the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Light absorbing particles and snow aging feedback enhances albedo reduction on the Southwest Greenland ice sheet
Abstract. Greenland’s ice sheet mass loss rate has tripled since the mid-1950s in concert with sharply lowered albedo leading to increased absorption of solar radiation and enhanced surface melt. Snow and ice melt driven by solar absorption is enhanced by the presence of light absorbing particles (LAPs), such as black carbon (BC) and dust. Yet, the LAP impact on melt is poorly constrained, partly due to scarce availability of in-situ measurements. Here, we present a survey of snow properties and LAPs deposited in winter snow layers at five sites in southwest Greenland collected in May 2017. At these sites, BC and dust concentrations were 0.62 ± 0.35 ng g-1 and 2.09 ± 1.60 µg g-1, respectively. By applying the SNICAR model, we show the LAP influence on albedo through the combined effect of surface darkening and snow metamorphism. While the LAP concentrations are low, they result in a 1.7 % and 3.0 % reduction in albedo within the visible spectrum for spring and summer, respectively. Past studies have shown that even minor LAP induced albedo reductions, if widespread, can have a large impact on the overall surface mass balance. SNICAR simulations constrained by our measurements show that LAP-snow aging feedback reduce albedo reduction 4 to 10 times more than previously thought, therefore LAPs are likely a significant contributor to Greenland's accelerated mass loss. As far as we know, this is the first field study to consider the LAP impact on snow aging on the Greenland ice sheet.
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Status: closed
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RC1: 'Comment on tc-2022-195', Raf Antwerpen, 06 Jan 2023
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-195/tc-2022-195-RC1-supplement.pdf
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AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Dear Raf Antwerpen and Editor,
The authors would like to thank the referee for the time and effort in reviewing and providing comments to our manuscript. In the supplement we include point-by-point response. For the comments the are related to technical text suggestions they will be included in the manuscript unless noted below. The reviewer comments are shown in cursive and purple highlight. Our response is in regular font.
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AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Dear Raf Antwerpen and Editor,
The authors would like to thank the referee for the time and effort in reviewing and providing comments to our manuscript. In the supplement we include point-by-point response. For the comments the are related to technical text suggestions they will be included in the manuscript unless noted below. The reviewer comments are shown in cursive and purple highlight. Our response is in regular font.
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AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
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RC2: 'Comment on tc-2022-195', Anonymous Referee #2, 10 Jan 2023
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-195/tc-2022-195-RC2-supplement.pdf
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AC3: 'Reply on RC2', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Dear Referee 2 and Editor,
The authors would like to thank the referee for the time and effort in reviewing and providing comments to our manuscript. In the supplement, we include point-by-point response. For the comments that are related to technical text suggestions, they will be included in the manuscript unless noted below. The reviewer comments are shown in cursive and purple highlight. Our response is in regular font.
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AC3: 'Reply on RC2', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Status: closed
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RC1: 'Comment on tc-2022-195', Raf Antwerpen, 06 Jan 2023
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-195/tc-2022-195-RC1-supplement.pdf
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Dear Raf Antwerpen and Editor,
The authors would like to thank the referee for the time and effort in reviewing and providing comments to our manuscript. In the supplement we include point-by-point response. For the comments the are related to technical text suggestions they will be included in the manuscript unless noted below. The reviewer comments are shown in cursive and purple highlight. Our response is in regular font.
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AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Dear Raf Antwerpen and Editor,
The authors would like to thank the referee for the time and effort in reviewing and providing comments to our manuscript. In the supplement we include point-by-point response. For the comments the are related to technical text suggestions they will be included in the manuscript unless noted below. The reviewer comments are shown in cursive and purple highlight. Our response is in regular font.
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
-
RC2: 'Comment on tc-2022-195', Anonymous Referee #2, 10 Jan 2023
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-195/tc-2022-195-RC2-supplement.pdf
-
AC3: 'Reply on RC2', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
Dear Referee 2 and Editor,
The authors would like to thank the referee for the time and effort in reviewing and providing comments to our manuscript. In the supplement, we include point-by-point response. For the comments that are related to technical text suggestions, they will be included in the manuscript unless noted below. The reviewer comments are shown in cursive and purple highlight. Our response is in regular font.
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AC3: 'Reply on RC2', Isatis M. Cintron Rodriguez, 05 May 2023
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