Using remotely sensed data from AIRS to estimate the vapor flux on the Greenland ice sheet: Comparisons with observations and a regional climate model

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dc.contributor.authorBoisvert, Linette N.
dc.contributor.authorLee, Jae N.
dc.contributor.authorLenaerts, Jan T. M.
dc.contributor.authorNoël, Brice
dc.contributor.authorBroeke, Michiel R. van den
dc.contributor.authorNolin, Anne W.
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-11T21:36:04Z
dc.date.available2023-07-11T21:36:04Z
dc.date.issued2016-12-22
dc.description.abstractMass loss from the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) in recent years has been dominated by runoff from surface melt. It is currently being studied extensively, while little interest has been given to the smallest component of surface mass balance (SMB): the vapor flux. Although poorly understood, it is not negligible and could potentially play a larger role in SMB in a warming climate where temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation changes remain uncertain. Here we present an innovative approach to estimate the vapor flux using the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) version 6 data and a modified vapor flux model (BMF13) over the GrIS between 2003 and 2014. One modification to the BMF13 model includes a new Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer surface aerodynamic roughness product, which likely produces more accurate estimates of the drag coefficient on the ice sheet. When comparing AIRS data with GC-Net and Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet automatic weather station observations of skin temperature, near-surface air temperature, and humidity, they agree within 2 K, 2.68 K, and 0.34 g kg⁻¹. Largest differences occur in the ablation zone where there is significant subgrid heterogeneity. Overall, the average vapor flux from the GrIS between 2003 and 2014 was found to be 14.6 ± 3.6 Gt yr⁻¹. No statistically significant trends were found during the data record. This data set is compared to the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2.3) vapor flux, and BMF13 produced smaller vapor fluxes in the summer (~0.05 Gt d⁻¹) and slightly more deposition in the winter (~9.4 × 10⁻³ Gt d⁻¹). Annually, differences between BMF13 and RACMO2.3 were only 30 ± 15%.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe work of Linette Boisvert and Jae Lee was funded by NASA ROSES 2012 IDS proposal: 12-IDS12-0120. This study is funded by Utrecht University through its strategic theme, Sustainability, Subtheme Water, Climate and Ecosystems. This work was carried out under the program of the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NESSC), financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). J.T.M.L. is supported by NWO ALW through a Veni postdoctoral grant. B.N. and M.R.v.d.B. acknowledge support from the Polar Program of NOW. Data from AIRS can be found at www.airs.jpl.nasa.gov. RACMO2.3 output is freely available by request to Michiel van den Broeke (m.r.vandenbroeke@uu.nl). The MISR roughness data product can be obtained from Anne Nolin (anne.nolin@gmail.com). The authors would like to thank Konrad Steffen for providing the GC-Net station data, which can be found at cires1.colorado.edu/steffen/gcnet. PROMICE data can be found readily available at: http://www.promice.dk/. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for providing very helpful comments and feedback on this manuscript.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JD025674en_US
dc.format.extent28 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2zjy0-xnxm
dc.identifier.citationBoisvert, L. N., Lee, J. N., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Noël, B., van den Broeke, M. R., and Nolin, A. W. (2017), Using remotely sensed data from AIRS to estimate the vapor flux on the Greenland ice sheet: Comparisons with observations and a regional climate model, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 122, 202– 229, doi:10.1002/2016JD025674.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025674
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/28606
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherAGUen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rights©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserveden_US
dc.titleUsing remotely sensed data from AIRS to estimate the vapor flux on the Greenland ice sheet: Comparisons with observations and a regional climate modelen_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9814-9855en_US

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