Darkening of the Greenland ice sheet due to the melt albedo feedback observed at PROMICE weather stations

Authors

  • Dirk van As Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K. Denmark
  • Robert S. Fausto Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K. Denmark
  • William T. Colgan Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K. Denmark
  • Jason E. Box Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K. Denmark
  • * PROMICE project team *Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe B. Andersen, Morten L. Andersen, Charalampos Charalampidis, Michele Citterio, Karen Edelvang, Trine S. Jensen, Signe H. Larsen, Horst Machguth, Søren Nielsen, Martin Veicherts and Anker Weidick

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v28.4728

Abstract

The Greenland ice sheet is losing mass (Barletta et al. 2012) and at least half of this loss is caused by an increase in surface melt (e.g. Tedesco et al. 2013). The other part is caused by increased dynamic mass loss, as marine-terminating glaciers lose resistive stresses (Nick et al. 2009) due to both retreat and meltwater lubrication at the bed (Sasgen et al. 2012). In 2007, the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) was initiated with the aim of gaining an insight into the causes of the ice-mass budget changes based on quantitative observations. This is primarily done by assessing how much mass is gained as snow accumulation on the surface versus how much is lost by calving and surface ablation (Ahlstrøm et al. 2008). PROMICE monitors the surface mass balance by means of automatic weather stations (AWSs) designed to quantify accumulation and ablation, as well as the specific energy sources contributing to ablation. These observations are vital to interpreting the physical mechanisms for ice-sheet response to climate change and for the calibration and validation of both satellite observations and climate models.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

10-07-2013

How to Cite

van As, D., Fausto, R. S., Colgan, W. T., Box, J. E., & PROMICE project team, *. (2013). Darkening of the Greenland ice sheet due to the melt albedo feedback observed at PROMICE weather stations. GEUS Bulletin, 28, 69–72. https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v28.4728

Issue

Section

RESEARCH ARTICLE | SHORT

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>