Premium
An operational net shortwave radiation model for glacier basins
Author(s) -
Munro D. S.,
Young G. J.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr018i002p00220
Subject(s) - shortwave , shortwave radiation , environmental science , meteorology , glacier , radiation , climatology , geology , geography , physics , physical geography , radiative transfer , quantum mechanics
An operational net shortwave radiation model, which may be used to map radiation distributions under clear and cloudy skies, is described. Construction is achieved by modifying existing total spectrum approaches to allow a minimum of observational data to be used in its operation. Application to the Peyto Glacier Basin, Alberta, shows that realistic and diagnostically useful results can be produced from information contained in a topographic map, monitoring of the snowline, and routine weather observations. Net shortwave radiation estimates from the model are found to be a fair approximation of energy equivalents of ablation derived from stake measurements. It is concluded that net shortwave radiation should be a principal component of any realistic meltwater discharge model.