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  • 1
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    Recent Atmospheric Variability at Kibo Summit, Kilimanjaro, and Its Relation to Climate Mode Activity (2018)
    American Meteorological Society
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    Publication Date: 2018-04-19
    Description: Accurate knowledge of the impact of internal atmospheric variability is required for the detection and attribution of climate change and for interpreting glacier records. However, current knowledge of such impacts in high-mountain regions is largely based on statistical methods, as the observational data required for process-based assessments are often spatially or temporally deficient. Using a case study of Kilimanjaro, 12 years of convection-permitting atmospheric modeling are combined with an 8-yr observational record to evaluate the impact of climate oscillations on recent high-altitude atmospheric variability during the short rains (the secondary rain season in the region). The focus is on two modes that have a well-established relationship with precipitation during this season, El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean zonal mode, and demonstrate their strong association with local and mesoscale conditions at Kilimanjaro. Both oscillations correlate positively with humidity fluctuations, but the association is strongest with the Indian Ocean zonal mode in the air layers near and above the glaciers because of changes in zonal circulation and moisture transport, emphasizing the importance of the moisture signal from this basin. However, the most anomalous conditions are found during co-occurring positive events because of the combined effects of the (i) extended positive sea surface temperature anomalies, (ii) enhanced atmospheric moisture capacity from higher tropospheric temperatures, (iii) most pronounced weakening of the subsiding branch of the Indian Ocean Walker circulation over East Africa, and (iv) stronger monsoonal moisture fluxes upstream from Kilimanjaro. This study lays the foundation for unraveling the contribution of climate modes to observed changes in Kilimanjaro’s glaciers.
    Print ISSN: 0894-8755
    Electronic ISSN: 1520-0442
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by American Meteorological Society
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  • 2
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    Atmospheric Processes and Climatological Characteristics of the 79N Glacier (Northeast Greenland) (2019)
    American Meteorological Society
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    Publication Date: 2019-04-01
    Description: The Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden glacier (the 79 fjord, henceforth referred to as 79N) has been thinning and accelerating since the early 2000s, as a result of calving episodes at the front of the glacier. As 8% of the Greenland Ice Sheet area drains into 79N, changes in the stability of 79N could propagate into the interior of Greenland. Despite this concern, relatively little is known about the atmospheric conditions over 79N. We present the surface atmospheric processes and climatology of the 79N region from analyses of data from four automatic weather stations (AWS) and reanalysis data from ERA-Interim. Over the floating section of the glacier, the annual average air temperature is −16.7°C, decreasing to −28.5°C during winter. Winds over the glacier are predominantly westerly and are of katabatic origin. Over the last 39 years the near-surface air temperature has increased at a rate of +0.08°C yr−1. In addition, we find that large, rapid (48 h) temperature increases (〉10°C) occur during the five-month dark period (November–March). Eight (±4) warm-air events occur annually from 1979 to 2017. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to simulate a particular warm-air event with above-freezing air temperatures between 30 November and 2 December 2014. The warm event was caused by warm-air advection from the southeast and a subsequent increase in the longwave radiation toward the surface due to low-level cloud formation. The frequent nature of the temperature jumps and the magnitude of the temperature increases are likely to have an impact on the surface mass balance of the glacier by bringing the skin temperatures to the melting point.
    Print ISSN: 0027-0644
    Electronic ISSN: 1520-0493
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by American Meteorological Society
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  • 3
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    Quantifying Climate Change in the Tropical Midtroposphere over East Africa from Glacier Shrinkage on Kilimanjaro (2009)
    American Meteorological Society
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    Publication Date: 2009-08-01
    Description: Slope glaciers on Kilimanjaro (ca. 5000–6000 m MSL) reached their most recent maximum extent in the late nineteenth century (L19) and have receded since then. This study quantifies the climate signal behind the recession of Kersten Glacier, which generates information on climate change in the tropical midtroposphere between L19 and present. Multiyear meteorological measurements at 5873 m MSL serve to force and verify a spatially distributed model of the glacier’s mass balance (the most direct link between glacier behavior and atmospheric forcing). At present the glacier is losing mass (522 ± 105 kg m−2 yr−1), terminates at 5100 m, and the interannual variability of mass and energy budgets largely reflects variability in atmospheric moisture. Backward modeling of the L19 steady-state glacier extent (down to 4500 m) reveals higher precipitation (+160 to +240 mm yr−1), higher air humidity, and increased fractional cloud cover in L19 but no significant changes in local air temperature, air pressure, and wind speed. The atmosphere in the simulated L19 climate transfers more energy to the glacier surface through atmospheric longwave radiation and turbulent heat—but this is almost entirely balanced by the decrease in absorbed solar radiation (due to both increased cloudiness and higher surface albedo). Thus, the energy-driven mass loss per unit area (sublimation plus meltwater runoff) was not appreciably different from today. Higher L19 precipitation rates therefore dominated the mass budget and produced a larger glacier extent in the past.
    Print ISSN: 0894-8755
    Electronic ISSN: 1520-0442
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by American Meteorological Society
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  • 4
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    Precipitation Seasonality and Variability over the Tibetan Plateau as Resolved by the High Asia Reanalysis* (2014)
    American Meteorological Society
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-02-24
    Description: Because of the scarcity of meteorological observations, the precipitation climate on the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions (TP) has been insufficiently documented so far. In this study, the characteristics and basic features of precipitation on the TP during an 11-yr period (2001–11) are described on monthly-to-annual time scales. For this purpose, a new high-resolution atmospheric dataset is analyzed, the High Asia Reanalysis (HAR), generated by dynamical downscaling of global analysis data using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The HAR precipitation data at 30- and 10-km resolutions are compared with both rain gauge observations and satellite-based precipitation estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM). It is found that the HAR reproduces previously reported spatial patterns and seasonality of precipitation and that the high-resolution data add value regarding snowfall retrieval, precipitation frequency, and orographic precipitation. It is demonstrated that this process-based approach, despite some unavoidable shortcomings, can improve the understanding of the processes that lead to precipitation on the TP. Analysis focuses on precipitation amounts, type, seasonality, and interannual variability. Special attention is given to the links between the observed patterns and regional atmospheric circulation. As an example of an application of the HAR, a new classification of glaciers on the TP according to their accumulation regimes is proposed, which illustrates the strong spatial variability of precipitation seasonality. Finally, directions for future research are identified based on the HAR, which has the potential to be a useful dataset for climate, glaciological, and hydrological impact studies.
    Print ISSN: 0894-8755
    Electronic ISSN: 1520-0442
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by American Meteorological Society
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