hagenmuller
The Cryosphere, 15, 389–406, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-389-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-389-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
There has been a long controversy to determine whether the effective diffusion coefficient of water vapor in snow is superior to that in free air. Using theory and numerical modeling, we show that while water vapor diffuses more than inert gases thanks to its interaction with the ice, the effective diffusion coefficient of water vapor in snow remains inferior to that in free air. This suggests that other transport mechanisms are responsible for the large vapor fluxes observed in some snowpacks.
François Tuzet, Marie Dumont, Ghislain Picard, Maxim Lamare, Didier Voisin, Pierre Nabat, Mathieu Lafaysse, Fanny Larue, Jesus Revuelto, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 14, 4553–4579, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4553-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4553-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a field dataset collected over 30 d from two snow seasons at a Col du Lautaret site (French Alps). The dataset compares different measurements or estimates of light-absorbing particle (LAP) concentrations in snow, highlighting a gap in the current understanding of the measurement of these quantities. An ensemble snowpack model is then evaluated for this dataset estimating that LAPs shorten each snow season by around 10 d despite contrasting meteorological conditions.
Maxim Lamare, Marie Dumont, Ghislain Picard, Fanny Larue, François Tuzet, Clément Delcourt, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 14, 3995–4020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3995-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3995-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Terrain features found in mountainous regions introduce large errors into the calculation of the physical properties of snow using optical satellite images. We present a new model performing rapid calculations of solar radiation over snow-covered rugged terrain that we tested over a site in the French Alps. The results of the study show that all the interactions between sunlight and the terrain should be accounted for over snow-covered surfaces to correctly estimate snow properties from space.
Cited articles
Belke-Brea, M., Domine, F., Boudreau, S., Picard, G., Barrere, M., Arnaud, L., and Paradis, M.: New Allometric Equations for Arctic Shrubs and Their Application for Calculating the Albedo of Surfaces with Snow and Protruding Branches, J. Hydrometeorol., 21, 2581–2594, https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-20-0012.1, 2020.
Belke-Brea, M., Domine, F., Picard, G., Barrere, M., and Arnaud, L.: On the influence of erect shrubs on the irradiance profile in snow, Biogeosciences, 18, 5851–5869, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5851-2021, 2021.
Bond, T. C. and Bergstrom, R. W.: Light absorption by carbonaceous particles: An investigative review, Aerosol Sci. Technol., 40, 27–67, https://doi.org/10.1080/02786820500421521, 2006.
Bouchard, B., Nadeau, D. F., and Domine, F.: Comparison of snowpack structure in gaps and under the canopy in a humid boreal forest, Hydrol. Process., 36, e14681, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14681, 2022.
Bouchard, B., Nadeau, D. F., Domine, F., Anctil, F., Jonas, T., and Tremblay, É.: How does a warm and low-snow winter impact the snow cover dynamics in a humid and discontinuous boreal forest? Insights from observations and modeling in eastern Canada, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2745–2765, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, 2024a.
Bouchard, B., Nadeau, D. F., Domine, F., Wever, N., Michel, A., Lehning, M., and Isabelle, P.-E.: Impact of intercepted and sub-canopy snow microstructure on snowpack response to rain-on-snow events under a boreal canopy, The Cryosphere, 18, 2783–2807, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, 2024b.
Boudries, H., Bottenheim, J. W., Guimbaud, C., Grannas, A. M., Shepson, P. B., Houdier, S., Perrier, S., and Domine, F.: Distribution and trends of oxygenated hydrocarbons in the high Arctic derived from measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer and interstitial snow air during the ALERT2000 field campaign, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2573–2583, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00122-X, 2002.
Chylek, P., Ramaswamy, V., and Srivastava, V.: Albedo of soot-contaminated snow, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 837–843, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC088iC15p10837, 1983.
Colbeck, S. C.: Theory of metamorphism of dry snow, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 5475–5482, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC088iC09p05475, 1983.
Colbeck, S. C.: Snow-crystal growth with varying surface temperatures and radiation penetration, J. Glaciol., 35, 23–29, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214389793701536, 1989.
Dang, C., Warren, S. G., Fu, Q., Doherty, S. J., Sturm, M., and Su, J.: Measurements of light-absorbing particles in snow across the Arctic, North America, and China: Effects on surface albedo, J. Geophys. Res., 122, 10149–10168, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jd027070, 2017.
Davis, D., Nowak, J. B., Chen, G., Buhr, M., Arimoto, R., Hogan, A., Eisele, F., Mauldin, L., Tanner, D., Shetter, R., Lefer, B., and McMurry, P.: Unexpected high levels of NO observed at South Pole, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 3625–3628, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012584, 2001.
Dibb, J. E. and Arsenault, M.: Shouldn't snowpacks be sources of monocarboxylic acids?, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2513–2522, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00131-0, 2002.
Domine, F. and Shepson, P. B.: Air-snow interactions and atmospheric chemistry, Science, 297, 1506–1510, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1074610, 2002.
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., 112, F02031, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jf000512, 2007.
Domine, F., Barrere, M., Sarrazin, D., Morin, S., and Arnaud, L.: Automatic monitoring of the effective thermal conductivity of snow in a low-Arctic shrub tundra, The Cryosphere, 9, 1265–1276, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1265-2015, 2015.
Domine, F., Barrere, M., and Morin, S.: The growth of shrubs on high Arctic tundra at Bylot Island: impact on snow physical properties and permafrost thermal regime, Biogeosciences, 13, 6471–6486, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6471-2016, 2016.
Domine, F., Fourteau, K., Picard, G., Lackner, G., Sarrazin, D., and Poirier, M.: Permafrost cooled in winter by thermal bridging through snow-covered shrub branches, Nat. Geosci., 15, 5540–5560, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00979-2, 2022.
Farmer, D. K., Cappa, C. D., and Kreidenweis, S. M.: Atmospheric Processes and Their Controlling Influence on Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity, Chem. Rev., 115, 4199–4217, https://doi.org/10.1021/cr5006292, 2015.
Festi, D., Schwikowski, M., Maggi, V., Oeggl, K., and Jenk, T. M.: Significant mass loss in the accumulation area of the Adamello glacier indicated by the chronology of a 46 m ice core, The Cryosphere, 15, 4135–4143, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4135-2021, 2021.
Finlayson-Pitts, B. J. and Pitts, J. N.: Atmospheric chemistry of tropospheric ozone formation – scientific and regulatory implications, J. Air Waste Manage., 43, 1091–1100, https://doi.org/10.1080/1073161X.1993.10467187, 1993.
Finlayson-Pitts, B. J. and Pitts, J. N.: CHAPTER 3 – Spectroscopy and Photochemistry: Fundamentals, in: Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere, edited by: Finlayson-Pitts, B. J., and Pitts, J. N., Academic Press, San Diego, 43–85, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012257060-5/50005-8, 2000.
France, J. L., King, M. D., and Lee-Taylor, J.: Hydroxyl (OH) radical production rates in snowpacks from photolysis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitrate (NO ), Atmos. Environ., 41, 5502–5509, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.03.056, 2007.
France, J. L., King, M. D., and Lee-Taylor, J.: The importance of considering depth-resolved photochemistry in snow: a radiative-transfer study of NO2 and OH production in Ny-Alesund (Svalbard) snowpacks, J. Glaciol., 56, 655–663, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310793146250, 2010.
France, J. L., King, M. D., Lee-Taylor, J., Beine, H. J., Ianniello, A., Domine, F., and MacArthur, A.: Calculations of in-snow NO2 and OH radical photochemical production and photolysis rates: A field and radiative-transfer study of the optical properties of Arctic (Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard) snow, J. Geophys. Res., 116, F04013, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jf002019, 2011a.
France, J. L., King, M. D., Frey, M. M., Erbland, J., Picard, G., Preunkert, S., MacArthur, A., and Savarino, J.: Snow optical properties at Dome C (Concordia), Antarctica; implications for snow emissions and snow chemistry of reactive nitrogen, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 9787–9801, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9787-2011, 2011b.
Gallet, J.-C., Domine, F., Zender, C. S., and Picard, G.: Measurement of the specific surface area of snow using infrared reflectance in an integrating sphere at 1310 and 1550 nm, The Cryosphere, 3, 167–182, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-167-2009, 2009.
Grannas, A. M., Jones, A. E., Dibb, J., Ammann, M., Anastasio, C., Beine, H. J., Bergin, M., Bottenheim, J., Boxe, C. S., Carver, G., Chen, G., Crawford, J. H., Dominé, F., Frey, M. M., Guzmán, M. I., Heard, D. E., Helmig, D., Hoffmann, M. R., Honrath, R. E., Huey, L. G., Hutterli, M., Jacobi, H. W., Klán, P., Lefer, B., McConnell, J., Plane, J., Sander, R., Savarino, J., Shepson, P. B., Simpson, W. R., Sodeau, J. R., von Glasow, R., Weller, R., Wolff, E. W., and Zhu, T.: An overview of snow photochemistry: evidence, mechanisms and impacts, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 4329–4373, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-7-4329-2007, 2007.
Hallquist, M., Wenger, J. C., Baltensperger, U., Rudich, Y., Simpson, D., Claeys, M., Dommen, J., Donahue, N. M., George, C., Goldstein, A. H., Hamilton, J. F., Herrmann, H., Hoffmann, T., Iinuma, Y., Jang, M., Jenkin, M. E., Jimenez, J. L., Kiendler-Scharr, A., Maenhaut, W., McFiggans, G., Mentel, Th. F., Monod, A., Prévôt, A. S. H., Seinfeld, J. H., Surratt, J. D., Szmigielski, R., and Wildt, J.: The formation, properties and impact of secondary organic aerosol: current and emerging issues, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 5155–5236, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-5155-2009, 2009.
Hansen, J. and Nazarenko, L.: Soot climate forcing via snow and ice albedos, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 101, 423–428, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2237157100, 2004.
Honrath, R. E., Peterson, M. C., Guo, S., Dibb, J. E., Shepson, P. B., and Campbell, B.: Evidence of NOx production within or upon ice particles in the Greenland snowpack, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 695–698, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL900077, 1999.
Houdier, S., Perrier, S., Domine, F., Cabanes, A., Legagneux, L., Grannas, A. M., Guimbaud, C., Shepson, P. B., Boudries, H., and Bottenheim, J. W.: Acetaldehyde and acetone in the Arctic snowpack during the ALERT2000 campaign. Snowpack composition, incorporation processes and atmospheric impact, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2609–2618, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00109-7, 2002.
Ju, J. C. and Masek, J. G.: The vegetation greenness trend in Canada and US Alaska from 1984–2012 Landsat data, Remote Sens. Environ., 176, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.01.001, 2016.
Juola, J., Hovi, A., and Rautiainen, M.: A spectral analysis of stem bark for boreal and temperate tree species, Ecol. Evol., 12, e8718, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8718, 2022a.
Juola, J., Hovi, A., and Rautiainen, M.: A dataset of stem bark reflectance spectra for boreal and temperate tree species, V2, Mendeley Data [data set], https://doi.org/10.17632/pwfxgzz5fj.2, 2022b.
King, M. D. and Simpson, W. R.: Extinction of UV radiation in Arctic snow at Alert, Canada (82° N), J. Geophys. Res., 106, 12499–12507, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD900006, 2001.
Kokhanovsky, A.: Spectral reflectance of solar light from dirty snow: a simple theoretical model and its validation, The Cryosphere, 7, 1325–1331, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1325-2013, 2013.
Lafleur, P. M. and Humphreys, E. R.: Tundra shrub effects on growing season energy and carbon dioxide exchange, Environ. Res. Lett., 13, 055001, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aab863, 2018.
Lamare, M., Domine, F., Revuelto, J., Pelletier, M., Arnaud, L., and Picard, G.: Investigating the Role of Shrub Height and Topography in Snow Accumulation on Low-Arctic Tundra using UAV-Borne Lidar, J. Hydrometeorol., 24, 835–853, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-22-0067.1, 2023.
Marsh, P., Bartlett, P., MacKay, M., Pohl, S., and Lantz, T.: Snowmelt energetics at a shrub tundra site in the western Canadian Arctic, Hydrol. Processes, 24, 3603–3620, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7786, 2010.
Mauldin, R. L., Kosciuch, E., Henry, B., Eisele, F. L., Shetter, R., Lefer, B., Chen, G., Davis, D., Huey, G., and Tanner, D.: Measurements of OH, HO2 + RO2, H2SO4, and MSA at the south pole during ISCAT 2000, Atmos. Environ., 38, 5423–5437, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.06.031, 2004.
Meyer, T. and Wania, F.: Modeling the elution of organic chemicals from a melting homogeneous snow pack, Water Res., 45, 3627–3637, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.04.011, 2011.
Perrier, S., Houdier, S., Domine, F., Cabanes, A., Legagneux, L., Sumner, A. L., and Shepson, P. B.: Formaldehyde in Arctic snow. Incorporation into ice particles and evolution in the snowpack, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2695–2705, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00110-3, 2002.
Picard, G.: ghislainp/tartes: v2.0 (v2.0), Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13950598, 2024.
Picard, G. and Libois, Q.: Simulation of snow albedo and solar irradiance profile with the Two-streAm Radiative TransfEr in Snow (TARTES) v2.0 model, Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 8927–8953, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-8927-2024, 2024.
Picard, G., Libois, Q., and Arnaud, L.: Refinement of the ice absorption spectrum in the visible using radiance profile measurements in Antarctic snow, The Cryosphere, 10, 2655–2672, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2655-2016, 2016.
Pierre, A., Jutras, S., Smith, C., Kochendorfer, J., Fortin, V., and Anctil, F.: Evaluation of Catch Efficiency Transfer Functions for Unshielded and Single-Alter-Shielded Solid Precipitation Measurements, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 36, 865–881, https://doi.org/10.1175/jtech-d-18-0112.1, 2019.
Ropars, P. and Boudreau, S.: Shrub expansion at the forest-tundra ecotone: spatial heterogeneity linked to local topography, Environ. Res. Lett., 7, 015501, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015501, 2012.
Simpson, W. R., King, M. D., Beine, H. J., Honrath, R. E., and Zhou, X. L.: Radiation-transfer modeling of snow-pack photochemical processes during ALERT 2000, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2663–2670, https://doi.org/10.1016/s1352-2310(02)00124-3, 2002.
Sturm, M., Racine, C., and Tape, K.: Climate change – Increasing shrub abundance in the Arctic, Nature, 411, 546–547, https://doi.org/10.1038/35079180, 2001a.
Sturm, M., McFadden, J. P., Liston, G. E., Chapin, F. S., Racine, C. H., and Holmgren, J.: Snow-shrub interactions in Arctic tundra: A hypothesis with climatic implications, J. Climate, 14, 336–344, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2001)014<0336:ssiiat>2.0.co;2, 2001b.
Sumner, A. L., Shepson, P. B., Grannas, A. M., Bottenheim, J. W., Anlauf, K. G., Worthy, D., Schroeder, W. H., Steffen, A., Domine, F., Perrier, S., and Houdier, S.: Atmospheric chemistry of formaldehyde in the Arctic troposphere at Polar Sunrise, and the influence of the snowpack, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2553–2562, 2002.
Swanson, A. L., Blake, N. J., Dibb, J. E., Albert, M. R., Blake, D. R., and Rowland, F. S.: Photochemically induced production of CH3Br, CH3I, C2H5I, ethene, and propene within surface snow at Summit, Greenland, Atmos. Environ., 36, 2671–2682, https://doi.org/10.1016/s1352-2310(02)00127-9, 2002.
Taillandier, A. S., Domine, F., Simpson, W. R., Sturm, M., and Douglas, T. A.: Rate of decrease of the specific surface area of dry snow: Isothermal and temperature gradient conditions, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F03003, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jf000514, 2007.
Toyota, K., McConnell, J. C., Staebler, R. M., and Dastoor, A. P.: Air–snowpack exchange of bromine, ozone and mercury in the springtime Arctic simulated by the 1-D model PHANTAS – Part 1: In-snow bromine activation and its impact on ozone, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4101–4133, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4101-2014, 2014.
Twomey, S.: Influence of pollution on shortwave albedo of clouds, J. Atmos. Sci., 34, 1149–1152, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1977)034<1149:Tiopot>2.0.Co;2, 1977.
Wang, S.: Chemistry in snow and ice: what have we learned and what can we do, in: Chemistry in the Cryosphere, edited by: Shepson, P. B. and Domine, F., World Scientific, Singapore, 291–364, https://doi.org/10.1142/12095, 2021.
Wang, X., Doherty, S. J., and Huang, J. P.: Black carbon and other light-absorbing impurities in snow across Northern China, J. Geophys. Res., 118, 1471–1492, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012jd018291, 2013.
Warren, S. G. and Brandt, R. E.: Optical constants of ice from the ultraviolet to the microwave: A revised compilation, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D14220, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007jd009744, 2008.
Warren, S. G. and Clarke, A. D.: Soot in the atmosphere and snow surface of Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res., 95, 1811–1816, 1990.
Worden, H. M., Bowman, K. W., Worden, J. R., Eldering, A., and Beer, R.: Satellite measurements of the clear-sky greenhouse effect from tropospheric ozone, Nat. Geosci., 1, 305–308, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo182, 2008.
Zatko, M., Erbland, J., Savarino, J., Geng, L., Easley, L., Schauer, A., Bates, T., Quinn, P. K., Light, B., Morison, D., Osthoff, H. D., Lyman, S., Neff, W., Yuan, B., and Alexander, B.: The magnitude of the snow-sourced reactive nitrogen flux to the boundary layer in the Uintah Basin, Utah, USA, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13837–13851, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13837-2016, 2016.
Short summary
Shrubs buried in snow absorb solar radiation and reduce irradiance in the snowpack. This decreases photochemical reaction rates and emissions to the atmosphere. By monitoring irradiance in snowpacks with and without shrubs, we conclude that shrubs absorb solar radiation as much as 140 ppb of soot and reduce irradiance by a factor of 2. Shrub expansion in the Arctic may therefore affect tropospheric composition during the snow season with climatic effects.
Shrubs buried in snow absorb solar radiation and reduce irradiance in the snowpack. This...