ALBERT

Description: The Mediterranean Sea system: a review and an introduction to the special issue Ocean Science, 9, 789-803, 2013 Author(s): T. Tanhua, D. Hainbucher, K. Schroeder, V. Cardin, M. Álvarez, and G. Civitarese The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea characterized by high salinities, temperatures and densities. The net evaporation exceeds the precipitation, driving an anti-estuarine circulation through the Strait of Gibraltar, contributing to very low nutrient concentrations. The Mediterranean Sea has an active overturning circulation, one shallow cell that communicates directly with the Atlantic Ocean, and two deep overturning cells, one in each of the two main basins. It is surrounded by populated areas and is thus sensitive to anthropogenic forcing. Several dramatic changes in the oceanographic and biogeochemical conditions have been observed during the past several decades, emphasizing the need to better monitor and understand the changing conditions and their drivers. During 2011 three oceanographic cruises were conducted in a coordinated fashion in order to produce baseline data of important physical and biogeochemical parameters that can be compared to historic data and be used as reference for future observational campaigns. In this article we provide information on the Mediterranean Sea oceanographic situation, and present a short review that will serve as background information for the special issue in Ocean Science on "Physical, chemical and biological oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea". An important contribution of this article is the set of figures showing the large-scale distributions of physical and chemical properties along the full length of the Mediterranean Sea.

Description: Corrigendum to "NEMO on the shelf: assessment of the Iberia–Biscay–Ireland configuration" published in Ocean Sci., 9, 745–771, 2013 Ocean Science, 9, 787-787, 2013 Author(s): C. Maraldi, J. Chanut, B. Levier, N. Ayoub, P. De Mey, G. Reffray, F. Lyard, S. Cailleau, M. Drévillon, E. A. Fanjul, M. G. Sotillo, P. Marsaleix, and the Mercator Research and Development Team No abstract available.

Description: Decadal trends in the Antarctic sea ice extent ultimately controlled by ice-ocean feedback The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4585-4632, 2013 Author(s): H. Goosse and V. Zunz The large natural variability of the Antarctic sea ice is a key characteristic of the system that might be responsible for the small positive trend in sea ice extent observed since 1979. In order to gain insight in the processes responsible for this variability, we have analysed in a control simulation performed with a coupled climate model a strong positive ice-ocean feedback that amplifies sea ice variations. When sea ice concentration increases in a region, in particular close to the ice edge, the mixed layer depth tends to decrease. This can be caused by a net inflow of ice and thus of freshwater that stabilizes the water column. Another stabilizing mechanism at interannual time scales that appears more widespread in our simulation is associated with the downward salt transport due to the seasonal cycle of ice formation: brine is released in winter when ice is formed and mixed over a deep layer while the freshwater flux caused by ice melting is included in a shallow layer, resulting in a net vertical transport of salt. Because of this stronger stratification due to the presence of sea ice, more heat is stored at depth in the ocean and the vertical oceanic heat flux is reduced, which contributes to maintain a higher ice extent. This positive feedback is not associated with a particular spatial pattern. Consequently, the spatial distribution of the trend in ice concentration is largely imposed by the wind changes that can provide the initial perturbation. A positive freshwater flux could alternatively be the initial trigger but the amplitude of the final response of the sea ice extent is finally set up by the amplification related to ice-ocean feedback. Initial conditions have also an influence as the chance to have a large increase in ice extent is higher if starting from a state characterized by a low value.

Description: A data set of world-wide glacier length fluctuations The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4775-4811, 2013 Author(s): P. W. Leclercq, J. Oerlemans, H. J. Basagic, I. Bushueva, A. J. Cook, and R. Le Bris Glacier fluctuations contribute to variations in sea level and historical glacier length fluctuations are natural indicators of climate change. To study these subjects, long-term information of glacier change is needed. In this paper we present a~data set of global long-term glacier length fluctuations. The data set is a compilation of available information on changes in glacier length world-wide, including both measured and reconstructed glacier length fluctuations. All 471 length series start before 1950 and cover at least four decades. The longest record starts in 1534, but the majority of time series start after 1850. The number of available records decreases again after 1962. The data set has global coverage including records from all continents. However, the Canadian Arctic is not represented in the data set. The glacier length series show relatively small fluctuations until the mid-19th century followed by a global retreat that was strongest in the first half of the 20th century, although large variability in the length change of the different glaciers is observed. During the 20th century, calving glaciers retreated more than land terminating glaciers, but their relative length change was approximately equal. Besides calving, the glacier slope is the most important glacier property determining length change: steep glaciers have retreated less than glaciers with a gentle slope.

Description: Implementation and evaluation of prognostic representations of the optical diameter of snow in the detailed snowpack model SURFEX/ISBA-Crocus The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4443-4500, 2013 Author(s): C. M. Carmagnola, S. Morin, M. Lafaysse, F. Domine, B. Lesaffre, Y. Lejeune, G. Picard, and L. Arnaud In the SURFEX/ISBA-Crocus multi-layer snowpack model, the snow microstructure was up to now characterized by the grain size and by semi-empirical shape variables which cannot be measured easily in the field or linked to other relevant snow properties. In this work we introduce a new formulation of snow metamorphism directly based on equations describing the rate of change of the optical diameter ( d opt ). This variable is considered here to be equal to the equivalent sphere optical diameter, which is inversely proportional to the specific surface area (SSA). d opt thus represents quantitatively some of the geometric characteristics of a porous medium. Different prognostic rate equations of d opt , including a re-formulation of the original Crocus scheme and the parametrizations from Taillandier et al. (2007) and Flanner and Zender (2006), were evaluated by comparing their predictions to field measurements carried out at Summit Camp (Greenland) in May and June 2011 and at Col de Porte (French Alps) during the 2009/10 and 2011/12 winter seasons. We focused especially on results in terms of SSA. In addition, we tested the impact of the different formulations on the simulated density profile, the total snow height, the snow water equivalent (SWE) and the surface albedo. Results indicate that all formulations perform well, with median values of the RMSD between measured and simulated SSA lower than 10 m 2 kg −1 . Incorporating the optical diameter as a fully-fledged prognostic variable is an important step forward in the quantitative description of the snow microstructure within snowpack models, because it opens the way to data assimilation of various electromagnetic observations.

Description: Distribution and recent variations of supraglacial lakes on dendritic-type glaciers in the Khan Tengri-Tomur Mountains, Central Asia The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4545-4584, 2013 Author(s): Q. Liu, C. Mayer, and S. Liu Supraglacial lakes are widely distributed on glaciers in the Tomur-Khan Tengri Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia. The existence and development of supraglacial lakes play an important role in the ice melting processes and also in the storage and release of glacial melt water. Here we mapped the supraglacial lakes of eight typical debris-covered dendritic-type glaciers around the Tomur-Khan Tengri peaks based on 9 Landsat TM/ETM+ images acquired in the summers of 1990 until 2011. With a lower area limit of 3600 m 2 for a conservative identification of glacial lakes, we mapped 775 supraglacial lakes and 38 marginal glacial lakes in total. Our results indicate that supraglacial lakes (area 〉 3600 m 2 ) in the study region never develop beyond an elevation of about 3850 m a.s.l., 800 m lower than the maximum upper boundary of debris cover (4650 m a.s.l.). The area-elevation distribution shows that lakes are predominantly occured close to the altitude of 3250 m a.s.l., where the clean ice simultaneously disappears. The majority of the supraglacial lakes are found on the Tomur Glacier and the South Inylchek Glacier, two strongly debris-covered dendritic-type glaciers in the region. As for the multi-year variation of lake area, the summer total and mean areas of supraglacial lakes show some variability from 1990 and 2005 but increased noticeably between 2005 and 2011. The mean area of the mapped lakes reached a maximum in 2010. We found that the area of supraglacial lakes is positively correlated to the total precipitation in summer (July to September) but negatively correlated to the mean spring air temperature (April to June). Pre-summer air temperature fluctuations likely have a stronger impact on the different evolution processes of glacial drainage, evolving from unconnected to connected systems, which may lead to the drainage of larger supraglacial lakes and results in shrinkage of the total and mean lake area during the summer.

Description: Fracture-induced softening for large-scale ice dynamics The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4501-4544, 2013 Author(s): T. Albrecht and A. Levermann Floating ice shelves can exert a retentive and hence stabilizing force onto the inland ice sheet of Antarctica. However, this effect has been observed to diminish by fracture-coupled dynamic processes within the protective ice shelves leading to accelerated ice flow and hence to a sea-level contribution. In order to better understand the role of fractures in ice dynamics we apply a large-scale continuum representation of fractures and related fracture growth into the prognostic Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM). To this end we introduce a higher-order accuracy advection scheme for the transport of the two-dimensional fracture density across the regular computational grid. Dynamic coupling of fractures and ice flow is attained by a reduction of effective ice viscosity proportional to the inferred fracture density. This formulation implies the possibility of a non-linear threshold behavior due to self-amplified fracturing in shear regions triggered by small variations in damage threshold. As a result of prognostic flow simulations, flow patterns with realistically large across-flow velocity gradients in fracture-weakened regions as seen in observations are reproduced. This model framework is expandable to grounded ice streams and accounts for climate-induced effects on fracturing and hence on the ice-flow dynamics. It further allows for an enhanced fracture-based calving parameterization.

Description: Sea ice detection with space-based LIDAR The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4681-4701, 2013 Author(s): S. Rodier, Y. Hu, and M. Vaughan Monitoring long-term climate change in the Polar Regions relies on accurate, detailed and repeatable measurements of geophysical processes and states. These regions are among the Earth's most vulnerable ecosystems, and measurements there have shown rapid changes in the seasonality and the extent of snow and sea ice coverage. The authors have recently developed a promising new technique that uses lidar surface measurements from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission to infer ocean surface ice-water phase. CALIPSO's 532 nm depolarization ratio measurements of the ocean surface are uniquely capable of providing information about the ever-changing sea surface state within the Polar Regions. With the finer resolution of the CALIPSO footprint (90 m diameter, spaced 335 m apart) and its ability to acquire measurements during both daytime and nighttime orbit segments and in the presence of clouds, the CALIPSO sea ice product provides fine-scale information on mixed phase scenes and can be used to assess/validate the estimates of sea-ice concentration currently provided by passive sensors. This paper describes the fundamentals of the CALIPSO sea-ice detection and classification technique. We present retrieval results from a six-year study, which are compared to existing data sets obtained by satellite-based passive remote sensors.

Description: Simulating the role of gravel on the dynamics of permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4703-4740, 2013 Author(s): S. Yi, J. Chen, Q. Wu, and Y. Ding Gravel (particle size ≥ 2 mm) is common in soil profiles of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). It has different thermal and hydrological properties than other fine mineral soils (particle size 〈 2 mm), which may have significant impacts on the thermal and hydrological processes of soil. However, few models have considered gravel. In this study, we implemented the thermal and hydraulic properties of gravel into the Dynamic Organic Soil-Terrestrial Ecosystem Model to develop new schemes to simulate the dynamics of permafrost on the QTP. Results showed that: (1) the widely used Farouki thermal scheme always simulated higher thermal conductivity of frozen soils than unfrozen soils with the same soil water content; therefore it tends to overestimate permafrost thickness strongly; (2) there exists a soil moisture threshold, below which the new set of schemes with gravel simulated smaller thermal conductivity of frozen soils than unfrozen soils; (3) soil with gravel has higher hydraulic conductivity and poorer water retention capability; and simulations with gravel were usually drier than those without gravel; and (4) the new schemes simulated faster upward degradation than downward degradation; and the simulated permafrost thicknesses were sensitive to the fraction of gravel, the gravel size, the thickness of soil with gravel, and the subsurface drainage. To reduce the uncertainties in the projection of permafrost degradation on the QTP, more effort should be made to: (1) developing robust relationships between soil thermal and hydraulic properties and gravel characteristics based on laboratory work; and (2) compiling spatial datasets of the vertical distribution of gravel content based on measurements during drilling or the digging of soil pits.

Description: Ice volume estimates for the Himalaya–Karakoram region: evaluating different methods The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4813-4854, 2013 Author(s): H. Frey, H. Machguth, M. Huss, C. Huggel, S. Bajracharya, T. Bolch, A. Kulkarni, A. Linsbauer, N. Salzmann, and M. Stoffel Ice volume estimates are crucial for assessing water reserves stored in glaciers. A variety of different methodologies exist but there is a lack of systematic comparative analysis thereof. Due to its large glacier coverage, such estimates are of particular interest for the Himalayan-Karakoram (HK) region. Here, three volume–area (V–A) relations, a slope-dependent estimation method, and two ice-thickness distribution models are applied to a complete glacier inventory of the HK region. An uncertainty and sensitivity assessment is performed to investigate the influence of the input glacier areas, and model approaches and parameters on the resulting total ice volumes. Results of the two ice-thickness distribution models are validated with local ice-thickness measurements at six glaciers. The resulting ice volumes for the entire HK region range from 2955 km 3 to 6455 km 3 , depending on the approach. Results from the ice thickness distribution models and the slope-dependent thickness estimations agree well with measured local ice thicknesses while V–A relations show stronger deviations. The study provides evidence on the significant effect of the selected method on results and underlines the importance of a careful and critical evaluation. More ice-thickness measurements are needed to improve models and results in the future.

Description: Black carbon concentrations from a Tibetan Plateau ice core spanning 1843–1982: recent increases due to emissions and glacier melt The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4855-4880, 2013 Author(s): M. Jenkins, S. Kaspari, S. Kang, B. Grigholm, and P. A. Mayewski Black carbon (BC) deposited on snow and glacier surfaces can reduce albedo and lead to accelerated melt. An ice core recovered from Guoqu glacier on Mt. Geladaindong and analyzed using a Single Particle Soot Photometer provides the first long-term (1843–1982) record of BC concentrations from the Central Tibetan Plateau. The highest concentrations are observed from 1975–1982, which corresponds to a 2.0-fold and 2.4-fold increase in average and median values, respectively, relative to 1843–1940. BC concentrations post-1940 are also elevated relative to the earlier portion of the record. Causes for the higher BC concentrations include increased regional BC emissions and subsequent deposition, and melt induced enrichment of BC, with the melt potentially accelerated due to the presence of BC at the glacier surface. A qualitative comparison of the BC and Fe (used as a dust proxy) records suggests that if changes in the concentrations of absorbing impurities at the glacier surface have influenced recent glacial melt, the melt may be due to the presence of BC rather than dust. Guoqu glacier has received no net ice accumulation since the 1980s, and is a potential example of a glacier where an increase in the equilibrium line altitude is exposing buried high impurity layers. That BC concentrations in the uppermost layers of the Geladaindong ice core are not substantially higher relative to deeper in the ice core suggests that some of the BC that must have been deposited on Guoqu glacier via wet or dry deposition between 1983 and 2005 has been removed from the surface of the glacier, potentially via supraglacial or englacial meltwater.

Description: 3D-VAR multilayer assimilation of X-band SAR data into a detailed snowpack model The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4881-4912, 2013 Author(s): X. V. Phan, L. Ferro-Famil, M. Gay, Y. Durand, M. Dumont, S. Morin, S. Allain, G. D'Urso, and A. Girard We introduce a variational data assimilation scheme to assimilate X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data into a snowpack evolution model. The structure properties of a snowpack, such as snow density and grain optical diameter of each layer, are simulated over a period of time by the snow metamorphism model Crocus, fed by the local reanalysis SAFRAN at a French alpine location. These parameters are used as inputs of an Electromagnetic Backscattering Model (EBM) based on Dense Media Radiative Transfer (DMRT) theory, which calculates the simulated total backscattering coefficient. Next, 3D-VAR data assimilation is implemented in order to minimize the discrepancies between model simulations and observations obtained from SAR acquisitions, by modifying the parameters of a multilayer snowpack calculated by Crocus. The algorithm then reinitializes Crocus with the optimized snowpack structure properties, and therefore allows it to continue the simulation of snowpack evolution where adjustments based on remote sensing data has been taken into account. Results obtained using TerraSAR-X acquisitions on Argentière Glacier (Mont-Blanc massif, French Alps) show the high potential of this method for improving snow cover simulation.

Description: The physical basis for gas transport through polar firn: a case study at Summit, Greenland The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 2455-2487, 2013 Author(s): A. C. Adolph and M. R. Albert Compared to other natural porous materials, relatively little is known about the physical nature of polar firn. This intricate network of ice and pore space that comprises the top 60–100 m of the polar ice sheets is the framework that forms the natural archive of past climate information. Despite the many implications for ice core interpretation, direct measurements of physical properties throughout the firn column are limited. Models of gas transport through firn are used to interpret in-situ chemical data which is retrieved to analyze past atmospheric composition. These traditional models treat the firn as a "black box," with gas transport parameters tuned to match gas concentrations with depth to known atmospheric histories. Though this method has been largely successful and provided very useful insights, there are still many questions and uncertainties to be addressed. This work seeks to understand the impact of firn structure on gas transport in firn from a first principles standpoint through direct measurements of permeability, gas diffusivity and microstructure. The relationships between gas transport properties and microstructure will be characterized and compared to existing relationships for general porous media. Direct measurements of gas diffusivity are compared to diffusivities deduced from models based on firn air chemical sampling. Our comparison illuminates the primary importance of including microstructural parameters, beyond just porosity or density, in mass transport modeling, and it provides insights about the nature of gas transport throughout the firn column. Guidance is provided for development of next-generation firn air transport models.

Description: ENSO components of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and their relation to North Atlantic interannual coastal sea level anomalies Ocean Science, 9, 535-543, 2013 Author(s): J. Park and G. Dusek The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) are known to influence coastal water levels along the East Coast of the United States. By identifying empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), which coherently contribute from the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) to the AMO index (AMOI), we characterize both the expression of ENSO in the unsmoothed AMOI, and coherent relationships between these indices and interannual sea level anomalies at six stations in the Gulf of Mexico and western North Atlantic. Within the ENSO band (2–7 yr periods) the total contribution of MEI to unsmoothed AMOI variability is 79%. Cross correlation suggests that the MEI leads expression of the ENSO signature in the AMOI by six months, consistent with the mechanism of an atmospheric bridge. Within the ENSO band, essentially all of the coupling between the unsmoothed AMOI and sea level anomalies is the result of ENSO expression in the AMOI. At longer periods we find decadal components of sea level anomalies linked to the AMOI at three southern stations (Key West, Pensacola, Charleston), but not at the northern stations (Baltimore, Boston, Portland), with values of coherence ranging from 20 to 50%. The coherence of MEI to coastal sea level anomalies has a different structure and is generally weaker than that of the ENSO expressed AMOI influence, suggesting distinct physical mechanisms are influencing sea level anomalies due to a direct ENSO teleconnection when compared to teleconnections based on ENSO expression in the AMOI. It is expected that applying this analysis to extremes of sea level anomalies will reveal additional influences.

Description: Solving Richards Equation for snow improves snowpack meltwater runoff estimations The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 2373-2412, 2013 Author(s): N. Wever, C. Fierz, C. Mitterer, H. Hirashima, and M. Lehning The runoff from the snow cover during spring snow melt or rain-on-snow events is an important factor in the hydrological cycle. In this study, water transport schemes for a 1-dimensional physical based snowpack model are compared to 14 yr of lysimeter measurements at a high alpine site. The schemes include a simple bucket-type approach, an approximation of Richards Equation (RE), and the full RE. The results show that daily sums of runoff are strongly related to a positive energy balance of the snow cover and therefore, all water transport schemes show very similar performance in terms of Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficients (around 0.59) and r 2 values (around 0.77). Timing of the arrival of meltwater in spring at the bottom of the snowpack showed differences between the schemes, where especially in the bucket-type and approximated RE approach, meltwater release is slower than in the measurements. Overall, solving RE for the snow cover yields the best agreement between modelled and measured runoff. On sub-daily time scales, the water transport schemes behave very differently. Also here, solving RE provides the highest agreement between modelled and measured runoff in terms of NSE coefficient (0.48), where other water transport schemes loose any predictive power. This appears to be mainly due to bad timing of meltwater release during the day. Accordingly, solving RE for the snow cover improves several aspects of modelling snow cover runoff. The additional computational cost was found to be in the order of a factor of 1.5.

Description: An upper-bound estimate for the accuracy of volume-area scaling The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 2293-2331, 2013 Author(s): D. Farinotti and M. Huss Volume-area scaling is the most popular method for estimating the ice volume of large glacier samples. Here, a series of resampling experiments based on different sets of synthetic data are presented in order to derive an upper-bound estimate (i.e. a level achieved only with ideal conditions) for the accuracy of its application. We also quantify the maximum accuracy expected when scaling is used for determining the glacier volume change, and area change of a given glacier population. A comprehensive set of measured glacier areas, volumes, area and volume changes is evaluated to investigate the impact of real-world data quality on the so assessed accuracies. For populations larger than a few thousand glaciers, the total ice volume can be recovered within 30% if all measurements available worldwide are used for estimating the scaling coefficients. Assuming no systematic biases in ice volume measurements, their uncertainty is of secondary importance. Knowing the individual areas of a glacier sample for two points in time allows recovering the corresponding ice volume change within 40% for populations larger than a few hundred glaciers, both for steady-state and transient geometries. If ice volume changes can be estimated without bias, glacier area changes derived from volume-area scaling show similar uncertainties as for the volume changes. This paper does not aim at making a final judgement about the suitability of volume-area scaling, but provides the means for assessing the accuracy expected from its application.

Description: Evaluation of the snow regime in dynamic vegetation land surface models using field measurements The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 2333-2372, 2013 Author(s): E. Kantzas, M. Lomas, S. Quegan, and E. Zakharova An increasing number of studies have demonstrated the significant climatic and ecological changes occurring in the northern latitudes over the past decades. As coupled, earth-system models attempt to describe and simulate the dynamics and complex feedbacks of the Arctic environment, it is important to reduce their uncertainties in short-term predictions by improving the description of both the systems processes and its initial state. This study focuses on snow-related variables and extensively utilizes a historical data set (1966–1996) of field snow measurements acquired across the extend of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) to evaluate a range of simulated snow metrics produced by a variety of land surface models, most of them embedded in IPCC-standard climate models. We reveal model-specific issues in simulating snow dynamics such as magnitude and timings of SWE as well as evolution of snow density. We further employ the field snow measurements alongside novel and model-independent methodologies to extract for the first time (i) a fresh snow density value (57–117 kg m –3 ) for the region and (ii) mean monthly snowpack sublimation estimates across a grassland-dominated western (November–February) [9.2, 6.1, 9.15, 15.25] mm and forested eastern sub-sector (November–March) [1.53, 1.52, 3.05, 3.80, 12.20] mm; we subsequently use the retrieved values to assess relevant model outputs. The discussion session consists of two parts. The first describes a sensitivity study where field data of snow depth and snow density are forced directly into the surface heat exchange formulation of a land surface model to evaluate how inaccuracies in simulating snow metrics affect important modeled variables and carbon fluxes such as soil temperature, thaw depth and soil carbon decomposition. The second part showcases how the field data can be assimilated with ready-available optimization techniques to pinpoint model issues and improve their performance.

Description: Spatial debris-cover effect on the maritime glaciers of Mount Gongga, south-eastern Tibetan Plateau The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 2413-2453, 2013 Author(s): Y. Zhang, Y. Hirabayashi, K. Fujita, S. Liu, and Q. Liu The Tibetan Plateau and surroundings contain a large number of debris-covered glaciers, on which debris cover affects glacier response to climate change by altering ice melting rates and spatial patterns of mass loss. Insufficient spatial distribution of debris thickness data makes it difficult to analyze regional debris-cover effects. Mount Gongga glaciers, maritime glaciers in the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau, are characterized by a substantial reduction in glacier length and ice mass in recent decades. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER)-derived thermal property of the debris layer reveals that 68% of the glaciers have extensive mantles of supraglacial debris in their ablation zones, in which the proportion of debris cover to total glacier area varies from 1.74% to 53.0%. Using a surface energy-mass balance model accounting for the debris-cover effect applied at a regional scale, we find that although the presence of supraglacial debris has a significant insulating effect on heavily debris-covered glaciers, it accelerates ice melting on ~ 10.2% of the total ablation area and produces rapid wastage of ~ 25% of the debris-covered glaciers, resulting in the similar mass losses between debris-covered and debris-free glaciers. Widespread debris cover also facilitates the development of active terminus regions. Regional differences in the debris-cover effect are apparent, highlighting the importance of debris cover for understanding glacier status and hydrology in both the Tibetan Plateau and other mountain ranges around the world.

Description: Decadal changes from a multi-temporal glacier inventory of Svalbard The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 2489-2532, 2013 Author(s): C. Nuth, J. Kohler, M. König, A. von Deschwanden, J. O. Hagen, A. Kääb, G. Moholdt, and R. Pettersson We present a multi-temporal digital inventory of Svalbard glaciers with the most recent from the late 2000s containing 33 775 km 2 of glaciers, or 57% of the total land area of the archipelago. At present, 68% of the glaciated area of Svalbard drains through tidewater glaciers that have a summed terminus width of ~ 740 km. The glaciated area over the entire archipelago has decreased by an average of 80 km 2 a −1 over the past ~ 30 yr, representing a reduction of 7%. For a sample of ~ 400 glaciers (10 000 km 2 ) in the south and west of Spitsbergen, three digital inventories are available from 1930/60s, 1990 and 2007 from which we calculate average changes during 2 epochs. In the more recent epoch, the terminus retreat was larger than in the earlier epoch while area shrinkage was smaller. The contrasting pattern may be explained by the decreased lateral wastage of the glacier tongues. Temporal retreat rates for individual glaciers show a mix of accelerating and decelerating trends, reflecting the large spatial variability of glacier types and climatic/dynamic response times in Svalbard. Last, retreat rates estimated by dividing glacier area changes by the tongue width are larger than centerline retreat due to a more encompassing frontal change estimate with inclusion of lateral area loss.

Description: From the chlorophyll a in the surface layer to its vertical profile: a Greenland Sea relationship for satellite applications Ocean Science, 9, 431-445, 2013 Author(s): A. Cherkasheva, E.-M. Nöthig, E. Bauerfeind, C. Melsheimer, and A. Bracher Current estimates of global marine primary production range over a factor of two. Improving these estimates requires an accurate knowledge of the chlorophyll vertical profiles, since they are the basis for most primary production models. At high latitudes, the uncertainty in primary production estimates is larger than globally, because here phytoplankton absorption shows specific characteristics due to the low-light adaptation, and in situ data and ocean colour observations are scarce. To date, studies describing the typical chlorophyll profile based on the chlorophyll in the surface layer have not included the Arctic region, or, if it was included, the dependence of the profile shape on surface concentration was neglected. The goal of our study was to derive and describe the typical Greenland Sea chlorophyll profiles, categorized according to the chlorophyll concentration in the surface layer and further monthly resolved profiles. The Greenland Sea was chosen because it is known to be one of the most productive regions of the Arctic and is among the regions in the Arctic where most chlorophyll field data are available. Our database contained 1199 chlorophyll profiles from R/Vs Polarstern and Maria S. Merian cruises combined with data from the ARCSS-PP database (Arctic primary production in situ database) for the years 1957–2010. The profiles were categorized according to their mean concentration in the surface layer, and then monthly median profiles within each category were calculated. The category with the surface layer chlorophyll (CHL) exceeding 0.7 mg C m −3 showed values gradually decreasing from April to August. A similar seasonal pattern was observed when monthly profiles were averaged over all the surface CHL concentrations. The maxima of all chlorophyll profiles moved from the greater depths to the surface from spring to late summer respectively. The profiles with the smallest surface values always showed a subsurface chlorophyll maximum with its median magnitude reaching up to three times the surface concentration. While the variability of the Greenland Sea season in April, May and June followed the global non-monthly resolved relationship of the chlorophyll profile to surface chlorophyll concentrations described by the model of Morel and Berthon (1989), it deviated significantly from the model in the other months (July–September), when the maxima of the chlorophyll are at quite different depths. The Greenland Sea dimensionless monthly median profiles intersected roughly at one common depth within each category. By applying a Gaussian fit with 0.1 mg C m −3 surface chlorophyll steps to the median monthly resolved chlorophyll profiles of the defined categories, mathematical approximations were determined. They generally reproduce the magnitude and position of the CHL maximum, resulting in an average 4% underestimation in C tot (and 2% in rough primary production estimates) when compared to in situ estimates. These mathematical approximations can be used as the input to the satellite-based primary production models that estimate primary production in the Arctic regions.

Description: Large-scale temperature and salinity changes in the upper Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean at a time of a drastic Arctic Oscillation inversion Ocean Science, 9, 447-460, 2013 Author(s): P. Bourgain, J. C. Gascard, J. Shi, and J. Zhao Between 2008 and 2010, the Arctic Oscillation index over Arctic regions shifted from positive values corresponding to more cyclonic conditions prevailing during the 4th International Polar Year (IPY) period (2007–2008) to extremely negative values corresponding to strong anticyclonic conditions in 2010. In this context, we investigated the recent large-scale evolution of the upper western Arctic Ocean, based on temperature and salinity summertime observations collected during icebreaker campaigns and from ice-tethered profilers (ITPs) drifting across the region in 2008 and 2010. Particularly, we focused on (1) the freshwater content which was extensively studied during previous years, (2) the near-surface temperature maximum due to incoming solar radiation, and (3) the water masses advected from the Pacific Ocean into the Arctic Ocean. The observations revealed a freshwater content change in the Canadian Basin during this time period. South of 80° N, the freshwater content increased, while north of 80° N, less freshening occurred in 2010 compared to 2008. This was more likely due to the strong anticyclonicity characteristic of a low AO index mode that enhanced both a wind-generated Ekman pumping in the Beaufort Gyre and a possible diversion of the Siberian River runoff toward the Eurasian Basin at the same time. The near-surface temperature maximum due to incoming solar radiation was almost 1 °C colder in the southern Canada Basin (south of 75° N) in 2010 compared to 2008, which contrasted with the positive trend observed during previous years. This was more likely due to higher summer sea ice concentration in 2010 compared to 2008 in that region, and surface albedo feedback reflecting more sun radiation back in space. The Pacific water (PaW) was also subjected to strong spatial and temporal variability between 2008 and 2010. In the Canada Basin, both summer and winter PaW signatures were stronger between 75° N and 80° N. This was more likely due to a strong recirculation within the Beaufort Gyre. In contrast, south of 75° N, the cooling and warming of the summer and winter PaW, respectively, suggest that either the PaW was less present in 2010 than in 2008 in this region, and/or the PaW was older in 2010 than in 2008. In addition, in the vicinity of the Chukchi Sea, both summer and winter PaW were significantly warmer in 2010 than in 2008, as a consequence of a general warming trend of the PaW entering in the deep Arctic Ocean as of 2008.

Description: The effect of black carbon on reflectance of snow in the accumulation area of glaciers in the Baspa basin, Himachal Pradesh, India The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 1359-1382, 2013 Author(s): A. V. Kulkarni, G. Vinay Kumar, H. S. Negi, J. Srinivasan, and S. K. Satheesh Himalayan glaciers are being extensively debated in scientific and public forums, as changes in their distribution can significantly affect the availability of water in many rivers originating in the region. The distribution of glaciers can be influenced by mass balance, and most of the glaciers located in the Pir Panjal and Greater Himalayan mountain ranges are losing mass at the rate of almost a meter per year. The Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) has also shifted upward by 400 m in the last two decades. This upward migration of ELA and the loss in mass could have been influenced by changes in temperature, precipitation and by the deposition of black carbon in the accumulation area of glaciers. The deposition of black carbon can reduce the albedo of snow in the accumulation area leading to faster melting of snow and causing more negative mass balance. In this investigation, a change in reflectance in the accumulation area of the Baspa basin is analysed for the year 2009, as the region has experienced extensive forest fires along with northern Indian biomass burning. The investigation has shown that: (1) The number of forest fires in the summer of 2009 was substantially higher than in any other year between 2001 and 2010; (2) the drop in reflectance in the visible region from April to May in the accumulation area was significantly higher in the year 2009 than in any other year from 2000 to 2012; (3) the temperature of the region was substantially lower than the freezing point during the active fire period of 2009, indicating the small influence of liquid water and grain size; (4) the drop in reflectance was observed only in the visible region, indicating role of contamination; (5) in the visible region, a mean drop in reflectance of 21± 5% was observed during the active fire period in the accumulation area. At some places, the drop was as high as 50 ± 5%. This can only be explained by the deposition of black carbon. The study suggests that a change in snow albedo in the accumulation area due to the deposition of black carbon from anthropogenic and natural causes can influence the mass balance of the glaciers in the Baspa basin, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Description: Seasonality of intermediate waters hydrography west of the Iberian Peninsula from an 8 yr semiannual time series of an oceanographic section Ocean Science, 9, 411-429, 2013 Author(s): E. Prieto, C. González-Pola, A. Lavín, R. F. Sánchez, and M. Ruiz-Villarreal Seasonality of hydrographical properties at depth in the western Iberian margin (eastern North Atlantic) is analysed from a 2003–2010 time series of a semiannual oceanographic section extending ∼200 nm off Cape Finisterre (43° N). All water masses down to the permanent thermocline (2000 dbar) show a consistent seasonal signature in their thermohaline properties and there is a notable asymmetry between the slope region and the outer ocean (in the surroundings of the Galicia Bank). There is overall cooling and freshening of eastern North Atlantic central waters in summertime, which is larger and deeper-reaching on the slope. In summertime, Mediterranean Water (MW) gets tightly attached against the slope and is uplifted, reinforcing its thermohaline signature and diminishing its presence at the outer ocean. In wintertime the situation reverses, MW seems to detach from the slope and spreads out to the open ocean, even being observed a secondary branch around the Galicia Bank. Thermohaline seasonality at depth shows values up to 0.4 °C and 0.08 in salinity at the lower MW, of the order of 20% of the overall interannual variability observed during the whole period. Decomposition of thermohaline changes at isobaric levels to changes along isoneutral surfaces and changes due to vertical displacements help analyse the physical processes behind the observed seasonality in terms of (1) the large-scale seasonality of the subtropical gyre in response to the seasonal migration of the subtropical high pressure system and subsequent anomalies in Ekman transport and wind stress curl, (2) the continental slope dynamics, characterized by summer upwelling, winter development of the Iberian Poleward Current and Mediterranean water spreading, and (3) the possible influence of seasonal changes of water mass properties at their formation sources.

Description: Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales within the south-eastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data Ocean Science, 9, 399-410, 2013 Author(s): A. Fontán, G. Esnaola, J. Sáenz, and M. González Two high-frequency (HF) radar stations were installed on the coast of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage of currents in the area for the first time. This has made it possible to quantitatively assess the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales for the period 2009–2010. The analysis was conducted using the Barnett–Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived surface currents. The CCA yields two canonical patterns: the first wind–current interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at the sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind–current interaction timescales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in waters of the continental shelf and slope of the south-eastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes.

Description: Supercooled interfacial water in fine grained soils probed by dielectric spectroscopy The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 1441-1493, 2013 Author(s): A. Lorek and N. Wagner Water as thermodynamic state parameter affects nearly all physical, chemical and biological processes on the earth. Recent Mars observations as well as laboratory investigations suggest that water is also a key factor of current physical and chemical processes on the martian surface, e.g. rheological phenomena. Therefore it is of particular interest to get information about the liquid like state of water on martian analog soils in the temperature range below 0 °C. In this context, a parallel plate capacitor has been developed to obtain isothermal dielectric spectra of fine grained soils in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 1.1 MHz at martian like temperatures down to −70 °C. Two martian analogue soils have been investigated: a Ca-Bentonite (specific surface of 237 m 2 g −1 , up to 9.4% w/w gravimetric water content) and JSC Mars 1, a volcanic ash (specific surface of 146 m 2 g −1 , up to 7.4% w/w ). Three soil-specific relaxation processes are observed in the investigated frequency-temperature range: two weak high frequency processes (bound or hydrated water as well as ice) and a strong low frequency process due to counter ion relaxation and the Maxwell–Wagner effect. To characterize the dielectric relaxation behavior, a generalized fractional dielectric relaxation model is applied assuming three active relaxation processes with relaxation time of the i th process according to an Eyring equation. The real part of effective complex soil permittivity at 350 kHz was used to determine ice and liquid like water content by means of the Birchak or CRIM equation. There are evidence that Bentonite down to −70 °C has a liquid like water content of 1.17 monolayers and JSC Mars 1 a liquid like water content of 1.96 mono layers.

Description: Chaotic variability of the meridional overturning circulation on subannual to interannual timescales Ocean Science, 9, 805-823, 2013 Author(s): J. J.-M. Hirschi, A. T. Blaker, B. Sinha, A. Coward, B. de Cuevas, S. Alderson, and G. Madec Observations and numerical simulations have shown that the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exhibits substantial variability on sub- to interannual timescales. This variability is not fully understood. In particular it is not known what fraction of the MOC variability is caused by processes such as mesoscale ocean eddies and waves which are ubiquitous in the ocean. Here we analyse twin experiments performed with a global ocean model at eddying (1/4°) and non-eddying (1°) resolutions. The twin experiments are forced with the same surface fluxes for the 1958 to 2001 period but start from different initial conditions. Our results show that on subannual to interannual timescales a large fraction of MOC variability directly reflects variability in the surface forcing. Nevertheless, in the eddy-permitting case there is an initial-condition-dependent MOC variability (hereinafter referred to as "chaotic" variability) of several Sv (1Sv = 10 6 m 3 s −1 ) in the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. In the Atlantic the chaotic MOC variability represents up to 30% of the total variability at the depths where the maximum MOC occurs. In comparison the chaotic MOC variability is only 5–10% in the non-eddying case. The surface forcing being almost identical in the twin experiments suggests that mesoscale ocean eddies are the most likely cause for the increased chaotic MOC variability in the eddying case. The exact formation time of eddies is determined by the initial conditions which are different in the two model passes, and as a consequence the mesoscale eddy field is decorrelated in the twin experiments. In regions where eddy activity is high in the eddy-permitting model, the correlation of sea surface height variability in the twin runs is close to zero. In the non-eddying case in contrast, we find high correlations (0.9 or higher) over most regions. Looking at the sub- and interannual MOC components separately reveals that most of the chaotic MOC variability is found on subannual timescales for the eddy-permitting model. On interannual timescales the amplitude of the chaotic MOC variability is much smaller and the amplitudes are comparable for both the eddy-permitting and non-eddy-permitting model resolutions. Whereas the chaotic MOC variability on interannual timescales only accounts for a small fraction of the total chaotic MOC variability in the eddy-permitting case, it is the main contributor to the chaotic variability in the non-eddying case away from the Equator.

Description: Influence of snow depth distribution on surface roughness in alpine terrain: a multi-scale approach The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 4633-4680, 2013 Author(s): J. Veitinger, B. Sovilla, and R. S. Purves In alpine terrain, the snow covered winter surface deviates from its underlying summer terrain due to the progressive smoothing caused by snow accumulation. Terrain smoothing is believed to be an important factor in avalanche formation, avalanche dynamics and affects surface heat transfer, energy balance as well as snow depth distribution. To characterize the effect of snow on terrain we use the concept of roughness. Roughness is calculated for several snow surfaces and its corresponding underlying terrain for three alpine basins in the Swiss Alps characterized by low medium and high terrain roughness. To this end, elevation models of winter and summer terrain are derived from high-resolution (1 m) measurements performed by airborne and terrestrial LIDAR. We showed that on basin scale terrain smoothing not only depends on mean snow depth in the basin but also on its variability. Terrain smoothing can be modelled in function of mean snow depth and its standard deviation using a power law. However, a relationship between terrain smoothing and snow depth does not exist on a pixel scale. Further we demonstrated the high persistence of snow surface roughness even in between winter seasons. Those persistent patterns might be very useful to improve the representation of a winter terrain without modelling of the snow cover distribution. This can potentially improve avalanche release area definition and in the long term natural hazard management strategies.

Description: Transport of Antarctic bottom water through the Kane Gap, tropical NE Atlantic Ocean Ocean Science, 9, 825-835, 2013 Author(s): E. G. Morozov, R. Y. Tarakanov, and H. van Haren We study low-frequency properties of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) flow through the Kane Gap (9° N) in the Atlantic Ocean. The measurements in the Kane Gap include five visits with CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) sections in 2009–2012 and a year-long record of currents on a mooring using three AquaDopp current meters. We found an alternating regime of flow, which changes direction several times during a year. The seasonal signal seems to dominate. The maximum daily average values of southerly velocities reach 0.20 m s −1 , while the greatest north-northwesterly velocity is as high as 0.15 m s −1 . The velocity and transport at the bottom are aligned along the slope of a local hill near the southwestern side of the gap. The distribution of velocity directions at the upper boundary of AABW is wider. The transport of AABW (Θ 〈 1.9 °C) based on the mooring and LADCP (Lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) data varies approximately within ±0.35 Sv in the northern and southern directions. The annual mean AABW transport through the Kane Gap is almost zero.

Description: Air temperature variability over three glaciers in the Ortles-Cevedale (Italian Alps): effects of glacier disintegration, intercomparison of calculation methods, and impacts on mass balance modeling The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 6147-6192, 2014 Author(s): L. Carturan, F. Cazorzi, F. De Blasi, and G. Dalla Fontana Glacier mass balance models rely on accurate spatial calculation of input data, in particular air temperature. Lower temperatures (the so-called glacier cooling effect), and lower temperature variability (the so-called glacier damping effect) generally occur over glaciers, compared to ambient conditions. These effects, which depend on the geometric characteristics of glaciers and display a high spatial and temporal variability, have been mostly investigated on medium- to large-size glaciers so far, while observations on smaller ice bodies are scarce. Using a dataset from 8 on-glacier and 4 off-glacier weather stations, collected in summer 2010 and 2011, we analyzed the air temperature variability and wind regime over three different glaciers in the Ortles-Cevedale. The magnitude of the cooling effect and the occurrence of katabatic boundary layer (KBL) processes showed remarkable differences among the three ice bodies, suggesting the likely existence of important reinforcing mechanisms during glacier decay and disintegration. None of the methods proposed in the literature for calculating on-glacier temperature from off-glacier data fully reproduced our observations. Among them, the more physically-based procedure of Greuell and Böhm (1998) provided the best overall results where the KBL prevail, but it was not effective elsewhere (i.e. on smaller ice bodies and close to the glacier margins). The accuracy of air temperature estimations strongly impacted the results from a mass balance model which was applied to the three investigated glaciers. Most importantly, even small temperature deviations caused distortions in parameter calibration, thus compromising the model generalizability.

Description: Strategy of valid 14 C dates choice in syngenetic permafrost The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 5589-5621, 2014 Author(s): Y. K. Vasil'chuk and A. C. Vasil'chuk The main problem of radiocarbon dating within permafrost is the uncertain reliability of the 14 C dates. Syngenetic sediments contain allochthonous organic deposit that originated at a distance from its present position. Due to the very good preservation of organic materials in permafrost conditions and numerous re-burials of the fossils from ancient deposits into younger ones the dates could be both younger and older than the true age of dated material. The strategy for the most authentic radiocarbon date selection for dating of syncryogenic sediments is considered taking into account the fluvial origin of the syngenetic sediments. The re-deposition of organic material is discussed in terms of cyclic syncryogenic sedimentation and also the possible re-deposition of organic material in subaerial-subaqueous conditions. The advantages and the complications of dating organic micro-inclusions from ice wedges by the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) method are discussed applying to true age of dated material search. Radiocarbon dates of different organic materials from the same samples are compared. The younger age of the yedoma from cross-sections of Duvanny Yar in Kolyma River and Mamontova Khayata in the mouth of Lena River is substantiated due to the principle of the choice of the youngest 14 C date from the set.

Description: Simulating the Antarctic ice sheet in the Late-Pliocene warm period: PLISMIP-ANT, an ice-sheet model intercomparison project The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 5539-5588, 2014 Author(s): B. de Boer, A. M. Dolan, J. Bernales, E. Gasson, H. Goelzer, N. R. Golledge, J. Sutter, P. Huybrechts, G. Lohmann, I. Rogozhina, A. Abe-Ouchi, F. Saito, and R. S. W. van de Wal In the context of future climate change, understanding the nature and behaviour of ice sheets during warm intervals in Earth history is of fundamental importance. The Late-Pliocene warm period (also known as the PRISM interval: 3.264 to 3.025 million years before present) can serve as a potential analogue for projected future climates. Although Pliocene ice locations and extents are still poorly constrained, a significant contribution to sea-level rise should be expected from both the Greenland ice sheet and the West and East Antarctic ice sheets based on palaeo sea-level reconstructions. Here, we present results from simulations of the Antarctic ice sheet by means of an international Pliocene Ice Sheet Modeling Intercomparison Project (PLISMIP-ANT). For the experiments, ice-sheet models including the shallow ice and shelf approximations have been used to simulate the complete Antarctic domain (including grounded and floating ice). We compare the performance of six existing numerical ice-sheet models in simulating modern control and Pliocene ice sheets by a suite of four sensitivity experiments. Ice-sheet model forcing fields are taken from the HadCM3 atmosphere–ocean climate model runs for the pre-industrial and the Pliocene. We include an overview of the different ice-sheet models used and how specific model configurations influence the resulting Pliocene Antarctic ice sheet. The six ice-sheet models simulate a comparable present-day ice sheet, although the models are setup with their own parameter settings. For the Pliocene simulations using the Bedmap1 bedrock topography, some models show a small retreat of the East Antarctic ice sheet, which is thought to have happened during the Pliocene for the Wilkes and Aurora basins. This can be ascribed to either the surface mass balance, as the HadCM3 Pliocene climate shows a significant increase over the Wilkes and Aurora basin, or the initial bedrock topography. For the latter, our simulations with the recently published Bedmap2 bedrock topography indicate a significantly larger contribution to Pliocene sea-level rise from the East Antarctic ice sheet for all six models relative to the simulations with Bedmap1.

Description: Snow mass decrease in the Northern Hemisphere (1979/80–2010/11) The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 5623-5644, 2014 Author(s): Z. Li, J. Liu, L. Huang, N. Wang, B. Tian, J. Zhou, Q. Chen, and P. Zhang Snow cover has a key effect on climate change and hydrological cycling, as well as water supply to a sixth of the world's population across the Northern Hemisphere. However, reliable data on trends in snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere is lacking. Snow water equivalent (SWE) is a common measure of the amount of equivalent water of the snow pack. Here we verify the accuracy of three existing global SWE products and merge the most accurate aspects of them to generate a new SWE product covering the last 32 years (1979/80–2010/11). Using this new SWE product, we show that there has been a significant decreasing trend in the total mass of snow in the Northern Hemisphere. The most notable changes in total snow mass are −16.45 ± 6.68 and −13.55 ± 7.80 Gt year −1 in January and February, respectively. These are followed by March and December, which have trends of −12.58 ± 6.88 and −10.70 ± 5.62 Gt year −1 , respectively, from 1979/80 to 2010/11. During the same period, the temperature in the study area raised 0.17 °C decade −1 , which is thought to be the main reason of SWE decline.

Description: Factors controlling Slope Environmental Lapse Rate (SELR) of temperature in the monsoon and cold-arid glacio-hydrological regimes of the Himalaya The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 5645-5686, 2014 Author(s): R. J. Thayyen and A. P. Dimri Moisture, temperature and precipitation interplay forced through the orographic processes sustains the Himalayan cryospheric system. However, factors controlling the Slope Environmental Lapse Rate (SELR) of temperature along the higher Himalayan mountain slopes across various glacio-hydrologic regimes remain as a key knowledge gap. Present study dwells on the orographic processes driving the moisture–temperature interplay in the monsoon and cold-arid glacio-hydrological regimes of the Himalaya. Systematic data collection at three altitudes between 2540 and 3763 m a.s.l. in the Garhwal Himalaya (hereafter called monsoon regime) and between 3500 and 5600 m a.s.l. in the Ladakh Himalaya (herefater called cold-arid regime) revealed moistrue control on temperature distribution at temporal and spatial scales. Observed daily SELR of temperature ranges between 9.0 to 1.9 °C km −1 and 17.0 to 2.8 °C km −1 in the monsoon and cold-arid regimes respectively highlighting strong regional variability. Moisture influx to the region, either from Indian summer monsoon (ISM) or from Indian winter monsoon (IWM) forced lowering of SELR. This phenophena of "monsoon lowering" of SELR is due to the release latent heat of condensation from orographically focred lifted air parcel. Seasonal response of SELR in the monsoon regime is found to be closly linked with the variations in the local lifting condensation levels (LCL). Contrary to this, cold-arid system is characterised by the extremely high values of daily SELR upto 17 °C km −1 signifying the extremely arid conditions prevailing in summer. Distinctly lower SELR devoid of monsoon lowering at higher altitude sections of monsoon and cold-arid regimes suggests sustained wetter high altitude regimes. We have proposed a SELR model for both glacio-hydrological regimes demostrating with two sections each using a derivative of the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship by deriving monthly SELR indices. It has been proposed that the manifestations of presence or absence of moisture is the single most important factor determining the temperature distribution along the higher Himalayan slopes driven by the orographic forcings. This work also suggests that the arbitary use of temperature lapse rate to extrapolate temperature to the higher Himalaya is extremely untenable.

Description: Changes in extreme regional sea surface height due to an abrupt weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation Ocean Science, 10, 881-891, 2014 Author(s): S.-E. Brunnabend, H. A. Dijkstra, M. A. Kliphuis, B. van Werkhoven, H. E. Bal, F. Seinstra, J. Maassen, and M. van Meersbergen As an extreme scenario of dynamical sea level changes, regional sea surface height (SSH) changes that occur in the North Atlantic due to an abrupt weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are simulated. Two versions of the same ocean-only model are used to study the effect of ocean model resolution on these SSH changes: a high-resolution (HR) strongly eddying version and a low-resolution (LR) version in which the effect of eddies is parameterised. The weakening of the AMOC is induced in both model versions by applying strong freshwater perturbations around Greenland. A rapid decrease of the AMOC in the HR version induces much shorter return times of several specific regional and coastal extremes in North Atlantic SSH than in the LR version. This effect is caused by a change in main eddy pathways associated with a change in separation latitude of the Gulf Stream.

Description: A model study of Abrahamsenbreen, a surging glacier in northern Spitsbergen The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 5687-5726, 2014 Author(s): J. Oerlemans and W. J. J. van Pelt The climate sensitivity of Abrahamsenbreen, a 20 km long surge-type glacier in northern Spitsbergen, is studied with a simple glacier model. A scheme to describe the surges is included, which makes it possible to account for the effect of surges on the total mass budget of the glacier. A climate reconstruction back to AD 1300, based on ice-core data from Lomonosovfonna and climate records from Longyearbyen, is used to drive the model. The model is calibrated by requesting that it produces the correct Little Ice Age maximum glacier length and simulates the observed magnitude of the 1978-surge. Abrahamsenbreen is strongly out of balance with the current climate. If climatic conditions will remain as they were for the period 1989–2010, the glacier will ultimately shrink to a length of about 4 km (but this will take hundreds of years). For a climate change scenario involving a 2 m yr −1 rise of the equilibrium line from now onwards, we predict that in the year 2100 Abrahamsenbreen will be about 12 km long. The main effect of a surge is to lower the mean surface elevation and to increase the ablation area, thereby causing a negative perturbation of the mass budget. We found that the occurrence of surges leads to a somewhat stronger retreat of the glacier in a warming climate. Because of the very small bed slope, Abrahamsenbreen is sensitive to small perturbations in the equilibrium-line altitude E . For a decrease of E of only 160 m, the glacier would steadily grow into the Woodfjorddalen until after 2000 years it would reach the Woodfjord and calving could slow down the advance.

Description: A century of sea level data and the UK's 2013/14 storm surges: an assessment of extremes and clustering using the Newlyn tide gauge record Ocean Science, 10, 1031-1045, 2014 Author(s): M. P. Wadey, I. D. Haigh, and J. M. Brown For the UK's longest and most complete sea level record (Newlyn), we assess extreme high waters and their temporal clustering; prompted by the 2013/2014 winter of storms and flooding. These are set into context against this almost 100-year record. We define annual periods for which storm activity and high sea levels can be compared on a year-by-year basis. Amongst the storms and high tides which affected Newlyn, the recent winter produced the largest recorded high water level (3 February 2014) and five other high water events above a 1 in 1-year return period. The large magnitude of tide and mean sea level, and the close inter-event spacings (of large return period high waters), suggests that the 2013/2014 extreme high water level "season" can be considered the most extreme on record. However, storm and sea level events may be classified in different ways. For example, in the context of sea level rise (which we calculate linearly as 1.81 ± 0.1 mm yr −1 from records between 1915 to 2014), a lower probability combination of surge and tide occurred on 29 January 1948, whilst the 1995/1996 storm surge season saw the most high waters of ≥ the 1 in 1-year return period. We provide a basic categorisation of the four types of extreme high water level cluster, ranging from consecutive tidal cycles to multiple years. The assessment is extended to other UK sites (with shorter sea level records and different tide-surge characteristics), which suggests 2013/2014 was particularly unusual. Further work will assess clustering mechanisms and flood system "memory".

Description: North Atlantic 20th century multidecadal variability in coupled climate models: sea surface temperature and ocean overturning circulation Ocean Science, 7, 389-404, 2011 Author(s): I. Medhaug and T. Furevik Output from a total of 24 state-of-the-art Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models is analyzed. The models were integrated with observed forcing for the period 1850–2000 as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. All models show enhanced variability at multi-decadal time scales in the North Atlantic sector similar to the observations, but with a large intermodel spread in amplitudes and frequencies for both the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The models, in general, are able to reproduce the observed geographical patterns of warm and cold episodes, but not the phasing such as the early warming (1930s–1950s) and the following colder period (1960s–1980s). This indicates that the observed 20th century extreme in temperatures are due to primarily a fortuitous phasing of intrinsic climate variability and not dominated by external forcing. Most models show a realistic structure in the overturning circulation, where more than half of the available models have a mean overturning transport within the observed estimated range of 13–24 Sverdrup. Associated with a stronger than normal AMOC, the surface temperature is increased and the sea ice extent slightly reduced in the North Atlantic. Individual models show potential for decadal prediction based on the relationship between the AMO and AMOC, but the models strongly disagree both in phasing and strength of the covariability. This makes it difficult to identify common mechanisms and to assess the applicability for predictions.

Description: Sensitivity analysis of an ocean carbon cycle model in the North Atlantic: an investigation of parameters affecting the air-sea CO 2 flux, primary production and export of detritus Ocean Science, 7, 405-419, 2011 Author(s): V. Scott, H. Kettle, and C. J. Merchant The sensitivity of the biological parameters in a nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton-detritus (NPZD) model in the calculation of the air-sea CO 2 flux, primary production and detrital export is analysed. We explore the effect on these outputs of variation in the values of the twenty parameters that control ocean ecosystem growth in a 1-D formulation of the UK Met Office HadOCC NPZD model used in GCMs. We use and compare the results from one-at-a-time and all-at-a-time perturbations performed at three sites in the EuroSITES European Ocean Observatory Network: the Central Irminger Sea (60° N 40° W), the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (49° N 16° W) and the European Station for Time series in the Ocean Canary Islands (29° N 15° W). Reasonable changes to the values of key parameters are shown to have a large effect on the calculation of the air-sea CO 2 flux, primary production, and export of biological detritus to the deep ocean. Changes in the values of key parameters have a greater effect in more productive regions than in less productive areas. The most sensitive parameters are generally found to be those controlling well-established ocean ecosystem parameterisations widely used in many NPZD-type models. The air-sea CO 2 flux is most influenced by variation in the parameters that control phytoplankton growth, detrital sinking and carbonate production by phytoplankton (the rain ratio). Primary production is most sensitive to the parameters that define the shape of the photosynthesis-irradiance curve. Export production is most sensitive to the parameters that control the rate of detrital sinking and the remineralisation of detritus.

Description: A new tide model for the Mediterranean Sea based on altimetry and tide gauge assimilation Ocean Science, 7, 429-444, 2011 Author(s): D. N. Arabelos, D. Z. Papazachariou, M. E. Contadakis, and S. D. Spatalas The tides for the Mediterranean Sea are described through a high resolution model (MEDI10) developed by assimilation of tide-gauge data and T/P data into a barotropic ocean tide model. Tidal parameters from 56 coastal tide-gauge stations around the Mediterranean for eight principal constituents: M2, S2, N2, K2, K1, O1, P1 and Q1 and from 20 stations for M2, S2, K1, O1 are included in the model. TOPEX/Poseidon data with all corrections applied except for the ocean tides and bathymetry from TOPO 13.1 were used for development of the model. Numerical experiments were carried out for the estimation of the friction velocity and of the decorrelation length scale. The experiments related to the friction velocity showed that the use of spatially varying friction velocity, estimated as a function of position in the model domain, gives better results than a constant value. The experiments related to the estimation of the decorrelation length suggest that the results are not sensitive for lengths close to ten times the length of the grid cell. The assessment of the model is based on ten tide-gauge observations that are not used for the assimilation. Comparisons were carried out with contemporary published global or regional models. The final solution is computed using 76 selected coastal tide-gauge stations. The comparison between the observed and the model constituents results in a Root Sum of Squares (RSS) equal to 1.3 cm.

Description: Brief communication "Snow profile associated measurements (SPAM) – a new instrument for quick snow profile measurements" The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1737-1748, 2011 Author(s): P. Lahtinen A new instrument concept (SPAM) for snow profile associated measurements is presented. The potential of the concept is demonstrated by presenting preliminary results obtained with the prototype instrument. With this concept it is possible to retrieve rapid snow profiles of e.g. light extinction, reflectance, temperature and snow layer structure with high vertical resolution. As a side-product, also snow depth is retrieved.

Description: Modeling the impact of wintertime rain events on the thermal regime of permafrost The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1697-1736, 2011 Author(s): S. Westermann, J. Boike, M. Langer, T. V. Schuler, and B. Etzelmüller In this study, we present field measurements and numerical process modeling from Western Svalbard showing that the ground surface temperature below the snow is impacted by strong wintertime rain events. During such events, rain water percolates to the bottom of the snow pack, where it freezes and releases latent heat. In the winter season 2005/2006, on the order of 20 to 50 % of the wintertime precipitation fell as rain, thus confining the surface temperature to close to 0 °C for several weeks. The measured average ground surface temperature during the snow-covered period is −0.6 °C, despite of a snow surface temperature of on average −8.5 °C. For the considered period, the temperature threshold below which permafrost is sustainable on long timescales is exceeded. We present a simplified model of rain water infiltration in the snow coupled to a transient permafrost model. While small amounts of rain have only minor impact on the ground surface temperature, strong rain events have a long-lasting impact. We show that consecutively applying the conditions encountered in the winter season 2005/2006 results in the formation of an unfrozen zone in the soil after three to five years, depending on the prescribed soil properties. If water infiltration in the snow is disabled in the model, more time is required for the permafrost to reach a similar state of degradation.

Description: About the seasonal and fortnightly variabilities of the Mediterranean outflow Ocean Science, 7, 421-428, 2011 Author(s): C. Millot and J. Garcia-Lafuente CTD time series from the HYDRO-CHANGES programme and INGRES projects have been collected simultaneously (2004–2008) on the shelf of Morocco and at the sills of Camarinal and Espartel in the strait of Gibraltar. They provide information that supports results recently obtained from the analysis of the two former time series, as well as from a reanalysis of GIBEX CTD profiles (1985–1986). The outflow of Mediterranean Waters, which does not show a clear seasonal variability before entering the strait, strongly mixes within the strait, due mainly to the internal tide, with the seasonally variable inflow of Atlantic Water. The outflow thus gets marked seasonal and fortnightly variabilities within the strait. Furthermore, since the outflowing waters entering the strait display marked spatial heterogeneity and long-term temporal variabilities, accurately predicting the characteristics of the Mediterranean outflow into the North Atlantic Ocean appears almost impossible.

Description: Investigating changes in basal conditions of Variegated Glacier prior and during its 1982–1983 surge The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1461-1494, 2011 Author(s): M. Jay-Allemand, F. Gillet-Chaulet, O. Gagliardini, and M. Nodet The Variegated Glacier (Alaska) is known to surge periodically after a sufficient amount of cumulative mass balance is reached, but this observation is difficult to link with changes in the basal conditions. Here, using a 10-year dataset, consisting in surface topography and surface velocity observations along a flow line for 25 dates, we have reconstructed the evolution of the basal conditions prior and during the 1982–1983 surge. The model solves the full-Stokes problem along the central flow line using the finite element method. For the 25 dates of the dataset, the basal friction parameter distribution is inferred using the inverse method proposed by Arthern and Gudmundson (2010). This method is here slightly modified by incorporating a regularisation term in the cost function to avoid short wave length changes in the friction parameter. Our results indicate that dramatic changes in the basal conditions occurred between 1973 to 1983. Prior to the surge, periodical changes can be observed between winter and summer, with a regular increase of the sliding from 1973 to 1982. During the surge, the basal friction decreased dramatically and an area of very low friction moved from the upper part of the glacier to its terminus. Using a more complex friction law, these changes in basal sliding are then interpreted in terms of basal water pressure. It confirms that dramatic changes took place in the subglacial drainage system of Variegated Glacier, moving from a relatively efficient drainage system prior to the surge to an inefficient one during the surge. By reconstructing the water pressure evolution at the base of the glacier it is possible to infer realistic scenarios for the hydrological history leading to the occurrence of a surge.

Description: Comparison between three implementations of automatic identification algorithms for the quantification and characterization of mesoscale eddies in the South Atlantic Ocean Ocean Science, 7, 317-334, 2011 Author(s): J. M. A. C. Souza, C. de Boyer Montégut, and P. Y. Le Traon Three methods for automatic detection of mesoscale coherent structures are applied to Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) fields in the South Atlantic. The first method is based on the wavelet packet decomposition of the SLA data, the second on the estimation of the Okubo-Weiss parameter and the third on a geometric criterion using the winding-angle approach. The results provide a comprehensive picture of the mesoscale eddies over the South Atlantic Ocean, emphasizing their main characteristics: amplitude, diameter, duration and propagation velocity. Five areas of particular eddy dynamics were selected: the Brazil Current, the Agulhas eddies propagation corridor, the Agulhas Current retroflexion, the Brazil-Malvinas confluence zone and the northern branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). For these areas, mean propagation velocities and amplitudes were calculated. Two regions with long duration eddies were observed, corresponding to the propagation of Agulhas and ACC eddies. Through the comparison between the identification methods, their main advantages and shortcomings were detailed. The geometric criterion presents the best performance, mainly in terms of number of detections, duration of the eddies and propagation velocities. The results are particularly good for the Agulhas Rings, which have the longest lifetimes of all South Atlantic eddies.

Description: Comparison of aeolian snow transport events and snow mass fluxes between observations and simulations made by the regional climate model MAR in Adélie Land, East Antarctica The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 6007-6032, 2014 Author(s): A. Trouvilliez, H. Gallée, F. Naaim-Bouvet, C. Genthon, C. Amory, V. Favier, C. Agosta, L. Piard, and H. Bellot The regional climate model MAR including a coupled snow pack/aeolian snow transport parameterisation is compared with aeolian snow mass fluxes at a fine spatial resolution (5 km horizontally and 2 m vertically) and at a fine temporal resolution (30 min) over 1 month in Antarctica. Numerous feedbacks are taken into account in the MAR including the drag partitioning caused by the roughness elements. Wind speed is correctly simulated with a positive value of the Nash test (0.60 and 0.37) but the wind speeds above 10 m s −1 are underestimated. The aeolian snow transport events are correctly reproduced with a good temporal resolution except for the aeolian snow transport events with a particles' maximum height below 1 m. The simulated threshold friction velocity, calculated without snowfall, is overestimated. The simulated aeolian snow mass fluxes between 0 to 2 m have the same variations but are underestimated compared to the second-generation FlowCapt values and so is the simulated relative humidity at 2 m. This underestimation is not entirely due to the underestimation of the simulated wind speed. The MAR underestimates the aeolian snow quantity that pass through the first two meters by a factor ten compared to the second-generation FlowCapt value (13 990 kg m −1 and 151 509 kg m −1 respectively). It will conduct the MAR, with this parametrisation, to underestimate the effect of the aeolian snow transport on the Antarctic surface mass balance.

Description: Influence of weak layer heterogeneity and slab properties on slab tensile failure propensity and avalanche release area The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 6033-6057, 2014 Author(s): J. Gaume, G. Chambon, N. Eckert, M. Naaim, and J. Schweizer Dry-snow slab avalanches are generally caused by a sequence of fracture processes including failure initiation in a weak snow layer underlying a cohesive slab followed by crack propagation within the weak layer (WL) and tensile fracture through the slab. During past decades, theoretical and experimental work has gradually improved our knowledge of the fracture process in snow. However, our limited understanding of crack propagation and fracture arrest propensity prevents the evaluation of avalanche release sizes and thus impedes hazard assessment. To address this issue, slab tensile failure propensity is examined using a mechanically-based statistical model of the slab–WL system based on the finite element method. This model accounts for WL heterogeneity, stress redistribution by elasticity of the slab and the slab possible tensile failure. Two types of avalanche release are distinguished in the simulations: (1) full-slope release if the heterogeneity is not sufficient to stop crack propagation and to trigger a tensile failure within the slab, (2) partial-slope release if fracture arrest and slab tensile failure occurs due to the WL heterogeneity. The probability of these two release types is presented as a function of the characteristics of WL heterogeneity and of the slab. One of the main outcomes is that, for realistic values of the parameters, the tensile failure propensity is mainly influenced by slab properties. Hard and thick snow slabs are more prone to wide-scale crack propagation and thus lead to larger avalanches (full-slope release). In this case, the avalanche size is mainly influenced by topographical and morphological features such as rocks, trees, slope curvature and the spatial variability of the snow depth as it is often claimed in the literature.

Description: Influence of frontal cyclone evolution on the 2009 (Ekman) and 2010 (Franklin) Loop Current eddy detachment events Ocean Science, 10, 947-965, 2014 Author(s): Y. S. Androulidakis, V. H. Kourafalou, and M. Le Hénaff The anticyclonic Loop Current Eddy (LCE) shedding events are strongly associated with the evolution of Loop Current Frontal Eddies (LCFEs) over the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). A numerical simulation, in tandem with in situ measurements and satellite data, was used to investigate the Loop Current (LC) evolution and the surrounding LCFE formation, structure, growth and migration during the Eddy Ekman and Eddy Franklin shedding events in the summers of 2009 and 2010, respectively. During both events, northern GoM LCFEs appeared vertically coherent to at least 1500 m in temperature observations. They propagated towards the base of the LC, where, together with the migration of Campeche Bank (southwest GoM shelf) eddies from south of the LC, contributed to its "necking-down". Growth of Campeche Bank LCFEs involved in Eddy Franklin was partially attributed to Campeche Bank waters following upwelling events. Slope processes associated with such upwelling included offshore exports of high positive potential vorticity that may trigger cyclone formation and growth. The advection and growth of LCFEs, originating from the northern and southern GoM, and their interaction with the LC over the LCE detachment area favor shedding conditions and may contribute to the final separation of the LCE.

Description: The Rossby radius in the Arctic Ocean Ocean Science, 10, 967-975, 2014 Author(s): A. J. G. Nurser and S. Bacon The first (and second) baroclinic deformation (or Rossby) radii are presented north of ~60° N, focusing on deep basins and shelf seas in the high Arctic Ocean, the Nordic seas, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, derived from climatological ocean data. In the high Arctic Ocean, the first Rossby radius increases from ~5 km in the Nansen Basin to ~15 km in the central Canadian Basin. In the shelf seas and elsewhere, values are low (1–7 km), reflecting weak density stratification, shallow water, or both. Seasonality strongly impacts the Rossby radius only in shallow seas, where winter homogenization of the water column can reduce it to below 1 km. Greater detail is seen in the output from an ice–ocean general circulation model, of higher resolution than the climatology. To assess the impact of secular variability, 10 years (2003–2012) of hydrographic stations along 150° W in the Beaufort Gyre are also analysed. The first-mode Rossby radius increases over this period by ~20%. Finally, we review the observed scales of Arctic Ocean eddies.

Description: Climatic signals from 76 shallow firn cores in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica The Cryosphere Discussions, 8, 5961-6005, 2014 Author(s): S. Altnau, E. Schlosser, E. Isaksson, and D. Divine The spatial and temporal distribution of surface mass balance (SMB) and δ 18 O were investigated in the first comprehensive study of a set of 76 firn cores retrieved by various expeditions during the past three decades in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The large number of cores was used to calculate stacked records of SMB and δ 18 O, which considerably increased the signal-to-noise ratio compared to earlier studies and facilitated the detection of climatic signals. Considerable differences between cores from the interior plateau and the coastal cores were found. The δ 18 O of both the plateau and the ice shelf cores exhibit a slight positive trend over the second half of the 20th century. In the corresponding period, the SMB has a negative trend in the ice shelf cores, but increases on the plateau. Comparison with meteorological data from Neumayer Station revealed that for the ice shelf regions atmospheric dynamic effects are more important than thermodynamics, while on the plateau, the temporal variations of SMB and δ 18 O occur mostly in parallel, thus can be explained by thermodynamic effects. The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) exhibits a positive trend since the mid-1960s, which is assumed to lead to a cooling of East Antarctica. This is not confirmed by the firn core data in our data set. Changes in the atmospheric circulation that result in a changed seasonal distribution of precipitation/accumulation could partly explain the observed features in the ice shelf cores.

Description: An ocean modelling and assimilation guide to using GOCE geoid products Ocean Science, 7, 151-164, 2011 Author(s): K. Haines, J. A. Johannessen, P. Knudsen, D. Lea, M.-H. Rio, L. Bertino, F. Davidson, and F. Hernandez We review the procedures and challenges that must be considered when using geoid data derived from the Gravity and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission in order to constrain the circulation and water mass representation in an ocean general circulation model. It covers the combination of the geoid information with time-mean sea level information derived from satellite altimeter data, to construct a mean dynamic topography (MDT), and considers how this complements the time-varying sea level anomaly, also available from the satellite altimeter. We particularly consider the compatibility of these different fields in their spatial scale content, their temporal representation, and in their error covariances. These considerations are very important when the resulting data are to be used to estimate ocean circulation and its corresponding errors. We describe the further steps needed for assimilating the resulting dynamic topography information into an ocean circulation model using three different operational forecasting and data assimilation systems. We look at methods used for assimilating altimeter anomaly data in the absence of a suitable geoid, and then discuss different approaches which have been tried for assimilating the additional geoid information. We review the problems that have been encountered and the lessons learned in order the help future users. Finally we present some results from the use of GRACE geoid information in the operational oceanography community and discuss the future potential gains that may be obtained from a new GOCE geoid.

Description: Effect of tidal stream power generation on the region-wide circulation in a shallow sea Ocean Science, 7, 165-174, 2011 Author(s): G. I. Shapiro This paper quantifies the backward effect on the ocean currents caused by a tidal stream farm located in the open shallow sea. Recent studies in channels with 1-D models have indicated that the power potential is not given purely by the flux of kinetic energy, as has been commonly assumed. In this study, a 3-D ocean circulation model is used to estimate (i) practically extractable energy resource at different levels of rated generation capacity of the farm, (ii) changes in the strength of currents due to energy extraction, and (iii) alterations in the pattern of residual currents and the pathways of passive tracers. As well as tidal streams, the model also takes into account the wind-driven and density-driven ocean currents. Numerical modelling has been carried out for a hypothetical tidal farm located in the Celtic Sea north of Cornwall, an area known for its high level of tidal energy. Modelling results clearly indicate that the extracted power does not grow linearly with the increase in the rated capacity of the farm. For the case study covered in this paper, a 100-fold increase in the rated generation capacity of the farm results in only 7-fold increase in extracted power. In the case of a high power farm, kinetic energy of currents is altered significantly as far as 10–20 km away from the farm. At high levels of extracted energy the currents tend to avoid flowing through the farm, an effect which is not captured with 1-D models. Residual currents are altered as far as a hundred kilometres away. The magnitude of changes in the dispersion of tracers is highly sensitive to the location. Some of the passive drifters analysed in this study experience significant variations in the end-to-start distance due to energy extraction ranging from 13% to 238% while others are practically unaffected. This study shows that both energy extraction estimates and effects on region wide circulation depend on a complex combination of factors, and the specific figures given in the paper should be generally considered as first estimates.

Description: Warming of waters in an East Greenland fjord prior to glacier retreat: mechanisms and connection to large-scale atmospheric conditions The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1335-1364, 2011 Author(s): P. Christoffersen, R. I. Mugford, K. J. Heywood, I. Joughin, J. A. Dowdeswell, J. P. M. Syvitski, A. Luckman, and T. J. Benham Hydrographic data acquired in Kangerlugssuaq Fjord and adjacent seas in 1993 and 2004 are used together with ocean reanalysis to elucidate water mass change and ice-ocean-atmosphere interactions in East Greenland. The hydrographic data show substantial warming of fjord waters between 1993 and 2004 and warm subsurface conditions coincide with the rapid retreat of Kangerlugssuaq Glacier in 2004–2005. The ocean reanalysis shows that the warm properties of fjord waters in 2004 are related to a major peak in oceanic shoreward heat flux into a cross-shelf trough on the outer continental shelf. The heat flux into this trough varies according to seasonal exchanges with the atmosphere as well as from deep seasonal intrusions of subtropical waters. Both mechanisms contribute to high (low) shoreward heat flux when winds from the northeast are weak (strong). The combined effect of surface heating and inflow of subtropical waters is seen in the hydrographic data, which were collected after periods when along-shore coastal winds from the north were strong (1993) and weak (2004). We show that coastal winds vary according to the pressure gradient defined by a semi-permanent atmospheric pressure system over Greenland and a persistent atmospheric low situated near Iceland. The magnitude of this pressure gradient is controlled by longitudinal variability in the position of the Icelandic Low.

Description: Recent wind driven high sea ice export in the Fram Strait contributes to Arctic sea ice decline The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1311-1334, 2011 Author(s): L. H. Smedsrud, A. Sirevaag, K. Kloster, A. Sorteberg, and S. Sandven Arctic sea ice area decrease has been visible for two decades, and continues at a steady rate. Apart from melting, the southward drift through Fram Strait is the main loss. We present high resolution sea ice drift across 79° N from 2004 to 2010. The ice drift is based on radar satellite data and correspond well with variability in local geostrophic wind. The underlying current contributes with a constant southward speed close to 5 cm s −1 , and drives about 33 % of the ice export. We use geostrophic winds derived from reanalysis data to calculate the Fram Strait ice area export back to 1957, finding that the sea ice area export recently is about 25 % larger than during the 1960's. The increase in ice export occurred mostly during winter and is directly connected to higher southward ice drift velocities, due to stronger geostrophic winds. The increase in ice drift is large enough to counteract a decrease in ice concentration of the exported sea ice. Using storm tracking we link changes in geostrophic winds to more intense Nordic Sea low pressure systems. Annual sea ice export likely has a significant influence on the summer sea ice variability and we find low values in the 60's, the late 80's and 90's, and particularly high values during 2005–2008. The study highlight the possible role of variability in ice export as an explanatory factor for understanding the dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice the last decades.

Description: On the freshening of the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf Ocean Science, 7, 305-316, 2011 Author(s): H. H. Hellmer, O. Huhn, D. Gomis, and R. Timmermann We analyzed hydrographic data from the northwestern Weddell Sea continental shelf of the three austral winters 1989, 1997, and 2006 and two summers following the last winter cruise. During summer a thermal front exists at ~64° S separating cold southern waters from warm northern waters that have similar characteristics as the deep waters of the central basin of the Bransfield Strait. In winter, the whole continental shelf exhibits southern characteristics with high Neon (Ne) concentrations, indicating a significant input of glacial melt water. The comparison of the winter data from the shallow shelf off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, spanning a period of 17 yr, shows a salinity decrease of 0.09 for the whole water column, which has a residence time of

Description: Flow and mixing near a glacier tongue: a pilot study Ocean Science, 7, 293-304, 2011 Author(s): C. L. Stevens, C. L. Stewart, N. J. Robinson, M. J. M. Williams, and T. G. Haskell A glacier tongue floating in the coastal ocean presents a significant obstacle to the local flow and so influences oceanic mixing and transport processes. Here acoustic Doppler current profiler and shear microstructure observations very near to a glacier tongue side-wall capture flow accelerations and associated mixing. Flow speeds reached around 40 cm s −1 , twice that of the ambient tidal flow amplitude, and generated vertical velocity shear squared as large as 10 −5 s −2 . During the time of maximum flow, turbulent energy dissipation rates reached 10 −5 m 2 s −3 , around three decades greater than local background levels. This is in keeping with estimates of the gradient Richardson Number which dropped to ~1 during maximum flow. Associated vertical diffusivities estimated from the shear microstructure results were substantial, reflecting the influence of the glacier on velocity gradients.

Description: Spatio-temporal measurements and analysis of snow depth in a rock face The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1383-1418, 2011 Author(s): V. Wirz, M. Schirmer, S. Gruber, and M. Lehning Snow in rock faces plays a key role in the alpine environment for permafrost distribution, snow water storage or run off in spring. However, a detailed assessment of snow depths in steep rock walls has never been attempted. To understand snow distribution in rock walls a high-resolution terrestrial laser scanner (TLS), including a digital camera, was used to obtain snow depth (HS) data with a resolution of one metre. The mean HS, the snow covered area and their evolution in the rock face were compared to a neighbouring smoother catchment and a flat field station at similar elevation. Further we analyzed the patterns of HS distribution in the rock face after different periods and investigated the main factors contributing to them. In a first step we could show that with TLS reliable information on surface data of a steep rocky surface can be obtained. In comparison to the flatter sites in the vicinity, mean HS in the rock face was lower during the entire winter, but trends of snow depth changes were similar. We observed repeating accumulation and ablation patterns in the rock face, while maximum snow depth loss always occurred at those places with maximum snow depth gain. Further analysis of the main factors contributing to the snow depth distribution in the rock face revealed terrain-wind-interaction processes to be dominant. Processes related to slope angle seem to play a role, but no linear function of slope angle and snow depth was found. Further analyses should involve measurements in rock faces with other characteristics and higher temporal resolutions to be able to distinguish individual processes better. Additionally the relation of spatial and temporal distribution of snow depth to terrain-wind interactions should be tested.

Description: Utility of late summer transient snowline migration rate on Taku Glacier, Alaska The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 1365-1382, 2011 Author(s): M. Pelto On Taku Glacier, Alaska a combination of field observations of snow water equivalent (SWE) from snowpits and probing in the vicinity of the transient snowline (TSL) are used to quantify the mass balance gradient. The balance gradient is determined from the difference in elevation and SWE from the TSL to snowpits at 1000 m from 1998–2010 and ranges from 2.6–3.8 mm m −1 . Probing transects from 950 m–1100 m directly measure SWE and yield a slightly higher balance gradient of 3.3–3.8 mm m −1 . TSL is identified in MODIS and Landsat 4 and 7 Thematic Mapper imagery for 31 dates during the 2004–2010 period on Taku Glacier to assess the consistency of its rate of rise and usefulness in assessing mass balance. In 2010, the TSL rose from 750 m on 28 July, 800 m on 5 August, 875 m on 14 August, 925 m on 30 August, and to 975 m on 20 September. The mean observed probing balance gradient was 3.3 mm m −1 and TSL rise was 3.7 m day −1 , yielding an ablation rate of 12.2 mm day −1 on Taku Glacier from mid-July to mid-September. A comparison of the TSL rise in the region from 750–1100 m on Taku Glacier during eleven different periods of more than 14 days during the ablation season with repeat imagery indicates a mean TSL rise of 3.7 m day −1 on Taku Glacier, the rate of rise is relatively consistent ranging from 3.0 to 4.8 m day −1 . This is useful for ascertaining the final ELA if imagery or observations are not available within a week or two of the end of the ablation season. From mid-July-mid-September the mean ablation from 750–1100 m determined from the TSL rise and the observed balance gradient varied from 11 to 18 mm day −1 on Taku Glacier during the 2004–2010 period.

Description: Tidal generation of large sub-mesoscale eddy dipoles Ocean Science, 7, 487-502, 2011 Author(s): W. Callendar, J. M. Klymak, and M. G. G. Foreman Numerical simulations of tidal flow past Cape St. James on the south tip of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) are presented that indicate mesoscale dipoles are formed from coalescing tidal eddies. Observations in this region demonstrate robust eddy generation at the Cape, with the primary process being flow separation of buoyant or wind driven outflows forming large anti-cyclonic, negative potential vorticity, Haida Eddies. However, there are other times where dipoles are observed in satellites, indicating a source of positive potential vorticity must also be present. The simulations here build on previous work that implicates oscillating tidal flow past the cape in creating the positive vorticity. Small headland eddies of alternating vorticity are created each tide. During certain tidal cycles, the headland eddies coalesce and self organize in such a way as to create large 〉20-km diameter eddies that then self-advect into deep water. The self advection speed is faster than the beta drift of anti-cyclones, and the propagation direction appears to be more southerly than typical Haida Eddies, though the model contains no mean wind-driven flows. These eddies are smaller than Haida Eddies, but given their tidal origin, may represent a more consistent source of coastal water that is injected into the interior of the subpolar gyre.

Description: Spatial and temporal variability of snow accumulation in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, including two deep ice coring sites at Dome Fuji and EPICA DML The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 2061-2114, 2011 Author(s): S. Fujita, P. Holmlund, I. Andersson, I. Brown, H. Enomoto, Y. Fujii, K. Fujita, K. Fukui, T. Furukawa, M. Hansson, K. Hara, Y. Hoshina, M. Igarashi, Y. Iizuka, S. Imura, S. Ingvander, T. Karlin, H. Motoyama, F. Nakazawa, H. Oerter, L. E. Sjöberg, S. Sugiyama, S. Surdyk, J. Ström, R. Uemura, and F. Wilhelms To better understand the spatio-temporal variability of the glaciological environment in Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica, investigations were carried out along the 2800-km-long Japanese-Swedish IPY 2007/2008 traverse. The route covers ice sheet ridges and two deep ice coring sites at Dome Fuji and EPICA DML. The surface mass balance (SMB) distribution was derived based on analysis of isochrones within snow pits, firn cores and subsurface radar signals. The SMB averaged over various time scales in the Holocene was determined. This was then compared with various glaciological data. We find that the large-scale distribution of the SMB depends on the surface elevation, continentality and interactions between ice sheet ridges and the prevailing counterclockwise windfield in DML. A different SMB is found for the windward and leeward sides of the ridges. Local-scale variability in the SMB is essentially governed by bedrock topography which determines the local surface topography. In the eastern part of DML, the accumulation rate in the second half of the 20th century is found to be higher by 15 % compared to averages over longer periods of 722 a or 7.9 ka before AD 2008. A similar trend has been reported for many inland plateau sites in East Antarctica.

Description: Relative effect of slope and equilibrium line altitude on the retreat of Himalayan glaciers The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 2571-2604, 2011 Author(s): T. N. Venkatesh, A. V. Kulkarni, and J. Srinivasan A majority of glaciers in the Himalayas have been retreating. In this paper, we show that there are two major factors which control the advance/retreat of the Himalayan glaciers. They are the slope of the glacier and changes in the equilibrium line altitude. While it is well known, that these factors are important, we propose a new way of combining them and use it to predict retreat. Our model has been applied to the movement of eight Himalayan glaciers during the past 25 years. The model explains why the Gangotri glacier is retreating while Zemu of nearly the same length is stationary, even though they are subject to similar environmental changes. The model has also been applied to a larger set of glaciers in the Parbati basin, for which retreat based on satellite data is available, though over a shorter time period.

Description: Spectrophotometric high-precision seawater pH determination for use in underway measuring systems Ocean Science, 7, 597-607, 2011 Author(s): S. Aßmann, C. Frank, and A. Körtzinger Autonomous sensors are required for a comprehensive documentation of the changes in the marine carbon system and thus to differentiate between its natural variability and anthropogenic impacts. Spectrophotometric determination of pH – a key variable of the seawater carbon system – is particularly suited to achieve precise and drift-free measurements. However, available spectrophotometric instruments are not suitable for integration into automated measurement systems (e.g. FerryBox) since they do not meet the major requirements of reliability, stability, robustness and moderate cost. Here we report on the development and testing of a~new indicator-based pH sensor that meets all of these requirements. This sensor can withstand the rough conditions during long-term deployments on ships of opportunity and is applicable to the open ocean as well as to coastal waters with a complex matrix and highly variable conditions. The sensor uses a high resolution CCD spectrometer as detector connected via optical fibers to a custom-made cuvette designed to reduce the impact of air bubbles. The sample temperature can be precisely adjusted (25 °C ± 0.006 °C) using computer-controlled power supplies and Peltier elements thus avoiding the widely used water bath. The overall setup achieves a measurement frequency of 1 min −1 with a precision of ±0.0007 pH units, an average offset of +0.0005 pH units to a reference system, and an offset of +0.0081 pH units to a certified standard buffer. Application of this sensor allows monitoring of seawater pH in autonomous underway systems, providing a key variable for characterization and understanding of the marine carbon system.

Description: An eddy resolving tidal-driven model of the South China Sea assimilating along-track SLA data using the EnOI Ocean Science, 7, 609-627, 2011 Author(s): J. Xie, F. Counillon, J. Zhu, and L. Bertino The upper ocean circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is driven by the Asian monsoon, the Kuroshio intrusion through the Luzon Strait, strong tidal currents, and a complex topography. Here, we demonstrate the benefit of assimilating along-track altimeter data into a nested configuration of the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model that includes tides. Including tides in models is important because they interact with the main circulation. However, assimilation of altimetry data into a model including tides is challenging because tides and mesoscale features contribute to the elevation of ocean surface at different time scales and require different corrections. To address this issue, tides are filtered out of the model output and only the mesoscale variability is corrected with a computationally cheap data assimilation method: the Ensemble Optimal Interpolation (EnOI). This method uses a running selection of members to handle the seasonal variability and assimilates the track data asynchronously. The data assimilative system is tested for the period 1994–1995, during which time a large number of validation data are available. Data assimilation reduces the Root Mean Square Error of Sea Level Anomalies from 9.3 to 6.9 cm and improves the representation of the mesoscale features. With respect to the vertical temperature profiles, the data assimilation scheme reduces the errors quantitatively with an improvement at intermediate depth and deterioration at deeper depth. The comparison to surface drifters shows an improvement of surface current by approximately −9% in the Northern SCS and east of Vietnam. Results are improved compared to an assimilative system that does not include tides and a system that does not consider asynchronous assimilation.

Description: Brief Communication: Can recent ice discharges following the Larsen-B ice-shelf collapse be used to infer the driving mechanisms of millennial-scale variations of the Laurentide ice sheet? The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 3113-3127, 2011 Author(s): J. Alvarez-Solas, A. Robinson, and C. Ritz The effects of an ice-shelf collapse on inland glacier dynamics have recently been widely studied, especially since the breakup of Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen-B ice shelf in 2002. Several studies have documented acceleration of the ice streams that were flowing into the former ice shelf. The mechanism responsible for such a speed-up lies with the removal of the ice-shelf backforce. Independently, it is also well documented that during the last glacial period, the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets experienced large discharges into the ocean, likely reflecting ice flow acceleration episodes on the millennial time scale. The classic interpretation of the latter is based on the existence of an internal thermo-mechanical feedback with the potential to generate oscillatory behavior in the ice sheets. Here we would like to widen the debate by considering that Larsen-B-like glacial analog episodes could have contributed significantly to the registered millennial-scale variablity.

Description: A computational method for determining XBT depths Ocean Science, 7, 733-743, 2011 Author(s): J. Stark, J. Gorman, M. Hennessey, F. Reseghetti, J. Willis, J. Lyman, J. Abraham, and M. Borghini A new technique for determining the depth of expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) is developed. This new method uses a forward-stepping calculation which incorporates all of the forces on the XBT devices during their descent. Of particular note are drag forces which are calculated using a new drag coefficient expression. That expression, obtained entirely from computational fluid dynamic modeling, accounts for local variations in the ocean environment. Consequently, the method allows for accurate determination of depths for any local temperature environment. The results, which are entirely based on numerical simulation, are compared with the experiments of LM Sippican T-5 XBT probes. It is found that the calculated depths differ by less than 3% from depth estimates using the standard fall-rate equation (FRE). Furthermore, the differences decrease with depth. The computational model allows an investigation of the fluid flow patterns along the outer surface of the probe as well as in the interior channel. The simulations take account of complex flow phenomena such as laminar-turbulent transition and flow separation.

Description: Mean Dynamic Topography of the Black Sea, computed from altimetry, drifter measurements and hydrology data Ocean Science, 7, 745-753, 2011 Author(s): A. A. Kubryakov and S. V. Stanichny Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) is a crucial parameter for estimating dynamic topography, and, therefore, geostrophic circulation from satellite altimetry measurements. In this work we use drifting buoy measurements, hydrographic profiles and along-track Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) to reconstruct MDT of the Black Sea by the "synthetic" method. Obtained MDT shows a lot of mesoscale features, which are not present in previous MDT fields of the Black Sea, mostly based on climatic data. Moreover, gradients of sea level in the synthetic MDT are significantly higher compared to other fields, which is evidence of more intense currents in the basin. Validation of determined MDT field with independent dynamic heights and drifter buoy velocities shows good quantitative and qualitative coincidence over all Black Sea basin and improvements compare to previous fields. New Black Sea MDT will improve quality of altimetry-derived geostrophic velocities and lead to better understanding of the spatial and temporal features of the upper layer dynamics.

Description: Optimisation of quasi-3D electrical resistivity imaging – application and inversion for investigating heterogeneous mountain permafrost The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 3383-3421, 2011 Author(s): D. Schwindt and C. Kneisel This study aimed to optimise the application, efficiency and interpretability of quasi-3D resistivity imaging for investigating the heterogeneous permafrost distribution at mountain sites by a systematic forward modelling approach. A three dimensional geocryologic model, representative for most mountain permafrost settings, was developed. Based on this geocryologic model quasi-3D models were generated by collating synthetic orthogonal 2D arrays, demonstrating the effects of array types and electrode spacing on resolution and interpretability of the inversion results. The effects of minimising the number of 2D arrays per quasi-3D grid were tested by enlarging the spacing between adjacent lines and by reducing the number of perpendicular tie lines with regard to model resolution and loss of information value. Synthetic and measured quasi-3D models were investigated with regard to the lateral and vertical resolution, reliability of inverted resistivity values, the possibility of a quantitative interpretation of resistivities and the response of the inversion process on the validity of quasi-3D models. Results show that setups using orthogonal 2D arrays with electrode spacings of 2 m and 3 m are capable of delineating lateral heterogeneity with high accuracy and also deliver reliable data on active layer thickness. Detection of permafrost thickness, especially if the permafrost base is close to the penetration depth of the setups, and the reliability of absolute resistivity values emerged to be a weakness of the method. Quasi-3D imaging has proven to be a promising tool for investigating permafrost in mountain environments especially for delineating the often small-scale permafrost heterogeneity, and therefore provides an enhanced possibility for aligning permafrost distribution with site specific surface properties and morphological settings.

Description: Seasonal variations of glacier dynamics at Kronebreen, Svalbard revealed by calving related seismicity The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 3291-3321, 2011 Author(s): A. Köhler, A. Chapuis, C. Nuth, J. Kohler, and C. Weidle We detect and cluster waveforms of seismic signals recorded close to the calving front of Kronebreen, Svalbard, to identify glacier-induced seismic events and to investigate their relation to calving processes. Single-channel geophone data recorded over several months in 2009 and 2010 are combined with eleven days of direct visual observations of the glacier front. We apply a processing scheme which combines conventional seismic event detection using a sensitive trigger algorithm and unsupervised clustering of all detected signals based on their waveform characteristics by means of Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs). We are able to distinguish between false detections, instrumental artifacts, and three classes of signals which are, with different degrees of uncertainty, emitted by calving activity. About 10 % of the directly observed calving events close to the geophone (

Description: Recent acceleration of ice loss in the Northern Patagonia Icefield based on an updated decennial evolution The Cryosphere Discussions, 5, 3323-3381, 2011 Author(s): P. López and G. Casassa Ice elevation changes of the Northern Patagonia Icefield (NPI) were analyzed by comparing three Digital Elevation Models (DEM) corresponding to 1975 (constructed based on topographic maps), the SRTM DEM of 2000 yr and a SPOT 5 DEM of 2005. In addition, the glacier length fluctuations and the surface area evolution between 2001 and 2011 of 25 glaciers of the NPI were studied: the information extracted from the Landsat ETM+ satellite image of 11 March 2001 was compared to the measurements performed based on the Landsat ETM+ satellite image of 19 February 2011. From a global point of view, the majority of the studied glaciers thinned, retreated and lost surface between 2001 and 2011, only few glaciers (Leones, Nef, Pared Sur and Soler) located on the eastern side of the NPI have been stable. Glaciers located on the western side of the NPI suffered a stronger wasting compared to the glaciers located on the eastern side. Overall, over the ablation areas of the NPI (below 1150 m a.s.l.) a more rapid thinning of 2.6 m yr −1 occurred between 2000 and 2005 yr compared to the period 1975–2000, in which a mean thinning of 1.7 m yr −1 was measured for the same zones of the NPI. For the whole period (1975–2005) the most important thinning of the ablation areas has been estimated for HPN-1 Glacier (4.4 m yr −1 ) followed by Benito (3.4 m yr −1 ), Fraenkel (2.4 m yr −1 ), Gualas (2.1 m yr −1 ) and Acodado glaciers, all of them located on the western side of the NPI. Between 2001 and 2011, a noteworthy retreat of 1.9 km was experienced by Gualas Glacier and by Reichert Glacier with 1.6 km, both located on the north-western side of the NPI. On the south-western side of the NPI, during the same decennia, Steffen Glacier experienced a remarkable retreat of 1.6 km as well. During the 2001–2011 period, Steffen Glacier more than doubled its rate of retreat (compared to the 1979–2001 period) and experienced the disintegration of its main front as well as a lateral tongue that retreated 3.1 km. The most significant retreat observed on the eastern side was experienced by Colonia Glacier (1 km). Area loss was also relevant during the period 2001–2011. Overall, the icefield experienced a reduction of 50.6 km 2 which represents a 1.3 % relative to the surface area calculated for 2001 yr. The most remarkable surface reduction was observed for HPN-1 Glacier that lost 3.2 % of its surface estimated in 2001, followed by Steffen Glacier (2.8 %). We suggest that the glacier shrinking observed in the NPI is controlled firstly by atmospheric warming, as it has been reported in this area. Nevertheless, updated climatic studies are needed in order to confirm this suggestion. If the detected past climate trends persist, in the future, glaciers of the NPI will continuous or even increase their rate of shrinking generating important consequences for this region like the production of Glacier Lake Outburst Flood events or the decrease of the melt-water runoff in the long-term future.

Description: Towards a regional ocean forecasting system for the IBI (Iberia-Biscay-Ireland area): developments and improvements within the ECOOP project framework Ocean Science, 8, 143-159, 2012 Author(s): S. Cailleau, J. Chanut, J.-M. Lellouche, B. Levier, C. Maraldi, G. Reffray, and M. G. Sotillo The regional ocean operational system remains a key element in downscaling from large scale (global or basin scale) systems to coastal ones. It enables the transition between systems in which the resolution and the resolved physics are quite different. Indeed, coastal applications need a system to predict local high frequency events (inferior to the day) such as storm surges, while deep sea applications need a system to predict large scale lower frequency ocean features. In the framework of the ECOOP project, a regional system for the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland area has been upgraded from an existing V0 version to a V2. This paper focuses on the improvements from the V1 system, for which the physics are close to a large scale basin system, to the V2 for which the physics are more adapted to shelf and coastal issues. Strong developments such as higher regional physics resolution in the NEMO Ocean General Circulation Model for tides, non linear free surface and adapted vertical mixing schemes among others have been implemented in the V2 version. Thus, regional thermal fronts due to tidal mixing now appear in the latest version solution and are quite well positioned. Moreover, simulation of the stratification in shelf areas is also improved in the V2.

Description: Arctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979–2010 The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 957-979, 2012 Author(s): D. J. Cavalieri and C. L. Parkinson Analyses of 32 yr (1979–2010) of Arctic sea ice extents and areas derived from satellite passive microwave radiometers are presented for the Northern Hemisphere as a whole and for nine Arctic regions. There is an overall negative yearly trend of −51.5 ± 4.1 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−4.1 ± 0.3% decade −1 ) in sea ice extent for the hemisphere. The sea ice extent trends for the individual Arctic regions are all negative except for the Bering Sea: −3.9 ± 1.1 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−8.7 ± 2.5% decade −1 ) for the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, +0.3 ± 0.8 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (+1.2 ± 2.7% decade −1 ) for the Bering Sea, −4.4 ± 0.7 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−5.1 ± 0.9% decade −1 ) for Hudson Bay, −7.6 ± 1.6 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−8.5 ± 1.8% decade −1 ) for Baffin Bay/Labrador Sea, −0.5 ± 0.3 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−5.9 ± 3.5% decade −1 ) for the Gulf of St. Lawrence, −6.5 ± 1.1 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−8.6 ± 1.5% decade −1 ) for the Greenland Sea, −13.5 ± 2.3 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−9.2 ± 1.6% decade −1 ) for the Kara and Barents Seas, −14.6 ± 2.3 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−2.1 ± 0.3% decade −1 ) for the Arctic Ocean, and −0.9 ± 0.4 × 10 3 km 2 yr −1 (−1.3 ± 0.5% decade −1 ) for the Canadian Archipelago. Similarly, the yearly trends for sea ice areas are all negative except for the Bering Sea. On a seasonal basis for both sea ice extents and areas, the largest negative trend is observed for summer with the next largest negative trend being for autumn.

Description: Ikaite crystals in melting sea ice – implications for p CO 2 and pH levels in Arctic surface waters The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 1015-1035, 2012 Author(s): S. Rysgaard, R. N. Glud, K. Lennert, M. Cooper, N. Halden, R. J. G. Leakey, F. C. Hawthorne, and D. Barber A major issue of Arctic marine science is to understand whether the Arctic Ocean is, or will be, a source or sink for air-sea CO 2 exchange. This has been complicated by the recent discoveries of ikaite (CaCO 3 ·6H 2 O) in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, which indicate that multiple chemical transformations occur in sea ice with a possible effect on CO 2 and pH conditions in surface waters. Here we report on biogeochemical conditions, microscopic examinations and x-ray diffraction analysis of single crystals from an actively melting 1.7 km 2 (0.5–1 m thick) drifting ice floe in the Fram Strait during summer. Our findings show that ikaite crystals are present throughout the sea ice but with larger crystals appearing in the upper ice layers. Ikaite crystals placed at elevated temperatures gradually disintegrated into smaller crystallites and dissolved. During our field campaign in late June, melt reduced the ice flow thickness by ca. 0.2 m per week and resulted in an estimated 1.6 ppm decrease of p CO 2 in the ocean surface mixed layer. This corresponds to an air-sea CO 2 uptake of 11 mmol m −2 sea ice d −1 or to 3.5 ton km −2 ice floe week −1 .

Description: Technical Note: Detection of gas bubble leakage via correlation of water column multibeam images Ocean Science, 8, 175-181, 2012 Author(s): J. Schneider von Deimling and C. Papenberg Hydroacoustic detection of natural gas release from the seafloor has been conducted in the past by using singlebeam echosounders. In contrast, modern multibeam swath mapping systems allow much wider coverage, higher resolution, and offer 3-D spatial correlation. Up to the present, the extremely high data rate hampers water column backscatter investigations and more sophisticated visualization and processing techniques are needed. Here, we present water column backscatter data acquired with a 50 kHz prototype multibeam system over a period of 75 seconds. Display types are of swath-images as well as of a "re-sorted" singlebeam presentation. Thus, individual and/or groups of gas bubbles rising from the 24 m deep seafloor clearly emerge in the acoustic images, making it possible to estimate rise velocities. A sophisticated processing scheme is introduced to identify those rising gas bubbles in the hydroacoustic data. We apply a cross-correlation technique adapted from particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) to the acoustic backscatter images. Temporal and spatial drift patterns of the bubbles are assessed and are shown to match very well to measured and theoretical rise patterns. The application of this processing to our field data gives clear results with respect to unambiguous bubble detection and remote bubble rise velocimetry. The method can identify and exclude the main source of misinterpretations, i.e. fish-mediated echoes. Although image-based cross-correlation techniques are well known in the field of fluid mechanics for high resolution and non-inversive current flow field analysis, we present the first application of this technique as an acoustic bubble detector.

Description: Black Sea coastal forecasting system Ocean Science, 8, 183-196, 2012 Author(s): A. I. Kubryakov, G. K. Korotaev, V. L. Dorofeev, Y. B. Ratner, A. Palazov, N. Valchev, V. Malciu, R. Matescu, and T. Oguz The Black Sea coastal nowcasting and forecasting system was built within the framework of EU FP6 ECOOP (European COastalshelf sea OPerational observing and forecasting system) project for five regions: the south-western basin along the coasts of Bulgaria and Turkey, the north-western shelf along the Romanian and Ukrainian coasts, coastal zone around of the Crimea peninsula, the north-eastern Russian coastal zone and the coastal zone of Georgia. The system operates in the real-time mode during the ECOOP project and afterwards. The forecasts include temperature, salinity and current velocity fields. Ecosystem model operates in the off-line mode near the Crimea coast.

Description: Inferring snow pack ripening and melt out from distributed ground surface temperature measurements The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 563-591, 2012 Author(s): M.-O. Schmid, S. Gubler, J. Fiddes, and S. Gruber The seasonal snow cover and its melting are heterogeneous both in space and time. Describing and modelling this variability are important because it affects divers phenomena such as runoff, ground temperatures or slope movements. This study investigates the derivation of melting characteristics based on spatial clusters of temperature measurements. Results are based on data from Switzerland where ground surface temperatures were measured with miniature loggers (iButtons) at 40 locations, referred to as footprints. At each footprint, ten iButtons have been distributed randomly few cm below the ground surface over an area of 10 m × 10 m. Footprints span elevations of 2100–3300 m a.s.l. and slope angles of 0–55°, as well as diverse slope expositions and types of surface cover and ground material. Based on two years of temperature data, the basal ripening date and the melt-out date are determined for each iButton, aggregated to the footprint level and further analysed. The date of melt out could be derived for nearly all iButtons, the ripening date could be extracted for only approximately half of them because it requires ground freezing below the snow pack. The variability within a footprint is often considerable and one to three weeks difference between melting or ripening of the points in one footprint is not uncommon. The correlation of mean annual ground surface temperatures, ripening date and melt-out date is moderate, making them useful intuitive complementary measured for model evaluation.

Description: Impact of spatial resolution on the modelling of the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance between 1990–2010, using the regional climate model MAR The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 635-672, 2012 Author(s): B. Franco, X. Fettweis, C. Lang, and M. Erpicum With the aim to force an ice dynamical model, the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) surface mass balance (SMB) was modelled at different spatial resolutions (15–50 km) for the period 1990–2010, using the regional climate model MAR (Modèle Atmosphérique Régional) forced by the ERA-INTERIM reanalysis. This comparison revealed that (i) the inter-annual variability of the SMB components is consistent within the different spatial resolutions investigated, (ii) the MAR model simulates heavier precipitation on average over the GrIS with diminishing spatial resolution, and (iii) the SMB components (except precipitation) can be derived from a simulation at lower resolution with an ''intelligent'' interpolation. This interpolation can also be used to approximate the SMB components over another topography/ice sheet mask of the GrIS. These results are important for the forcing of an ice dynamical model, needed to enable future projections of the GrIS contribution to sea level rise over the coming centuries.

Description: Uncertainty in future solid ice discharge from Antarctica The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 673-714, 2012 Author(s): R. Winkelmann, A. Levermann, K. Frieler, and M. A. Martin Future solid ice discharge from Antarctica under climate scenarios based on the Extended Concentration Pathways is investigated with the Potsdam Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM-PIK), a shallow model with a consistent representation of the ice flow in sheet, shelves and the transition zone. Both the uncertainty in the climate forcing as well as the intra-model uncertainty are combined into a probability distribution for solid ice discharge from Antarctica until the year 2500 under the ECP scenarios: All simulations are performed for a 81-member perturbed-physics ensemble and the likely ranges of surface and ocean warming under the emission pathways derived from the results of 20 CMIP3-AOGCMS. The effects of surface warming, ocean warming and increased precipitation on solid ice discharge are separately considered. We find that solid ice discharge caused by enhanced sub-shelf melting exceeds that caused by surface warming. Increasing precipitation leads to a change from net sea-level rise to sea-level drop. Our results suggest that the history of the ice-sheet plays an important role with respect to projections of solid ice discharge. Although all climate-change-forced simulations begin with the year 1850, the ice discharge around 2000 is significantly smaller than observed. Observed changes in ice discharge are reached around 2077 under the ECP-8.5 scenario. During the subsequent century, ice discharge reaches up to 0.24 m.

Description: Sea surface temperature anomalies, seasonal cycle and trend regimes in the Eastern Pacific coast Ocean Science, 8, 81-90, 2012 Author(s): A. Ramos-Rodríguez, D. B. Lluch-Cota, S. E. Lluch-Cota, and A. Trasviña-Castro We used the extended reconstruction of sea surface temperature (ERSST) to analyze the variation of surface temperature and the seasonal cycle along the coast of the eastern Pacific (60° N–60° S, 61 pixels alongshore) from 1950 to 2010 (732 months). First, we analyzed the monthly anomalies and looked for a relationship of such anomalies with total solar irradiance (TSI) and then the Regime Shift Detector (RSD) was applied to detect possible temperature regimes in the series. Afterwards, we calculated a yearly temperature range per pixel (amplitude of seasonal cycle) and through the subtraction of a latitudinal theoretical curve of temperature based on solar irradiance, the residuals of the seasonal cycle were obtained. The results showed an almost complete spatial synchrony and dominance of negative anomalies from 1950 to mid-late 1970's, with a switch to near-zero and positive anomalies that lasted up to late 1990's when a new shift to negative values was detected. Such a shift lasted until the early 2000's when positive anomalies appeared again but there was a change to negative anomalies in the late 2000's. These results were supported by the RSD. The TSI variability shows a clear relationship with that of sea surface temperature anomalies and with the regime changes. This is probably due to a difference in the amount of energy received from the sun. Comparing the "cool regime" versus the "warm regime", the second one received 0.39% more energy (approximately 3 × 10 8 J m −2 ) from the sun. Seasonal cycles show larger ranges at northern latitudes (〉40° N), northern tropical-temperate transition zone (20°–26° N) and in the tropical-equatorial band (0°–30° S). The smallest ranges occur at 0°–16° N and 50°–60° S. The residuals (seasonal minus the theoretical curve) indicated a clear modulation due to advection by ocean currents.

Description: Snow specific surface area simulation using the one-layer snow model in the Canadian LAnd Surface Scheme (CLASS) The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 5255-5289, 2012 Author(s): A. Roy, A. Royer, B. Montpetit, P. A. Bartlett, and A. Langlois Snow grain size is a key parameter for modeling microwave snow emission properties and the surface energy balance because of its influence on the snow albedo, thermal conductivity and diffusivity. A model of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow was implemented in the one-layer snow model in the Canadian LAnd Surface Scheme (CLASS) version 3.4. This offline multilayer model (CLASS-SSA) simulates the decrease of SSA based on snow age, snow temperature and the temperature gradient under dry snow conditions, whereas it considers the liquid water content for wet snow metamorphism. We compare the model with ground-based measurements from several sites (alpine, Arctic and sub-Arctic) with different types of snow. The model provides simulated SSA in good agreement with measurements with an overall point-to-point comparison RMSE of 8.1 m 2 kg −1 , and a RMSE of 4.9 m 2 kg −1 for the snowpack average SSA. The model, however, is limited under wet conditions due to the single-layer nature of the CLASS model, leading to a single liquid water content value for the whole snowpack. The SSA simulations are of great interest for satellite passive microwave brightness temperature assimilations, snow mass balance retrievals and surface energy balance calculations with associated climate feedbacks.

Description: Net accumulation rates derived from ice core stable isotope records of Pío XI glacier, Southern Patagonia Icefield The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 5291-5316, 2012 Author(s): M. Schwikowski, M. Schläppi, P. Santibañez, A. Rivera, and G. Casassa Pío XI, the largest glacier of the Southern Patagonia Icefield, reached its neoglacial maximum extent in 1994 and is one of the few glaciers in that area which is not retreating. In view of the recent warming it is important to understand glacier responses to climate changes. Due to its remoteness and the harsh conditions in Patagonia, no systematic mass balance studies have been performed. In this study we derived net accumulation rates for the period 2000 to 2006 from a 50 m (33.2 4 m weq) ice core collected in the accumulation area of Pío XI (2600 m a.s.l., 49°16´40´´ S, 73°21´14´´ W). Borehole temperatures indicate near temperate ice, but the average melt percent is only 16% ± 14%. Records of stable isotopes are well preserved and were used for identification of annual layers. Net accumulation rates range from 3.4 to 7.1 water equivalent (m weq) with an average of 5.8 m weq, comparable to precipitation amounts at the Chilean coast, but not as high as expected for the Icefield. Ice core stable isotope data correlate well with upper air temperatures and may be used as temperature proxy.

Description: Assimilation of sea-ice concentration in a global climate model – physical and statistical aspects Ocean Science, 9, 19-36, 2013 Author(s): S. Tietsche, D. Notz, J. H. Jungclaus, and J. Marotzke We investigate the initialisation of Northern Hemisphere sea ice in the global climate model ECHAM5/MPI-OM by assimilating sea-ice concentration data. The analysis updates for concentration are given by Newtonian relaxation, and we discuss different ways of specifying the analysis updates for mean thickness. Because the conservation of mean ice thickness or actual ice thickness in the analysis updates leads to poor assimilation performance, we introduce a proportional dependence between concentration and mean thickness analysis updates. Assimilation with these proportional mean-thickness analysis updates leads to good assimilation performance for sea-ice concentration and thickness, both in identical-twin experiments and when assimilating sea-ice observations. The simulation of other Arctic surface fields in the coupled model is, however, not significantly improved by the assimilation. To understand the physical aspects of assimilation errors, we construct a simple prognostic model of the sea-ice thermodynamics, and analyse its response to the assimilation. We find that an adjustment of mean ice thickness in the analysis update is essential to arrive at plausible state estimates. To understand the statistical aspects of assimilation errors, we study the model background error covariance between ice concentration and ice thickness. We find that the spatial structure of covariances is best represented by the proportional mean-thickness analysis updates. Both physical and statistical evidence supports the experimental finding that assimilation with proportional mean-thickness updates outperforms the other two methods considered. The method described here is very simple to implement, and gives results that are sufficiently good to be used for initialising sea ice in a global climate model for seasonal to decadal predictions.

Description: Toward a multivariate reanalysis of the North Atlantic Ocean biogeochemistry during 1998–2006 based on the assimilation of SeaWiFS chlorophyll data Ocean Science, 9, 37-56, 2013 Author(s): C. Fontana, P. Brasseur, and J.-M. Brankart Today, the routine assimilation of satellite data into operational models of ocean circulation is mature enough to enable the production of global reanalyses describing the ocean circulation variability during the past decades. The expansion of the "reanalysis" concept from ocean physics to biogeochemistry is a timely challenge that motivates the present study. The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential benefits of assimilating satellite-estimated chlorophyll data into a basin-scale three-dimensional coupled physical–biogeochemical model of the North Atlantic. The aim is on the one hand to improve forecasts of ocean biogeochemical properties and on the other hand to define a methodology for producing data-driven climatologies based on coupled physical–biogeochemical modeling. A simplified variant of the Kalman filter is used to assimilate ocean color data during a 9-year period. In this frame, two experiments are carried out, with and without anamorphic transformations of the state vector variables. Data assimilation efficiency is assessed with respect to the assimilated data set, nitrate of the World Ocean Atlas database and a derived climatology. Along the simulation period, the non-linear assimilation scheme clearly improves the surface analysis and forecast chlorophyll concentrations, especially in the North Atlantic bloom region. Nitrate concentration forecasts are also improved thanks to the assimilation of ocean color data while this improvement is limited to the upper layer of the water column, in agreement with recent related literature. This feature is explained by the weak correlation taken into account by the assimilation between surface phytoplankton and nitrate concentrations deeper than 50 meters. The assessment of the non-linear assimilation experiments indicates that the proposed methodology provides the skeleton of an assimilative system suitable for reanalyzing the ocean biogeochemistry based on ocean color data.

Description: High sensitivity of tidewater outlet glacier dynamics to shape The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 551-572, 2013 Author(s): E. M. Enderlin, I. M. Howat, and A. Vieli Variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior under similar external forcing has been attributed to differences in outlet shape (i.e. bed elevation and width), but this dependence has not been investigated in detail. Here we use a numerical ice flow model to show that the dynamics of tidewater outlet glaciers under external forcing are highly sensitive to width and bed topography. Our sensitivity tests indicate that for glaciers with similar discharge, the trunks of wider glaciers and those grounded over deeper basal depressions tend to be closer to flotation, so that less dynamically induced thinning results in rapid, unstable retreat following a perturbation. The lag time between the onset of the perturbation and unstable retreat varies with outlet shape, which may help explain intra-regional variability in tidewater outlet glacier behavior. Further, because the perturbation response is dependent on the thickness relative to flotation, varying the bed topography within the range of observational uncertainty can result in either stable or unstable retreat due to the same perturbation. Thus, extreme care must be taken when interpreting the future behavior of actual glacier systems using numerical ice flow models that are not accompanied by comprehensive sensitivity analyses.

Description: A clustering analysis of eddies' spatial distribution in the South China Sea Ocean Science, 9, 171-182, 2013 Author(s): J. Yi, Y. Du, X. Wang, Z. He, and C. Zhou Spatial variation is important for studying the mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea (SCS). To investigate such spatial variations, this study made a clustering analysis on eddies' distribution using the K-means approach. Results showed that clustering tendency of anticyclonic eddies (AEs) and cyclonic eddies (CEs) were weak but not random, and the number of clusters were proved greater than four. Finer clustering results showed 10 regions where AEs densely populated and 6 regions for CEs in the SCS. Previous studies confirmed these partitions and possible generation mechanisms were related. Comparisons between AEs and CEs revealed that patterns of AE are relatively more aggregated than those of CE, and specific distinctions were summarized: (1) to the southwest of Luzon Island, AEs and CEs are generated spatially apart; AEs are likely located north of 14° N and closer to shore, while CEs are to the south and further offshore. (2) The central SCS and Nansha Trough are mostly dominated by AEs. (3) Along 112° E, clusters of AEs and CEs are located sequentially apart, and the pairs off Vietnam represent the dipole structures. (4) To the southwest of the Dongsha Islands, AEs are concentrated to the east of CEs. Overlaps of AEs and CEs in the northeastern and southern SCS were further examined considering seasonal variations. The northeastern overlap represented near-concentric distributions while the southern one was a mixed effect of seasonal variations, complex circulations and topography influences.

Description: Sea surface freshening inferred from SMOS and ARGO salinity: impact of rain Ocean Science, 9, 183-192, 2013 Author(s): J. Boutin, N. Martin, G. Reverdin, X. Yin, and F. Gaillard The sea surface salinity (SSS) measured from space by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission has recently been revisited by the European Space Agency first campaign reprocessing. We show that, with respect to the previous version, biases close to land and ice greatly decrease. The accuracy of SMOS SSS averaged over 10 days, 100 × 100 km 2 in the open ocean and estimated by comparison to ARGO (Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography) SSS is on the order of 0.3–0.4 in tropical and subtropical regions and 0.5 in a cold region. The averaged negative SSS bias (−0.1) observed in the tropical Pacific Ocean between 5° N and 15° N, relatively to other regions, is suppressed when SMOS observations concomitant with rain events, as detected from SSM/Is (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) rain rates, are removed from the SMOS–ARGO comparisons. The SMOS freshening is linearly correlated to SSM/Is rain rate with a slope estimated to −0.14 mm −1 h, after correction for rain atmospheric contribution. This tendency is the signature of the temporal SSS variability between the time of SMOS and ARGO measurements linked to rain variability and of the vertical salinity stratification between the first centimeter of the sea surface layer sampled by SMOS and the 5 m depth sampled by ARGO. However, given that the whole set of collocations includes situations with ARGO measurements concomitant with rain events collocated with SMOS measurements under no rain, the mean −0.1 bias and the negative skewness of the statistical distribution of SMOS minus ARGO SSS difference are very likely the mean signature of the vertical salinity stratification. In the future, the analysis of ongoing in situ salinity measurements in the top 50 cm of the sea surface and of Aquarius satellite SSS are expected to provide complementary information about the sea surface salinity stratification.

Description: Microstructure observations during the spring 2011 STRATIPHYT-II cruise in the northeast Atlantic Ocean Science, 8, 945-957, 2012 Author(s): E. Jurado, H. A. Dijkstra, and H. J. van der Woerd Small-scale temperature and conductivity variations have been measured in the upper 100 m of the northeast Atlantic during the STRATIPHYT-II cruise (Las Palmas–Reykjavik, 6 April–3 May 2011). The measurements were done at midday and comprised 2 to 15 vertical profiles at each station. The derived turbulent quantities show a transition between weakly-stratified (mixed layer depth, MLD, 100), which was centered at about 48° N. The temperature eddy diffusivities, K T , range from 10 −5 to 10 0 m 2 s −1 in the weakly-stratified stations, and range from 3 × 10 −4 to 2 × 10 0 m 2 s −1 in the well-mixed stations. The turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates, ε, range from 3 × 10 −8 to 2 × 10 −6 m 2 s −3 south of the transition zone, and from 10 −7 to 10 −5 m 2 s −3 north of the transition zone. The station-averaged K T values throughout the mixed layer increase exponentially with the wind speed. The station-averaged ε values throughout the mixed layer scale with the wind stress similarity variable with a scaling factor of about 1.8 in the wind-dominated stations (ε ≈ 1.8 u ☆ 3 /(−κ z )). The values of K T and ε are on average 10 times higher compared to the values measured at the same stations in July 2009. The results presented here constitute a unique data set giving large spatial coverage of upper ocean spring turbulence quantities.

Description: A general treatment of snow microstructure exemplified by an improved relation for the thermal conductivity The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 4673-4693, 2012 Author(s): H. Löwe, F. Riche, and M. Schneebeli Finding relevant microstructural parameters beyond the density is a longstanding problem which hinders the formulation of accurate parametrizations of physical properties of snow. Towards a remedy we address the effective thermal conductivity tensor of snow via known anisotropic, second-order bounds. The bound provides an explicit expression for the thermal conductivity and predicts the relevance of a microstructural anisotropy parameter Q which is given by an integral over the two-point correlation function and unambiguously defined for arbitrary snow structures. For validation we compiled a comprehensive data set of 167 snow samples. The set comprises individual samples of various snow types and entire time series of metamorphism experiments under isothermal and temperature gradient conditions. All samples were digitally reconstructed by micro-computed tomography to perform microstructure-based simulations of heat transport. The incorporation of anisotropy via Q considerably reduces the root mean square error over the usual density-based parametrization. The systematic quantification of anisotropy via the two-point correlation function suggests a generalizable route to incorporate microstructure into snowpack models. We indicate the inter-relation of the conductivity to other properties and outline a potential impact of Q on dielectric constant, permeability and adsorption rate of diffusing species in the pore space.

Description: Radio-frequency probes of Antarctic ice birefringence at South Pole vs. East Antarctica; evidence for a changing ice fabric The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 4695-4731, 2012 Author(s): D. Besson, N. Doolin, M. Stockham, and I. Kravchenko Following pioneering efforts in East Antarctica, we herein report on the amplitude and temporal characteristics of polarized surface radar echo data collected in South Polar ice using radio sounding equipment with 0.5-ns echo-time precision. We observe strong echoes at 6, 9.6, 13.9, 17, and 19 μs following vertical pulse emission from the surface, in the upper half of the ice sheet. The synchronicity of those echoes for all broadcast azimuthal polarizations affirms the lack of observable birefringence over the upper half of the ice sheet, in contrast to East Antarctica measurements in the vicinity of Dome Fuji, and signifies a dramatic difference in the character of the ice sheet in the intervening 1400 km. Of the five strongest echoes, three exhibit an evident correlation with the local surface ice flow direction, qualitatively consistent with measurements in East Antarctica. Our radio sounding measurements also permit the most precise determination to date of the ice thickness at South Pole.

Description: Boreal snow cover variations induced by aerosol emissions in the middle of the 21st century The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 4733-4769, 2012 Author(s): M. Ménégoz, G. Krinner, Y. Balkanski, A. Cozic, O. Boucher, and P. Ciais We used a coupled climate-chemistry model to quantify the impacts of aerosols on snow cover both for the present-day and for the middle of the 21st century. Black carbon (BC) deposition over continents induces a reduction in the Mean Number of Days With Snow at the Surface (MNDWS) that ranges from 0 to 10 days over large areas of Eurasia and Northern America for the present-day relative to the pre-industrial period. This is mainly due to BC deposition during the spring, a period of the year when the remaining of snow accumulated during the winter is exposed to both strong solar radiation and large amount of aerosol deposition induced themselves by a high level of transport of particles from polluted areas. North of 30° N, this deposition flux represents 222 Gg BC month −1 on average from April to June in our simulation. A large reduction in BC emissions is expected in the future in the Radiative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Considering this scenario in our simulation leads to a decrease in the spring BC deposition down to 110 Gg month −1 in the 2050s in the RCP8.5 scenario. However, despite the reduction of the aerosol impact on snow, the MNDWS is strongly reduced by 2050, with a decrease ranging from 10 to 100 days from pre-industrial values over large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. This reduction is essentially due to temperature increase, which is quite strong in the RCP8.5 scenario in the absence of climate mitigation policies. Moreover, the projected sea-ice retreat in the next decades will open new routes for shipping in the Arctic. However, a large increase in shipping emissions in the Arctic by the mid 21st century does not lead to significant changes of BC deposition over snow-covered areas in our simulation. Therefore, the MNDWS is clearly not affected through snow darkening effects associated to these Arctic ship emissions. In an experiment without nudging toward atmospheric reanalyses, we simulated however some changes of the MNDWS considering such aerosol ship emissions. These changes are generally not statistically significant in boreal continents, except in the Quebec and in the West Siberian plains, where they range between −5 and −10 days. They are induced both by radiative forcings of the aerosols when they are in the atmosphere, and by all the atmospheric feedbacks. Climate change by the mid 21st century could also cause biomass burning activity (forest fires) to become more intense and occur earlier in the season. In an idealized scenario in which forest fires are 50% stronger and occur 2 weeks earlier than at present, we simulated an increase in spring BC deposition of 21 Gg BC month −1 over continents located north of 30° N. This BC deposition does not impact directly the snow cover through snow darkening effects. However, in an experiment considering all the aerosol forcings and atmospheric feedbacks, enhanced fire activity induces a significant decrease of the MNDWS reaching a dozen of days in Quebec and in Eastern Siberia.

Description: Ikaite crystal distribution in Arctic winter sea ice and implications for CO 2 system dynamics The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 5037-5068, 2012 Author(s): S. Rysgaard, D. H. Søgaard, M. Cooper, M. Pućko, K. Lennert, T. N. Papakyriakou, F. Wang, N. X. Geilfus, R. N. Glud, J. Ehn, D. F. McGinnnis, K. Attard, J. Sievers, J. W. Deming, and D. Barber The precipitation of ikaite (CaCO 3 ·6H 2 O) in polar sea ice is critical to the efficiency of the sea ice-driven carbon pump and potentially important to the global carbon cycle, yet the spatial and temporal occurrence of ikaite within the ice is poorly known. We report unique observations of ikaite in unmelted ice and vertical profiles of ikaite abundance and concentration in sea ice for the crucial season of winter. Ice was examined from two locations: a 1 m thick land-fast ice site and a 0.3 m thick polynya site, both in the Young Sound area (74° N, 20° W) of NE Greenland. Ikaite crystals, ranging in size from a few µm to 700 µm were observed to concentrate in the interstices between the ice platelets in both granular and columnar sea ice. In vertical sea-ice profiles from both locations, ikaite concentration determined from image analysis, decreased with depth from surfaceice values of 700–900 µmol kg −1 ice (~ 25 × 10 6 crystals kg −1 ) to bottom-layer values of 100–200 µmol kg −1 ice (1–7 × 10 6 kg −1 ), all of which are much higher (4–10 times) than those reported in the few previous studies. Direct measurements of total alkalinity (TA) in surface layers fell within the same range as ikaite concentration whereas TA concentrations in bottom layers were twice as high. This depth-related discrepancy suggests interior ice processes where ikaite crystals form in surface sea ice layers and partly dissolved in bottom layers. From these findings and model calculations we relate sea ice formation and melt to observed p CO 2 conditions in polar surface waters, and hence, the air-sea CO 2 flux.

Description: Mass balance, runoff and surges of the Bering Glacier, Alaska The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 5095-5117, 2012 Author(s): W. Tangborn The historical net, ablation and accumulation daily balances and runoff of the Bering Glacier, Alaska are determined for the 1951–2011 period with the PTAA (precipitation-temperature-area-altitude) model, using daily precipitation and temperature observations collected at the Cordova and Yakutat weather stations, together with the area-altitude distribution of the glacier. The mean annual balance for this 61-yr period is −0.6 mwe, the accumulation balance is +1.4 and the ablation balance is −2.0 mwe. Periodic surges of this glacier transport large volumes of ice to lower elevations where the ablation rate is higher, producing more negative balances and increasing runoff. During the 1993–1995 surge the average ablation balance is −3.3 mwe, over a meter greater than the 1951–2011 average. Runoff from the Bering Glacier (derived from simulated ablation and precipitation as rain) is highly correlated with the four glacier surges that have been observed since 1951. Ice volume loss for the 1972–2003 period measured with the PTAA model is 2.3 km 3 we a −1 and closely agrees with losses for the same period measured with the geodetic method.

Description: Impact of the sea surface temperature forcing on hindcasts of Madden-Julian Oscillation events using the ECMWF model Ocean Science, 8, 1071-1084, 2012 Author(s): E. de Boisséson, M. A. Balmaseda, F. Vitart, and K. Mogensen This paper explores the sensitivity of hindcasts of the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) to the use of different sea surface temperture (SST) products as lower boundary conditions in the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmospheric model. Three sets of monthly hindcast experiments are conducted, starting from initial conditions from the ERA interim reanalysis. First, as a reference, the atmosphere is forced by the SST used to produce ERA interim. In the second and third experiments, the SST is switched to the OSTIA (Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea-Ice Analysis) and the AVHRR-only (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) reanalyses, respectively. Tests on the temporal resolution of the SST show that monthly fields are not optimal, while weekly and daily resolutions provide similar MJO scores. When using either OSTIA or AVHRR, the propagation of the MJO is degraded and the resulting scores are lower than in the reference experiment. Further experiments show that this loss of skill cannot be attributed to either the difference in mean state or temporal variability between the SST products. Additional diagnostics show that the phase relationship between either OSTIA or AVHRR SST and the MJO convection is distorted with respect to satellite observations and the ERA interim reanalysis. This distortion is expected to impact the MJO hindcasts, leading to a relative loss of forecast skill. A realistic representation of ocean–atmosphere interactions is thus needed for MJO hindcasts, but not all SST products – though accurate for other purposes – fulfill this requirement.

Description: Imbalance of energy and momentum source terms of the sea wave transfer equation for fully developed seas Ocean Science, 8, 1085-1098, 2012 Author(s): G. V. Caudal In the concept of full development, the sea wave spectrum is regarded as a nearly stationary solution of the wave transfer equation, where source and sink terms should be in balance with respect to both energy and momentum. Using a two-dimensional empirical sea wave spectral model at full development, this paper performs an assessment of the compatibility of the energy and momentum budgets of sea waves over the whole spectral range. Among the various combinations of model functions for wave breaking and wind source terms tested, not one is found to fulfill simultaneously the energy and momentum balance of the transfer equation. Based on experimental and theoretical grounds, wave breaking is known to contribute to frequency downshift of a narrow-banded wave spectrum when the modulational instability is combined with wave breaking. On those grounds, it is assumed that, in addition to dissipation, wave breaking produces a spectral energy flux directed toward low wavenumbers. I show that it is then possible to remove the energy and momentum budget inconsistency, and correspondingly the required strength of this spectral flux is estimated. Introducing such a downward spectral flux permits fulfilling both energy and momentum balance conditions. Meanwhile, the consistency between the transfer equation and empirical spectra, estimated by means of a cost function K, is either improved or slightly reduced, depending upon the wave breaking and wind source terms chosen. Other tests are performed in which it is further assumed that wave breaking would also be associated with azimuthal diffusion of the spectral energy. This would correspondingly reduce the required downward spectral flux by a factor of up to 5, although it would not be able to remove it entirely.

Description: Global glacier volumes and sea level – effects of ice below the surface of the ocean and of new local lakes on land The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 5169-5179, 2012 Author(s): W. Haeberli and A. Linsbauer The potential contribution of glaciers and ice caps to sea level rise is usually calculated by comparing the estimated total ice volume with the surface area of the ocean. Part of this total ice volume, however, does not contribute to sea-level rise, because it is below the surface of the ocean or below the levels of future lakes on land. The present communication points to this so far overlooked phenomenon and provides a first order-of-magnitude estimate. It is shown that the effect is small (most likely 1 to 5 cm sea-level equivalent) but systematic, could primarily affect earlier stages of global glacier vanishing and should therefore be adequately considered. Now-available techniques of slope-related high-resolution glacier-bed modelling have the potential to provide more detailed assessments in the future.

Description: Micrometeorological conditions and surface mass and energy fluxes on Lewis glacier, Mt Kenya, in relation to other tropical glaciers The Cryosphere Discussions, 6, 5181-5224, 2012 Author(s): L. Nicholson, R. Prinz, T. Mölg, and G. Kaser The Lewis Glacier on Mt Kenya is one of the best-studied tropical glaciers, but full understanding of the interaction of the glacier mass balance and climate forcing has been hampered by a lack of long term meteorological data. Here we present 2.5 yr of meteorological data collected from the glacier surface from October 2009–February 2012, which indicate that mean meteorological conditions in the upper zone of Lewis Glacier are comparable to those experienced in the ablation zones of South American tropical glaciers. In the context of other glaciated mountains of equatorial east Africa, the summit zone of Mt Kenya shows strong diurnal cycles of convective cloud development as opposed to the Rwenzoris where cloud cover persists throughout the diurnal cycle and Kilimanjaro where clear skies prevail. Surface energy fluxes were calculated for the meteorological station site using a physical mass- and energy-balance model driven by hourly measured meteorological data and additional input parameters that were determined by Monte Carlo optimization. Sublimation rate was lower than those reported on other tropical glaciers and melt rate was high throughout the year, with the glacier surface reaching the melting point on an almost daily basis. Surface mass balance is influenced by both solid precipitation and air temperature, with radiation providing the greatest net source of energy to the surface. Cloud cover typically reduces the net radiation balance compared to clear sky conditions, and thus the more frequent formation of convective clouds over the summit of Mt Kenya, and the associated higher rate of snow accumulation are important in limiting the rate of mass loss from the glacier surface. The analyses shown here are the basis for glacier-wide mass and energy balance modeling to determine the climate proxy offered by the glaciers of Mt Kenya.

Description: Effect of uncertainty in surface mass balance elevation feedback on projections of the future sea level contribution of the Greenland ice sheet – Part 2: Projections The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 675-708, 2013 Author(s): T. L. Edwards, X. Fettweis, O. Gagliardini, F. Gillet-Chaulet, H. Goelzer, J. M. Gregory, M. Hoffman, P. Huybrechts, A. J. Payne, M. Perego, S. Price, A. Quiquet, and C. Ritz We apply a new parameterisation of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) feedback between surface mass balance (SMB: the sum of surface accumulation and surface ablation) and surface elevation in the MAR regional climate model (Edwards et al., 2013) to projections of future climate change using five ice sheet models (ISMs). The MAR climate projections are for 2000–2199, forced by the ECHAM5 and HadCM3 global climate models (GCMs) under the SRES A1B emissions scenario. The additional sea level contribution due to the SMB-elevation feedback averaged over five ISM projections for ECHAM5 and three for HadCM3 is 4.3% (best estimate; 95% credibility interval 1.8–6.9%) at 2100, and 9.6% (best estimate; 95% credibility interval 3.6–16.0%) at 2200. In all results the elevation feedback is significantly positive, amplifying the GrIS sea level contribution relative to the MAR projections in which the ice sheet topography is fixed: the lower bounds of our 95% credibility intervals (CIs) for sea level contributions are larger than the "no feedback" case for all ISMs and GCMs. Our method is novel in sea level projections because we propagate three types of modelling uncertainty – GCM and ISM structural uncertainties, and elevation feedback parameterisation uncertainty – along the causal chain, from SRES scenario to sea level, within a coherent experimental design and statistical framework. The relative contributions to uncertainty depend on the timescale of interest. At 2100, the GCM uncertainty is largest, but by 2200 both the ISM and parameterisation uncertainties are larger. We also perform a~perturbed parameter ensemble with one ISM to estimate the shape of the projected sea level probability distribution; our results indicates that the probability density is slightly skewed towards higher sea level contributions.

Description: Effect of uncertainty in surface mass balance–elevation feedback on projections of the future sea level contribution of the Greenland ice sheet – Part 1: Parameterisation The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 635-674, 2013 Author(s): T. L. Edwards, X. Fettweis, O. Gagliardini, F. Gillet-Chaulet, H. Goelzer, J. M. Gregory, M. Hoffman, P. Huybrechts, A. J. Payne, M. Perego, S. Price, A. Quiquet, and C. Ritz We present a new parameterisation that relates surface mass balance (SMB: the sum of surface accumulation and surface ablation) to changes in surface elevation of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) for the MAR regional climate model. The motivation is to dynamically adjust SMB as the GrIS evolves, allowing us to force ice sheet models with SMB simulated by MAR while incorporating the SMB–elevation feedback, without the substantial technical challenges of coupling the two models. This also allows us to assess the effect of elevation feedback uncertainty on the GrIS contribution to sea level, using multiple global climate and ice sheet models, without the need for additional, expensive MAR simulations. We estimate this relationship separately below and above the equilibrium line altitude (ELA, separating negative and positive SMB) and for regions north and south of 77° N, from a set of MAR simulations in which we alter the ice sheet surface elevation. These give four "SMB lapse rates", gradients that relate SMB changes to elevation changes. We assess uncertainties within a Bayesian framework, estimating probability distributions for each gradient from which we present best estimates and credibility intervals (CIs) that bound 95% of the probability. Below the ELA our gradient estimates are mostly positive, because SMB usually increases with elevation: 0.54 (95% CI: −0.22 to 1.34) kg m −3 a −1 for the north, and 1.89 (1.03 to 2.61) kg m −3 a −1 for the south. Above the ELA the gradients are much smaller: 0.09 (−0.03 to 0.22) kg m −3 a −1 in the north, and 0.06 (−0.07 to 0.56) kg m −3 a −1 in the south, because SMB can either increase or decrease in response to increased elevation. Our statistically based approach allows us to make probabilistic assessments for the effect of elevation feedback uncertainty on sea level projections. In a companion paper we use the best estimates and upper and lower CI bounds in five ice sheet models, and the full probability distributions in another, to adjust simulated SMB from MAR forced by two global climate models for the SRES A1B scenario (Edwards et al., 2013).

Description: Snowdrift modelling for Vestfonna ice cap, north-eastern Svalbard The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 709-741, 2013 Author(s): T. Sauter, M. Möller, R. Finkelnburg, M. Grabiec, D. Scherer, and C. Schneider The redistribution of snow by drifting and blowing snow frequently leads to an inhomogeneous snow mass distribution on larger ice caps. Together with the thermodynamic impact of drifting snow sublimation on the lower atmospheric boundary layer, these processes affect the glacier surface mass balance. This study provides a first quantification of snowdrift and sublimation of blowing and drifting snow on Vestfonna ice cap (Svalbard) by using the specifically designed "snow2blow" snowdrift model. The model is forced by atmospheric fields from the Weather Research and Forecasting model and resolves processes on a spatial resolution of 250 m. Comparison with radio-echo soudings and snow-pit measurements show that important local scale processes are resolved by the model and the overall snow accumulation pattern is reproduced. The findings indicate that there is a significant redistribution of snow mass from the interior of the ice cap to the surrounding areas and ice slopes. Drifting snow sublimation of suspended snow is found to be stronger during winter. It is concluded that both processes are strong enough to have a significant impact on glacier mass balance.

Description: Sensitivity of lake ice regimes to climate change in the nordic region The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 743-788, 2013 Author(s): S. Gebre, T. Boissy, and K. Alfredsen A one-dimensional process-based multi-year lake ice model, MyLake, was used to simulate lake ice phenology and annual maximum lake ice thickness for the Nordic region comprising Fennoscandia and the Baltic countries. The model was first tested and validated using observational meteorological forcing on a candidate lake (Lake Atnsjøen) and using downscaled ERA-40 reanalysis data set. To simulate ice conditions for the contemporary period of 1961–2000, the model was driven by gridded meteorological forcings from ERA-40 global reanalysis data downscaled to a 25 km resolution using the Rossby Center Regional Climate Model (RCA). The model was then forced with two future climate scenarios from the RCA driven by two different GCMs based on the SRES A1B emissions scenario. The two climate scenarios correspond to two future time periods namely the 2050s (2041–2070) and the 2080s (2071–2100). To take into account the influence of lake morphometry, simulations were carried out for four different hypothetical lake depths (5 m, 10 m, 20 m, 40 m) placed at each of the 3708 grid cells. Based on a comparison of the mean predictions in the future 30 yr periods with the control (1961–1990) period, ice cover durations in the region will be shortened by 1 to 11 weeks in 2041–2070, and 3 to 14 weeks in 2071–2100. Annual maximum lake ice thickness, on the other hand, will be reduced by a margin of up to 60 cm by 2041–2070 and up to 70 cm by 2071–2100. The simulated changes in lake ice characteristics revealed that the changes are less dependent on lake depths though there are slight differences. The results of this study provide a~regional perspective of anticipated changes in lake ice regimes due to climate warming across the study area by the middle and end of this century.

Description: Uncertainties and re-analysis of glacier mass balance measurements The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 789-839, 2013 Author(s): M. Zemp, E. Thibert, M. Huss, D. Stumm, C. Rolstad Denby, C. Nuth, S. U. Nussbaumer, G. Moholdt, A. Mercer, C. Mayer, P. C. Joerg, P. Jansson, B. Hynek, A. Fischer, H. Escher-Vetter, H. Elvehøy, and L. M. Andreassen Glacier-wide mass balance has been measured for more than sixty years and is widely used as an indicator of climate change and to assess the glacier contribution to runoff and sea level rise. Until present, comprehensive uncertainty assessments have rarely been carried out and mass balance data have often been applied using rough error estimation or without error considerations. In this study, we propose a framework for re-analyzing glacier mass balance series including conceptual and statistical toolsets for assessment of random and systematic errors as well as for validation and calibration (if necessary) of the glaciological with the geodetic balance results. We demonstrate the usefulness and limitations of the proposed scheme drawing on an analysis that comprises over 50 recording periods for a dozen glaciers and we make recommendations to investigators and users of glacier mass balance data. Reanalysis of glacier mass balance series needs to become a standard procedure for every monitoring programme to improve data quality and provide thorough uncertainty estimates.

Description: An iterative inverse method to estimate basal topography and initialize ice flow models The Cryosphere Discussions, 7, 873-920, 2013 Author(s): W. J. J. van Pelt, J. Oerlemans, C. H. Reijmer, R. Pettersson, V. A. Pohjola, E. Isaksson, and D. Divine We present and evaluate an inverse approach to reconstruct two-dimensional fields of bedrock topography and simultaneously initialize an ice flow model. The inverse method involves an iterative procedure in which an ice dynamical model (PISM) is run multiple times over a prescribed period, while being forced with space and time-dependent climate input. After every iteration bed heights are adjusted using information of the remaining misfit between observed and modeled surface topography. The inverse method is first applied in synthetic experiments with a constant climate forcing to verify convergence and robustness of the approach. In a next step, the inverse approach is applied to Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard, forced with height- and time-dependent climate input since 1300 AD. An L-curve stopping criterion is used to prevent overfitting. Validation against radar data reveals a high correlation (up to R = 0.89) between modeled and observed thicknesses. Remaining uncertainties can mainly be ascribed to inaccurate model physics, in particular uncertainty in the description of sliding. Results demonstrate the applicability of this inverse method to reconstruct the ice thickness distribution of glaciers and ice caps. In addition to reconstructing bedrock topography, the method provides a direct tool to initialize ice flow models for forecasting experiments. Application of the method is not constrained to a single model or glacier, indicating the potential to use the approach to compute the detailed thickness distribution of a single glacier, as well as the volume contained in a set of glaciers and ice caps.