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A new, high‐resolution surface mass balance map of Antarctica (1979–2010) based on regional atmospheric climate modeling
Author(s) -
Lenaerts J. T. M.,
den Broeke M. R.,
Berg W. J.,
Meijgaard E.,
Kuipers Munneke P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2011gl050713
Subject(s) - climatology , glacier mass balance , snow , ice sheet , environmental science , greenland ice sheet , antarctic ice sheet , peninsula , sublimation (psychology) , ablation zone , atmospheric sciences , geology , cryosphere , sea ice , glacier , oceanography , geography , geomorphology , archaeology , psychology , psychotherapist
A new, high resolution (27 km) surface mass balance (SMB) map of the Antarctic ice sheet is presented, based on output of a regional atmospheric climate model that includes snowdrift physics and is forced by the most recent reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), ERA‐Interim (1979–2010). The SMB map confirms high accumulation zones in the western Antarctic Peninsula (>1500 mm y −1 ) and coastal West Antarctica (>1000 mm y −1 ), and shows low SMB values in large parts of the interior ice sheet (<25 mm y −1 ). The location and extent of ablation areas are modeled realistically. The modeled SMB is in good agreement with ±750 in‐situ SMB measurements (R = 0.88), without a need for post‐calibration. The average ice sheet‐integrated SMB (including ice shelves) is estimated at 2418 ± 181 Gt y −1 . Snowfall shows modest interannual variability ( σ = 114 Gt y −1 ), but a pronounced seasonal cycle ( σ = 30 Gt mo −1 ), with a winter maximum. The main ablation process is drifting snow sublimation, which also peaks in winter but with little interannual variability ( σ = 9 Gt y −1 ).