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Abstract The simulation of ice sheet‐climate interactions, such as surface mass balance fluxes, is sensitive to model grid resolution. Here we simulate the multi‐century evolution of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and its interaction with the climate using the Community Earth System Model version 2.2 (CESM2.2) including an interactive GrIS component (the Community Ice Sheet Model v2.1 [CISM2.1]) under an idealized warming scenario (atmospheric increases by 1% until quadrupling the pre‐industrial level and then is held fixed). A variable‐resolution (VR) grid with 1/ regional refinement over the broader Arctic and resolution elsewhere is applied to the atmosphere and land components, and the results are compared with conventional lat‐lon grid simulations to investigate the impact of grid refinement. Compared with the runs, the VR run features a slower rate of surface melt, especially over the western and northern GrIS, where the ice surface slopes gently toward the periphery. This difference pattern originates primarily from higher snow albedo and, thus, weaker albedo feedback in the VR run. The VR grid better captures the CISM ice sheet topography by reducing elevation discrepancies between CAM and CISM and is, therefore, less reliant on the downscaling algorithm, which is known to underestimate albedo gradients. The sea level rise contribution from the GrIS in the VR run is 53 mm by year 150 and 831 mm by year 350, approximately 40% and 20% less than that of the runs, respectively.more » « less
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Abstract Supraglacial lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) can impact both the ice sheet surface mass balance and ice dynamics. Thus, understanding the evolution and dynamics of supraglacial lakes is important to provide improved parameterizations for ice sheet models to enable better projections of future GrIS changes. In this study, we utilize the growing inventory of optical and microwave satellite imagery to automatically determine the fate of Greenland‐wide supraglacial lakes during 2018 and 2019; low and high melt seasons respectively. We develop a novel time series classification method to categorize lakes into four classes: (a) Refreezing, (b) rapidly draining, (c) slowly draining, and (d) buried. Our findings reveal significant interannual variability between the two melt seasons, with a notable increase in the proportion of draining lakes, and a particular dominance of slowly draining lakes, in 2019. We also find that as mean lake depth increases, so does the percentage of lakes that drain, indicating that lake depth may influence hydrofracture potential. We further observe rapidly draining lakes at higher elevations than the previously hypothesized upper‐elevation hydrofracture limit (1,600 m), and that non‐draining lakes are generally deeper during the lower melt 2018 season. Our automatic classification approach and the resulting 2‐year ice‐sheet‐wide data set provide new insights into GrIS supraglacial lake dynamics and evolution, offering a valuable resource for future research.more » « less
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Abstract In the tropical Pacific, weak ventilation and intense microbial respiration at depth give rise to a low dissolved oxygen (O2) environment that is thought to be ventilated primarily by the equatorial current system (ECS). The role of mesoscale eddies and vertical mixing as potential pathways of O2supply in this region, however, remains poorly known due to sparse observations and coarse model resolution. Using an eddy resolving simulation of ocean circulation and biogeochemistry, we assess the contribution of these processes to the O2budget balance and find that vertical mixing of O2, which is modulated by the surface wind speed and the vertical shear of the eddying currents, contributes substantially to the replenishment of O2in the upper equatorial Pacific thermocline, complementing the advective supply of O2by the ECS and meridional circulation at depth. These transport processes vary seasonally in conjunction with the wind: mixing of O2into the upper thermocline is strongest during boreal summer and fall when the vertical shear and eddy kinetic energy are intensified. The relationship between eddy activity and the downward mixing of O2arises from the modulation of equatorial turbulence by Tropical Instability Waves via their impacts on the vertical shear. This interaction of processes across scales sustains a local pathway of O2delivery into the equatorial Pacific interior and highlights the need for adequate observations and models of turbulent mixing and mesoscale processes for understanding and predicting the fate of the tropical Pacific O2content in a warmer and more stratified ocean.more » « less
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Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) and Santa Ana winds (SAWs) are impactful weather events for California communities. Emergency planning efforts and resource management would benefit from extending lead times of skillful prediction for these and other types of extreme weather patterns. Here we describe a methodology for subseasonal prediction of impactful winter weather in California, including ARs, SAWs and heat extremes. The hybrid approach combines dynamical model and historical information to forecast probabilities of impactful weather outcomes at weeks 1–4 lead. This methodology uses dynamical model information considered most reliable, that is, planetary/synoptic‐scale atmospheric circulation, filters for dynamical model error/uncertainty at longer lead times and increases the sample of likely outcomes by utilizing the full historical record instead of a more limited suite of dynamical forecast model ensemble members. We demonstrate skill above climatology at subseasonal timescales, highlighting potential for use in water, health, land, and fire management decision support.more » « less
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