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© 2018. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

We evaluate modelled Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) near-surface climate, surface energy balance (SEB) and surface mass balance (SMB) from the updated regional climate model RACMO2 (1958–2016). The new model version, referred to as RACMO2.3p2, incorporates updated glacier outlines, topography and ice albedo fields. Parameters in the cloud scheme governing the conversion of cloud condensate into precipitation have been tuned to correct inland snowfall underestimation: snow properties are modified to reduce drifting snow and melt production in the ice sheet percolation zone. The ice albedo prescribed in the updated model is lower at the ice sheet margins, increasing ice melt locally. RACMO2.3p2 shows good agreement compared to in situ meteorological data and point SEB/SMB measurements, and better resolves the spatial patterns and temporal variability of SMB compared with the previous model version, notably in the north-east, south-east and along the K-transect in south-western Greenland. This new model version provides updated, high-resolution gridded fields of the GrIS present-day climate and SMB, and will be used for projections of the GrIS climate and SMB in response to a future climate scenario in a forthcoming study.

Details

Title
Modelling the climate and surface mass balance of polar ice sheets using RACMO2 – Part 1: Greenland (1958–2016)
Author
Brice Noël 1 ; Willem Jan van de Berg 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; J Melchior van Wessem 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Erik van Meijgaard 2 ; Dirk van As 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lenaerts, Jan T M 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lhermitte, Stef 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Peter Kuipers Munneke 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; C J P Paul Smeets 1 ; van Ulft, Lambertus H 2 ; Roderik S W van de Wal 1 ; Michiel R van den Broeke 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands 
 Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands 
 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark 
 Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA 
 Department of Geoscience & Remote Sensing, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands 
Pages
811-831
Publication year
2018
Publication date
2018
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
19940424
e-ISSN
19940416
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2414599033
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.