Marco Carenzo

Transmission of solar radiation through clouds on melting glaciers: a comparison of parameterizations and their impact on melt modelling

We explore the robustness and transferability of parameterizations of cloud radiative forcing used in glacier melt models at two sites in the Swiss Alps. We also look at the rationale behind some of the most commonly used approaches, and explore the relationship between cloud transmittance and several standard meteorological variables. The 2 m air-temperature diurnal range is the best predictor of variations in cloud transmittance. However, linear and exponential parameterizations can only explain 30-50% of the observed variance in computed cloud transmittance factors. We examine the impact of modelled cloud transmittance factors on both solar radiation and ablation rates computed with an enhanced temperature-index model. The melt model performance decreases when modelled radiation is used, the reduction being due to an underestimation of incoming solar radiation on clear-sky days. The model works well under overcast conditions. We also seek alternatives to the use of in situ ground data. However, outputs from an atmospheric model (2.2 km horizontal resolution) do not seem to provide an alternative to the parameterizations of cloud radiative forcing based on observations of air temperature at glacier automatic weather stations. Conversely, the correct definition of overcast conditions is important.

On the role of subsurface heat conduction in glacier energy-balance modelling

Abstract We discuss the inclusion of the subsurface heat-conduction flux into the calculation of the energy balance and ablation at the glacier–atmosphere interface. Data from automatic weather stations are used to force an energy-balance model at several locations on alpine glaciers and at one site in the dry Andes of central Chile. The heat-conduction flux is computed using a two-layer scheme, assuming that 36% of the net shortwave radiation is absorbed by the surface layer and that the rest penetrates into the snowpack. We compare simulations conducted with and without subsurface heat flux. Results show that assuming a surface temperature of zero degrees leads to a larger overestimation of melt at the sites in the accumulation area (10.4–13.3%) than in the ablation area (0.5–2.8%), due to lower air temperatures and the presence of snow. The difference between simulations with and without heat conduction is also high at the beginning and end of the ablation season (up to 29% for the first 15 days of the season), when air temperatures are lower and snow covers the glacier surface, while they are of little importance during periods of sustained melt at all the locations investigated.

Suitability of a constant air temperature lapse rate over an Alpine glacier: testing the Greuell and Böhm model as an alternative

Abstract Near-surface air temperature, typically measured at a height of 2 m, is the most important control on the energy exchange and the melt rate at a snow or ice surface. It is distributed in a simplistic manner in most glacier melt models by using constant linear lapse rates, which poorly represent the actual spatial and temporal variability of air temperature. In this paper, we test a simple thermodynamic model proposed by Greuell and Böhm in 1998 as an alternative, using a new dataset of air temperature measurements from along the flowline of Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. The unmodified model performs little better than assuming a constant linear lapse rate. When modified to allow the ratio of the boundary layer height to the bulk heat transfer coefficient to vary along the flowline, the model matches measured air temperatures better, and a further reduction of the root-mean-square error is obtained, although there is still considerable scope for improvement. The modified model is shown to perform best under conditions favourable to the development of katabatic winds – few clouds, positive ambient air temperature, limited influence of synoptic or valley winds and a long fetch – but its performance is poor under cloudy conditions.

An enhanced temperature index model for debris-covered glaciers accounting for thickness effect

Highlights • We develop a melt model for debris-covered ice accounting for debris thickness.• The model can reproduce the melt reduction of the so-called Oestrem curve.• The model is transferable in time over seasons and in space to a second glacier.

Parameter sensitivity of a distributed enhanced temperature-index melt model

Abstract We investigate the sensitivity of a distributed enhanced temperature-index (ETI) melt model, in order to understand which parameters have the largest influence on model outputs and thus need to be accurately known. We use melt and meteorological data from two Alpine glaciers and one glacier in the Andes of Chile. Sensitivity analysis is conducted in a systematic way in terms of parameters and the different conditions (day, night, clear-sky, overcast), melt seasons and glaciers examined. The sensitivity of total melt to changes in individual parameters is calculated using a local method around the optimal value of the parameters. We verify that the parameters are optimal at the distributed scale and assess the model uncertainty induced by uncertainty in the parameters using a Monte Carlo technique. Model sensitivity to parameters is consistent across melt seasons, glaciers, different conditions and the daily statistics examined. The parameters to which the model is most sensitive are the shortwave-radiation factor, the temperature lapse rate for extrapolation of air temperature, the albedo parameters, the temperature threshold and the cloud transmittance factor parameters. A parameter uncertainty of 5% results in a model uncertainty of 5.6% of mean melt on Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland.