Mapping Greenland accumulation rates using observations of thermal emission at 4.5-cm wavelength

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dc.contributor.authorWinebrenner, Dale P.
dc.contributor.authorArthern, Robert J.
dc.contributor.authorShuman, Christopher A.
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-23T13:59:58Z
dc.date.available2022-02-23T13:59:58Z
dc.date.issued2001-12-01
dc.description.abstractAccurate predictions of sea level rise over the coming century will require improved knowledge of the processes controlling accumulation on the great ice sheets. The sparsity of accumulation rate observations, both temporally and spatially, hinder development of this understanding. We introduce a new method to observe accumulation rates (averaged over roughly a decade) using satellite observations of microwave emission at 4.5-cm wavelength, focusing in this paper on Greenland. At this wavelength, scattering by the grain fabric in firn is unimportant relative to quasi-reflection from density (and thus dielectric permittivity) stratification. We show observationally a strong link between random firn density stratification, on scales of millimeters to centimeters, and accumulation rate. We then show theoretically how the observed density stratification can produce and is consistent with observations of polarization of 4.5-cm-wavelength emission. We employ observations from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and previously published ground observations of accumulation rates in Greenland to complete specification of the relationship between accumulation rate and polarization. The relationship is sufficiently accurate to serve as a basis for mapping accumulation rate fields. We compare our satellite-derived maps with previously published maps based on syntheses of ground data. We find broad agreement between the two types of maps, though the satellite-derived map indicates more strongly the importance of topography and prevailing weather patterns in determining detailed accumulation rate patterns. Finally, we discuss possible refinements and the prospects for improved satellite-derived maps based on a new generation of sensors about to be launched.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe would like to thank R.B. Al- ley, C.S. Benson, and H.J. Zwally for numerous valuable discussions and for their separate emphases of the charac- teristics and importance of firn crusts. We also thank T.L. Mote and M.R. Anderson for the provision of their Green- land melt data used to construct our accumulation rate map, S. Ekholm for provision of his elevation model for Green- land in digital form for comparison, and D.B. Percival for computations of confidence limits and several helpful consul- tations. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments led to significant improvements in the paper. This work was sponsored by NASA grant NAGW5-6819.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2001JD900235en_US
dc.format.extent16 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2ixwx-mvpo
dc.identifier.citationWinebrenner, D. P., Arthern, R. J., and Shuman, C. A. (2001), Mapping Greenland accumulation rates using observations of thermal emission at 4.5-cm wavelength, J. Geophys. Res., 106( D24), 33919– 33934, doi:10.1029/2001JD900235.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD900235
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/24313
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.rightsCopyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Unionen_US
dc.titleMapping Greenland accumulation rates using observations of thermal emission at 4.5-cm wavelengthen_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9606-767Xen_US

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