Measurements Of Snow Properties Research Articles

Simulating net ecosystem exchange under seasonal snow cover at an Arctic tundra site

Abstract. Estimates of winter (snow-covered non-growing season) CO2 fluxes across the Arctic region vary by a factor of 3.5, with considerable variation between measured and simulated fluxes. Measurements of snow properties, soil temperatures, and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at Trail Valley Creek, NWT, Canada, allowed for the evaluation of simulated winter NEE in a tundra environment with the Community Land Model (CLM5.0). Default CLM5.0 parameterisations did not adequately simulate winter NEE in this tundra environment, with near-zero NEE (< 0.01 gCm-2d-1) simulated between November and mid-May. In contrast, measured NEE was broadly positive (indicating net CO2 release) from snow-cover onset until late April. Changes to the parameterisation of snow thermal conductivity, required to correct for a cold soil temperature bias, reduced the duration for which no NEE was simulated. Parameter sensitivity analysis revealed the critical role of the minimum soil moisture threshold of decomposition (Ψmin) in regulating winter soil respiration. The default value of this parameter (Ψmin) was too high, preventing simulation of soil respiration for the vast majority of the snow-covered season. In addition, the default rate of change of soil respiration with temperature (Q10) was too low, further contributing to poor model performance during winter. As Ψmin and Q10 had opposing effects on the magnitude of simulated winter soil respiration, larger negative values of Ψmin and larger positive values of Q10 are required to simulate wintertime NEE more adequately.

Microwave snow emission modeling uncertainties in boreal and subarctic environments

Abstract. This study aims to better understand and quantify the uncertainties in microwave snow emission models using the Dense Media Radiative Theory Multi-Layer model (DMRT-ML) with in situ measurements of snow properties. We use surface-based radiometric measurements at 10.67, 19 and 37 GHz in boreal forest and subarctic environments and a new in situ data set of measurements of snow properties (profiles of density, snow grain size and temperature, soil characterization and ice lens detection) acquired in the James Bay and Umiujaq regions of Northern Québec, Canada. A snow excavation experiment – where snow was removed from the ground to measure the microwave emission of bare frozen ground – shows that small-scale spatial variability (less than 1 km) in the emission of frozen soil is small. Hence, in our case of boreal organic soil, variability in the emission of frozen soil has a small effect on snow-covered brightness temperature (TB). Grain size and density measurement errors can explain the errors at 37 GHz, while the sensitivity of TB at 19 GHz to snow increases during the winter because of the snow grain growth that leads to scattering. Furthermore, the inclusion of observed ice lenses in DMRT-ML leads to significant improvements in the simulations at horizontal polarization (H-pol) for the three frequencies (up to 20 K of root mean square error). However, representation of the spatial variability of TB remains poor at 10.67 and 19 GHz at H-pol given the spatial variability of ice lens characteristics and the difficulty in simulating snowpack stratigraphy related to the snow crust. The results also show that, in our study with the given forest characteristics, forest emission reflected by the snow-covered surface can increase the TB up to 40 K. The forest contribution varies with vegetation characteristics and a relationship between the downwelling contribution of vegetation and the proportion of pixels occupied by vegetation (trees) in fisheye pictures was found. We perform a comprehensive analysis of the components that contribute to the snow-covered microwave signal, which will help to develop DMRT-ML and to improve the required field measurements. The analysis shows that a better consideration of ice lenses and snow crusts is essential to improve TB simulations in boreal forest and subarctic environments.

Processes and properties of snow–air transfer in the high Arctic with application to interstitial ozone at Alert, Canada

Recent measurements of reactive chemical species in snow and firn at polar sites have served to underscore the importance of air–snow transfer processes in understanding changes in atmospheric chemistry. In this paper we present the first quantitative assessment of the impact of physical processes in the snow on air–snow chemical exchange of ozone. Measurements of snow properties, interstitial ozone concentrations, and an ozone kinetic depletion experiment results are presented along with two-dimensional model results of the diffusion and ventilation processes affecting gas exchange at Alert, Nunavut, Canada. The Arctic snowpack at Alert will allow rapid exchange of gases with the atmosphere. Even under natural ventilation conditions with moderate winds, the entire pack is exposed to air movement and therefore available for chemical exchange processes. Both measurements and model results indicate that ozone undergoes rapid depletion in the top centimeters of the snow—approximately within the top 5 cm under diffusion alone, and in the top 10 cm or less during ventilation. Due to the higher permeability of the snowpack on the sea ice site as compared to the terrestrial site, it is possible that chemical exchange processes could be even more rapid over the sea ice in the greater Arctic than at the terrestrial site. A quantitative discussion of complications that arise from current firn air sampling techniques is presented and possible improvements for future measurements are suggested.