High resolution (1 km) positive degree-day modelling of Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance, 1870–2012 using reanalysis data

Wilton, David J.; Jowett, Amy; Hanna, Edward; Bigg, Grant R.; Van Den Broeke, Michiel R.; Fettweis, Xavier; Huybrechts, Philippe

doi:10.1017/jog.2016.133

Title: High resolution (1 km) positive degree-day modelling of Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance, 1870–2012 using reanalysis data

Journal Article · Thu Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Journal of Glaciology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.133· OSTI ID:1358439

Wilton, David J. ^[1]; Jowett, Amy ^[1]; Hanna, Edward ^[1]; Bigg, Grant R. ^[1]; Van Den Broeke, Michiel R. ^[2]; Fettweis, Xavier ^[3]; Huybrechts, Philippe ^[4]

Univ. of Sheffield, Sheffield (United Kingdom)
Utrecht Univ., Utrecht (The Netherlands)
Univ. of Liege, Liege (Belgium)
Vrije Univ. Brussel, Brussels (Belgium)

Here, we show results from a positive degree-day (PDD) model of Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) surface mass balance (SMB), 1870–2012, forced with reanalysis data. The model includes an improved daily temperature parameterization as compared with a previous version and is run at 1 km rather than 5 km resolution. The improvements lead overall to higher SMB with the same forcing data. We also compare our model with results from two regional climate models (RCMs). While there is good qualitative agreement between our PDD model and the RCMs, it usually results in lower precipitation and lower runoff but approximately equivalent SMB: mean 1979–2012 SMB (± standard deviation), in Gt a^–1, is 382 ± 78 in the PDD model, compared with 379 ± 101 and 425 ± 90 for the RCMs. Comparison with in situ SMB observations suggests that the RCMs may be more accurate than PDD at local level, in some areas, although the latter generally compares well. Dividing the GrIS into seven drainage basins we show that SMB has decreased sharply in all regions since 2000. Finally we show correlation between runoff close to two calving glaciers and either calving front retreat or calving flux, this being most noticeable from the mid-1990s.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Univ. of Sheffield, Sheffield (United Kingdom)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0009988

OSTI ID:: 1358439

Journal Information:: Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 63, Issue 237; ISSN 0022-1430

Publisher:: International Glaciological SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 29 works

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Estimating Greenland surface melt is hampered by melt induced dampening of temperature variability Krebs-Kanzow, Uta; Gierz, Paul; Lohmann, Gerrit Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 64, Issue 244 https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.10	journal	March 2018
A simple physics-based improvement to the positive degree day model Tsai, Victor C.; Ruan, Xiaozhou Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 64, Issue 246 https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.55	journal	July 2018
Evaluation of Reconstructions of Snow/Ice Melt in Greenland by Regional Atmospheric Climate Models Using Laser Altimetry Data Sutterley, Tyler C.; Velicogna, Isabella; Fettweis, Xavier Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl078645	journal	August 2018
Space‐Time Evolution of Greenland Ice Sheet Elevation and Mass From Envisat and GRACE Data Yang, Yuande; Li, Fei; Hwang, Cheinway Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 124, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jf004765	journal	August 2019
Linear response of east Greenland’s tidewater glaciers to ocean/atmosphere warming Cowton, T. R.; Sole, A. J.; Nienow, P. W. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115, Issue 31 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1801769115	journal	July 2018
The Influence of Hydrology on the Dynamics of Land-Terminating Sectors of the Greenland Ice Sheet Davison, Benjamin Joseph; Sole, Andrew John; Livingstone, Stephen John Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol. 7 https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00010	journal	February 2019
The Case for a Sustained Greenland Ice Sheet-Ocean Observing System (GrIOOS) Straneo, Fiammetta; Sutherland, David A.; Stearns, Leigh Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00138	journal	March 2019
Extreme temperature events on Greenland in observations and the MAR regional climate model Leeson, Amber A.; Eastoe, Emma; Fettweis, Xavier The Cryosphere, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1091-2018	journal	January 2018
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NHM–SMAP: spatially and temporally high-resolution nonhydrostatic atmospheric model coupled with detailed snow process model for Greenland Ice Sheet Niwano, Masashi; Aoki, Teruo; Hashimoto, Akihiro The Cryosphere, Vol. 12, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-635-2018	journal	January 2018
Modelling the climate and surface mass balance of polar ice sheets using RACMO2 – Part 1: Greenland (1958–2016) Noël, Brice; van de Berg, Willem Jan; van Wessem, J. Melchior The Cryosphere, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-811-2018	journal	January 2018
Surface mass balance downscaling through elevation classes in an Earth system model: application to the Greenland ice sheet Sellevold, Raymond; van Kampenhout, Leonardus; Lenaerts, Jan T. M. The Cryosphere, Vol. 13, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3193-2019	journal	January 2019
Extreme temperature events on Greenland in observations and the MAR regional climate model Leeson, Amber A.; Eastoe, Emma; Fettweis, Xavier The Cryosphere https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-138	journal	July 2017
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Title: High resolution (1 km) positive degree-day modelling of Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance, 1870–2012 using reanalysis data

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Cited By (16)

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