Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt:A review

Surface melt has great impacts on the Greenland Ice Sheet （GrlS） mass balance and thereby has become the focus of significant GrlS research in recent years. The production, transport, and release processes of surface meltwater are the keys to understanding the poten- tial impacts of the GrlS surface melt. These hydrological processes can elucidate the following scientific questions： How much melt- water is produced atop the GrlS？ What are the characteristics of the meltwater-formed supraglacial hydrological system？ How does the meltwater influence the GrlS motion？ The GrlS supraglacial hydrology has a number of key roles and yet continues to be poorly understood or documented. This paper summarizes the current understanding of the GrlS surface melt, emphasizing the three essential supraglacial hydrological processes： （1） meltwater production： surface melt modeling is an important approach to acquire surface melt information, and areas, depths, and volumes of supraglacial lakes extracted from remotely sensed imagery can also provide surface melt information; （2） meltwater transport： the spatial distributions of supraglacial lakes, supraglacial sarams, moulins, and crevasses demonstrate the characteristics of the supraglacial hydrological system, revealing the meltwater transport process; and （3） meltwater release： the release of meltwater into the englacial and the subglacial ice sheet has important but undetermined impacts on the GrlS motion. The correlation between surface runoff and the GrlS motion speed is employed to understand these influences.

Relationship between flow speed variability of three tidewater glaciers and surface melt intensity in Greenland between 1979 and 2006

The margin of the Greenland ice sheet has undergone rapid changes over the past decade as a result of the thinning, acceleration, and retreat of many fast-flowing tidewater outlet glaciers. Satellite observations show that three major tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland retreated between 2000 and 2005, with synchronous increases in flow speed, causing a deficit in ice sheet mass budget and the potential for sea level rise. In this study, we investigated whether this acceleration was related to surface melt processes, and found that both flow speed and positive degree day （PDD） anomalies of the three glaciers varied together, indicating a causal relationship. Jakobshavn Isbr^e had lower flow speeds before 2000, during which PDD anomalies were negative, except for modest warming in 1993 and 1995. From 1999-2000, during which it is thought a threshold was passed, the flow speed of the glacier started to increase. However, the two glaciers in east Greenland showed a delayed response. Abrupt warming occurred in the vicinity of the two glaciers around 2001, but flow speed did not increase until 2003 for the Helheim Glacier, and until 2004 for the Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier. Furthermore, the two eastern glaciers switched to a deceleration mode more quickly than Jakobshavn lsbr^e. The observed differences in both acceleration and deceleration among the glaciers suggest that the relationship between surface melt and outlet glacier dynamics is not simple but complex.

Assessment of Greenland surface melt algorithms based on DMSP and SMOS data

Satellite-borne microwave radiometers provide essential measurements to study the surface melt state of ice sheets. Therefore, selecting suitable microwave radiometer data is critical to characterize the spatial distribution of surface melt. In this study, we investigated the Greenland Ice Sheet and evaluated the usefulness, as climate indicators, of data acquired by microwave radiometers onboard the F17 satellite of the United States of America Defense Meteorological Satellite Program(DMSP) and the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity(SMOS) satellite of the European Space Agency. First, surface melt was simulated using the DMSP dataset as input for a brightness temperature threshold algorithm, the Microwave Emission Model of Layered Snowpacks(MEMLS2), and the SMOS dataset as input for the L-band Specific MEMLS(LS-MEMLS). For accuracy evaluation, the simulation results were then compared with surface melt estimates derived from air temperature measurements at Automatic Weather Stations and from ice surface temperature measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite-borne instrument. Our results show that global(over Greenland) MEMLS2 simulation performance(overall accuracy 83%) was higher than that of LS-MEMLS(overall accuracy 78%). However, in southeastern Greenland, MEMLS2 omission error was markedly higher than that of LS-MEMLS, whereas LS-MEMLS could detect longer-lasting surface melt than MEMLS2. This analysis showed that DMSP-based surface melt simulations are more accurate than SMOS-based simulations, thereby providing a data selection reference for surface melt studies of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Assessing the global averaged sea-level budget from 2003 to 2010

A global mass balance （Greenland and Antarctica ice sheet mass loss, terrestrial water storage） and differ- ent sea-level components （observed sea-level from satellite altimetry, steric sea-level from Ishii data, and ocean mass from gravity recovery and climate experiment, GRACE） are estimated, in terms of seasonal and interannual variabilities from 2003 to 2010. The results show that a detailed analysis of the GRACE time series over the time period 2003-2010 unambiguously reveals an increase in mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet and Antarctica ice sheet. The mass loss of both ice sheets accelerated at a rate of （392.8±70.0） Gt/a during 2003-2010, which contributed （1.09±0.19） mm/a to the global mean sea-level during this time. The net terrestrial water storage （TWS） trend was negative over the 8 a time span, which gave a small positive contribution of （0.25±0.12） mm/a. The interannual variability of the global mean sea-level was at least part- ly caused by year-to-year variability of land water storage. Estimating GRACE-based ice sheet mass balance and terrestrial water storage by using published estimates for melting glaciers, the results further show that the ocean mass increase since 2003 has resulted half from an enhanced contribution of the polar ice sheets, and half from the combined ice sheet and terrestrial water storage loss. Taking also into account the melt- ing of mountain glaciers （0.41 mm/a） and the small GRACE-based contribution from continental waters （0.25 mm/a）, a total ocean mass contribution of （1.75±0.57） mm/a from 2003 to 2010 is found. Such a value represented 75% of the altimetry-based rate of sea-level rise over that period. The contributions to steric sea-level （i.e., ocean thermal expansion plus salinity effects） are estimated from： （1） the difference between altimetry-based sea-level and ocean mass change and （2） the latest Ishii data. The inferred steric sea-level rate from （1） （1.41 mm/a from 2003 to 2010） did not agree well with the Ishii-based value also estimated here （0.44 mm/a from 2003 to 2010）, but phase. The cause for such a discrepancy is not yet known but may be related to inadequate sampling of in situ ocean temperature and salinity measurements.

Last deglacial relative sea level variations in Antarctica derived from glacial isostatic adjustment modelling

We present relative sea level （RSL） curves in Antarctica derived from glacial isostatic adjustment （GIA）predictions based on the melting scenarios of the Antarctic ice sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）given in previous works.Simultaneously,Holocene-age RSL observations obtained at the raised beaches along the coast of Antarctica are shown to be in agreement with the GIA predictions.The differences from previously published ice-loading models regarding the spatial distribution and total mass change of the melted ice are significant.These models were also derived from GIA modelling; the variations can be attributed to the lack of geological and geographical evidence regarding the history of crustal movement due to ice sheet evolution.Next,we summarise the previously published ice load models and demonstrate the RSL curves based on combinations of different ice and earth models.The RSL curves calculated by GIA models indicate that the model dependence of both the ice and earth models is significantly large at several sites where RSL observations were obtained.In particular,GIA predictions based on the thin lithospheric thickness show the spatial distributions that are dependent on the melted ice thickness at each sites.These characteristics result from the short-wavelength deformation of the Earth.However,our predictions strongly suggest that it is possible to find the average ice model despite the use of the different models of lithospheric thickness.By sea level and crustal movement observations,we can deduce the geometry of the post-LGM ice sheets in detail and remove the GIA contribution from the crustal deformation and gravity change observed by space geodetic techniques,such as GPS and GRACE,for the estimation of the Antarctic ice mass change associated with recent global warming.

Use of Topographic Map Evidence to Test a Recently Proposed Regional Geomorphology Paradigm: Wind River-Sweetwater River Drainage Divide Area, Central Wyoming, USA

Topographic map evidence from the Wyoming Wind River-Sweetwater River drainage divide area is used to test a recently proposed regional geomorphology paradigm defined by massive south- and southeast-oriented continental ice sheet melt water floods that flowed across the entire Missouri River drainage basin. The new paradigm forces recognition of an ice sheet created and occupied deep “hole” and is fundamentally different from the commonly accepted paradigm in which a pre-glacial north- and northeast-oriented slope would have prevented continental ice sheet melt water from reaching or crossing the Wind River-Sweetwater River drainage divide. Divide crossings (or low points) are identified as places where water once flowed across the drainage divide. Map evidence is interpreted first from the accepted paradigm perspective and second from the new paradigm perspective to determine the simplest explanation. Both paradigm perspectives suggest south-oriented water crossed the drainage divide, although accepted paradigm interpretations do not satisfactorily explain the large number of observed divide crossings and are complicated by the need to bury the Owl Creek and Bridger Mountains to explain why the Wind River now flows in a north direction through Wind River Canyon. New paradigm interpretations explain the large number of divide crossings as diverging and converging channel evidence (as in flood-formed anastomosing channel complexes), Owl Creek and Bridger Mountain uplift to have occurred as south-oriented floodwaters carved Wind River Canyon, and a major flood flow reversal (caused by ice sheet related crustal warping and the opening up of deep “hole” space by ice sheet melting) as being responsible for the Wind River abrupt turn to the north. While this test only addresses topographic map evidence, Occam’s Razor suggests the new paradigm offers what in science should be the preferred Wind River-Sweetwater River drainage divide origin interpretations.

片冰成型技术开发设计

目前在制冰行业当中,市场对用冰的需求越来越多,而其中以块冰的需求最为突出,因此也使得生产块冰的设备不断地更新换代。由于国内外现有制冰设备都是由电能驱动,对电的用量消耗是非常大的,因此,在制冰行业中,主要的研究方向便是降低电能使用和提高电能利用效率,而通过片冰压缩的制冰的方式可以提高冰块的成型时间和生产效率。本文结合现有的片冰成型技术为基础,对片冰压缩成型制块冰的生产技术做进一步的优化完善。当冰块冻结时间达到22 h时,平均融化量大幅减小到0.825 kg/h,与理论值一致。并得到了成型保压时间、刮刀转速、盐水浓度等因素对冰块的平均融化量、平均密度影响较小,可忽略不计;实际最终成品关键品质结果(融化时间)经分析与其蕴含的冷量相关,其蕴含的冷量则与冷媒的温度、流量相关。

Mass budgets of the Lambert, Mellor and Fisher Glaciers and basal fluxes beneath their flowbands on Amery Ice Shelf

We used in situ measurements and remote-sensing data sets to evaluate the mass budgets of the Lambert, Mellor and Fisher Glaciers and the basal melting and freezing rates beneath their flowbands on the Amery Ice Shelf. Our findings show the Lambert and Mellor Glaciers upstream of the ANARE Lambert Glacier Basin (LGB) traverse may have positive imbalances of 3.9±2.1 Gt a-1 and 2.1±2.4 Gt a-1, respectively, while the Fisher Glacier is approximately in balance. The upstream region as a whole has a positive imbalance of 5.9±4.9 Gt a-1. The three same glaciers downstream of the ANARE LGB traverse line are in negative imbalance, where the whole downstream region has a negative imbalance of -8.5±5.8 Gt a-1. Overall the mass budgets of the Lambert, Mellor, and Fisher Glaciers are close to bal-ance, and the collective three-glacier system is also nearly in balance with a mass budget of -2.6±6.5 Gt a-1. The significant positive imbalances for the interior basin upstream of the ice-movement stations established in the early 1970s (GL line) reported previously are possibly due to an overestimate of the total accumulation and an underestimate of the ice flux through the GL line. The mean melting rate is -23.0±3.5 m ice a-1 near the southern grounding line, which decreases rapidly downstream, and transitions to refreezing at around 300 km from the southern extremity of the Amery Ice Shelf. Freezing rates along the flowbands are around 0.5±0.1 to 1.5±0.2 m ice a-1. The per-centage of ice lost from the interior by basal melting beneath the flowbands is about 80%±5%. The total basal melting and refreezing beneath the three flowbands is 50.3±7.5 Gt ice a-1 and 7.0±1.1 Gt ice a-1, respectively. We find a much larger total basal melting and net melting than the results for the whole Amery Ice Shelf derived from previous modeling and oceanographic measurements.

基于宽幅SAR的格陵兰岛冰盖冻融强度提取方法研究

极地冰盖冻融强度信息在理解冰盖稳定性及其对气候变化响应中具有重要意义。利用格陵兰岛2016年Sentinel-1A干涉宽幅双极化SAR数据(HH+HV),结合同时相自动气象站点温度和MODIS温度产品数据,研究了HH、HV极化幅度值及HH/HV比值与冻融强度的相关关系。结果表明冻融强度与HH、HV极化幅度值呈负相关关系,而与HH/HV值呈正相关关系,且与HH/HV值的相关性更好, R^2值约0.610。基于MODIS温度产品建立了冰盖冻融强度划分的5个HH/HV区间阈值,最后通过MODIS温度产品的结果验证表明,利用HH/HV值的冻融强度提取精度为86.8%。