Highlight articles

Improved methodologies for Earth system modelling of atmospheric soluble iron and observation comparisons using the Mechanism of Intermediate complexity for Modelling Iron (MIMI v1.0)

MIMI v1.0 was designed for use within Earth system models to simulate the 3-D emission, atmospheric processing, and deposition of iron and its soluble fraction. Understanding the iron cycle is important due to its role as an essential micronutrient for ocean phytoplankton; its supply limits primary productivity in many of the world’s oceans. Human activity has perturbed the iron cycle, and MIMI is capable of diagnosing many of these impacts; hence, it is important for future climate studies.

Brief communication: Updated GAMDAM glacier inventory over high-mountain Asia

The Glacier Area Mapping for Discharge from the Asian Mountains (GAMDAM) glacier inventory was updated to revise the underestimated glacier area in the first version. The total number and area of glaciers are 134 770 and 100 693 ± 11 790 km² from 453 Landsat images, which were carefully selected for the period from 1990 to 2010, to avoid mountain shadow, cloud cover, and seasonal snow cover.

Converting snow depth to snow water equivalent using climatological variables

We present a new statistical model for converting snow depths to water equivalent. The only variables required are snow depth, day of year, and location. We use the location to look up climatological parameters such as mean winter precipitation and mean temperature difference (difference between hottest month and coldest month). The model is simple by design so that it can be applied to depth measurements anywhere, anytime. The model is shown to perform better than other widely used approaches.

Recrystallization processes, microstructure and crystallographic preferred orientation evolution in polycrystalline ice during high-temperature simple shear

Ice mechanics is an important tool to better predict the response of glaciers or polar ice sheets to climate variations. Nevertheless our current predictive abilities are limited as the microscale mechanisms responsible for ice creep are poorly identified. We show in this study, using state-of-the-art experimental techniques, which recrystallization processes control ice deformation. This will allow realistic simulations, necessary to predict the long-term effects on ice landmasses.

Winter tourism under climate change in the Pyrenees and the French Alps: relevance of snowmaking as a technical adaptation

This study investigates the snow reliability of 175 ski resorts in the Pyrenees (France, Spain and Andorra) and the French Alps under past and future conditions (1950–2100) using state-of-the-art climate projections and snowpack modelling accounting for snow management, i.e. grooming and snowmaking. The snow reliability of ski resorts shows strong elevation and regional differences, and our study quantifies changes in snow reliability induced by snowmaking under various climate scenarios.

Uncertainty quantification of the multi-centennial response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climate change

Using probabilistic methods, we quantify the uncertainty in the Antarctic ice-sheet response to climate change over the next millennium under the four RCP scenarios and parametric uncertainty. We find that the ice sheet is stable in RCP 2.6 regardless of parametric uncertainty, while West Antarctica undergoes disintegration in RCP 8.5 almost regardless of parametric uncertainty. We also show a high sensitivity of the ice-sheet response to uncertainty in sub-shelf melting and sliding conditions.

Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble

Glaciers in the European Alps play an important role in the hydrological cycle, act as a source for hydroelectricity and have a large touristic importance. We model the future evolution of all glaciers in the Alps with a novel model that combines both ice flow and melt processes. We find that under a limited warming scenario about one-third of the present-day ice volume will still be present by the end of the century, while under strong warming more than 90 % of the volume will be lost by 2100.

Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions

We studied the stability of ice wedges (massive bodies of ground ice in permafrost) under recent climatic conditions in the Lena River delta of northern Siberia. For this we used a novel modelling approach that takes into account lateral transport of heat, water, and snow and the subsidence of the ground surface due to melting of ground ice. We found that wetter conditions have a destabilizing effect on the ice wedges and associated our simulation results with observations from the study area.

Terrainbento 1.0: a Python package for multi-model analysis in long-term drainage basin evolution

Terrainbento 1.0 is a Python package for modeling the evolution of the surface of the Earth over geologic time (e.g., thousands to millions of years). Despite many decades of effort by the geomorphology community, there is no one established governing equation for the evolution of topography. Terrainbento 1.0 thus provides 28 alternative models that support hypothesis testing and multi-model analysis in landscape evolution.

Devito (v3.1.0): an embedded domain-specific language for finite differences and geophysical exploration

This paper presents Devito, a Python-based software. The aim of this software is to provide a high-level simple interface to users for the description and discretization of the mathematical definition of the physics. This research initially started as an attempt to improve research time, portability, and performance in exploration geophysics. We present the latest version of the software that is already making an impact in academics and industry.

CR Cryospheric Sciences Highlight articles

Highlight articles

Improved methodologies for Earth system modelling of atmospheric soluble iron and observation comparisons using the Mechanism of Intermediate complexity for Modelling Iron (MIMI v1.0)

Brief communication: Updated GAMDAM glacier inventory over high-mountain Asia

Converting snow depth to snow water equivalent using climatological variables

Recrystallization processes, microstructure and crystallographic preferred orientation evolution in polycrystalline ice during high-temperature simple shear

Winter tourism under climate change in the Pyrenees and the French Alps: relevance of snowmaking as a technical adaptation

Uncertainty quantification of the multi-centennial response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climate change

Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble

Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions

Terrainbento 1.0: a Python package for multi-model analysis in long-term drainage basin evolution

Devito (v3.1.0): an embedded domain-specific language for finite differences and geophysical exploration

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