Skip to main content
Log in

Applying the energy- and water balance model for incorporation of the cryospheric component into a climate model. Part II. Modeled mass balance on the green land ice sheet surface

  • Published:
Russian Meteorology and Hydrology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Greenland ice sheet is a very important potential source of fresh water inflow to the World Ocean under warming climate conditions. Apparently, it was the same during the Last Interglacial 130-115 thousand years ago. In order to quantify input of the Greenland ice sheet to the rise of the global mean sea level in the past or in the future, we include a surface mass balance model block into the Earth System Model. The computational algorithm is based on the calculation of energy balance on the ice sheet surface. The key tuning parameter of the model is the daily amplitude of air surface temperature. It defines the area and the rate of snow or ice melting. The range of possible values of this parameter is determined during a series of numerical experiments. High sensitivity of meltwater runoff volume to surface air temperature amplitude is revealed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. O. O. Rybak and E. M. Volodin, “Applying the Energy-and Water Balance Model for Incorporation of the Cryospheric Component into a Climate Model. Part I. Description of the Model and Computed Climatic Field of Surface Air Temperature and Precipitation Rate,” Meteorol. Gidrol., No. 11 (2015) [Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol., No. 11, 40 (2015)].

  2. O. O. Rybak and Ph. Huybrechts, “Greenland Ice Sheet at the Peak of Warming of the Penultimate Interglacial,” Led i Sneg, No. 2, 54 (2014) [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  3. W. Abdalati, Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Characteristics Derived from Passive Microwave Data (Boulder, Colorado USA, National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2008), URL http://dx.doi.org/105067/NON9395MQ9TK.

    Google Scholar 

  4. J. L. Bamber, S. Ekholm, and W. B. Krabill, “A New, High Resolution Digital Elevation Model of Greenland Fully Validated with Airborne Laser Altimeter Data,” J. Geophys. Res., 106 (2001).

  5. J. E. Box, D. H. Bromwich, and Bai Le-Sheng, “Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass Balance 1991-2000: Applica-tion of Polar MM5 Mesoscale Model and In situ Data,” J. Geophys. Res., 109 (2004), D16105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. R. J. Braithwaite, “Positive Degree-day Factors for Ablation on the Greenland Ice Sheet Studied by Energy-bal-ance Modeling,” J. Glaciology, 41 (1995).

  7. R. J. Braithwaite and O. B. Olesen, “A Simple Energy-balance Model to Calculate Ice Ablation at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet,” J. Glaciology, 36 (1990).

  8. J. A. Church, J. M. Gregory, P. Huybrechts, et al., “Changes in Sea Level,” in Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis—Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ed. by J. T. Houghton et al. (Cambridge University Press, New York, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  9. J. Ettema, M. R. van den Broeke, E. van Meijgaard., et al., “High Surface Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet Revealed by High-resolution Climate Modeling,” Geophys. Res. Lett., 36 (2009), L12501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. J. Ettema, M. R. van den Broeke, E. van Meijgaard, et al., “Climate of the Greeni and Ice Sheet Using a High-resolution Climate Model, Part 1: Evaluation,” The Cryosphere, 4 (2010).

  11. J. Ettema, M. R. van den Broeke, E. van Meijgaard, et al., “Climate of the Greeni and Ice Sheet Using a High-resolution Climate Model, Part 2: Near Surface Climate and Energy Balance,” The Cryosphere, 4 (2010).

  12. X. Fettweis, “Reconstruction of the 1979-2006 Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass Balance Using the Regional Climate Model MAR,” The Cryosphere, 1 (2007).

  13. E. Hanna, P. Huybrechts, I. Janssens, et al., “Runoff and Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet: 1958-2003,” J. Geophys. Res., 110 (2005), D13108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. IPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ed. by T. F. Stocker et al. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 2013).

  15. I. Janssens and P. Huybrechts, “The Treatment of Meltwater Retention in Mass-balance Parameterizations of the Greenland Ice Sheet,” Annals of Glaciology, 31 (2000).

  16. G. Milne, A. Carlson, A. Dutton, et al., “Estimating Rates and Sources of Sea Level Change during Past Warm Periods,” Past Global Changes Magazine, No 1, 22 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  17. T. L. Mote, “Estimation of Runoff Rates, Mass Balance, and Elevation Changes on the Greenland Ice Sheet from Passive Microwave Observations,” J. Geophys. Res., 108 (2003).

  18. NEEM community members, “Eemian Interglacial Reconstructed from a Greenland Folded Ice Core,” Nature, 493 (2013).

  19. J. Oerlemans, “The Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet: Sensitivity to Climate Change as Revealed by En-ergy-balance Modeling,” The Holocene, 1 (1991).

  20. N. Reeh, C. Mayer, H. Miller, et al., “Present and Past Climate Control on Fjord Glaciations in Greenland: Impli-cations for IRD-deposition in the Sea,” Geophys. Res. Lett., 26 (1999).

  21. C. H. Reijmer, M. R. van den Broeke, X. Fettweis, et al., “Refreezing on the Greenland Ice Sheet: a Comparison of Parameterizations,” The Cryosphere, 6 (2012).

  22. I. Rogozhina and D. Rau, “Vital Role of Daily Temperature Variability in Surface Mass Balance Parameteriza-tions of the Greenland Ice Sheet,” The Cryosphere, 8 (2014).

  23. K. Steffen and J. Box, “Surface Climatology of the Greenland Ice Sheet: Greenland Climate Network 1995-1999,” J. Geophys. Res., 106 (2001).

  24. M. van den Broeke, J. Bamber, J. Ettema, et al., “Partitioning Recent Greenland Mass Loss,” Science, 326 (2009).

  25. E. M. Volodin, “The Mechanism of Multidecadal Variability in the Arctic and North Atlantic in Climate Model INMCM4,” Environ. Res. Lett., 8 (2013).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. O. Rybak.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © O.O. Rybak, E.M. Volodin, A.P. Nevecherya, P.A. Morozova, 2016, published in Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya, 2016, No. 6, pp. 5-16.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rybak, O.O., Volodin, E.M., Nevecherya, A.P. et al. Applying the energy- and water balance model for incorporation of the cryospheric component into a climate model. Part II. Modeled mass balance on the green land ice sheet surface. Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol. 41, 379–387 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373916060017

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373916060017

Keywords

Navigation