Improving the representation of polar snow and firn in the Community Earth System Model

Kampenhout, L. v., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Lipscomb, W., Sacks, W. J., Lawrence, D. M., et al. (2017). Improving the representation of polar snow and firn in the Community Earth System Model. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS000988

Title Improving the representation of polar snow and firn in the Community Earth System Model
Genre Article
Author(s) L. van Kampenhout, J. T. M. Lenaerts, William Lipscomb, William J. Sacks, David M. Lawrence, A. G. Slater, M. R. van den Broeke
Abstract In Earth system models, terrestrial snow is usually modeled by the land surface component. In most cases, these snow models have been developed with an emphasis on seasonal snow. Questions about future sea level rise, however, prompt the need for a realistic representation of perennial snow, as snow processes play a key role in the mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets. Here we enhance realism of modeled polar snow in the Community Land Model (CLM), the land component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM), by implementing (1) new parametrizations for fresh snow density, destructive metamorphism, and compaction by overburden pressure, (2) by allowing for deeper snow packs, and (3) by introducing drifting snow compaction, with a focus on the ice sheet interior. Comparison with Greenlandic and Antarctic snow density observations show that the new physics improve model skill in predicting firn and near-surface density in the absence of melt. Moreover, compensating biases are removed and spurious subsurface melt rates at ice sheets are eliminated. The deeper snow pack enhances refreezing and allows for deeper percolation, raising ice temperatures up to 15 degrees C above the skin temperature.
Publication Title Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
Publication Date Nov 16, 2017
Publisher's Version of Record https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS000988
OpenSky Citable URL https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7qf8whn
OpenSky Listing View on OpenSky
CESM Affiliations

Back to our listing of publications.