Snow, Ice, And Aerosol Radiation Research Articles

Effects of Aerosol–Induced Snow Albedo Feedback on the Seasonal Snowmelt Over the Himalayan Region

AbstractAerosol‐induced snow darkening and its feedback on seasonal snow cover, snowmelt, and runoff were investigated using the Regional Climate Model (RegCM4.6) coupled with SNow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) and aerosol modules over the Himalayas during the melting season (March‐September). The snow albedo reduction due to the deposition of absorbing aerosols increases the 2 m air temperature (1.47°C) and thus decreases the snow cover (10.6%) over the Himalayas during spring. This aerosol‐induced excess warming accelerates the seasonal snowmelt (1.2 mm day−1), which reduces the number of snow‐covered periods by more than 20 days throughout the Himalayas. The accumulated total snowmelt also increased by 41.3% over the Himalayas during the melting season. The early snowmelt and increase in runoff due to aerosol forcing have significant implications on rivers originating from the western Himalayas (Indus Basin). The change in snowmelt distribution and doubling of snowmelt extremes due to aerosol‐induced snow darkening could also translate to an increase in flood risks across the Himalayan river basins. Therefore, the present study highlights the importance of aerosol‐induced snow albedo forcing and its feedback on snowmelt and runoff over the Himalayan region, which has further implications on water availability over the South Asian region.

Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size, and cloudiness

Abstract. The impact of volcanic ash on seasonal snow and glacier mass balance has been much less studied than that of carbonaceous particles and mineral dust. We present here the first field measurements on the Argentinian Andes, combined with snow albedo and glacier mass balance modeling. Measured impurity content (1.1 mg kg−1 to 30 000 mg kg−1) varied abruptly in snow pits and snow and firn cores, due to high surface enrichment during the ablation season and possibly local or regional wind-driven resuspension and redeposition of dust and volcanic ash. In addition, we observed high spatial heterogeneity, due to glacier topography and the prevailing wind direction. Microscopic characterization showed that the major component was ash from recent Calbuco (2015) and Cordón Caulle (2011) volcanic eruptions, with a minor presence of mineral dust and black carbon. We also found a wide range of measured snow albedo (0.26 to 0.81), which reflected mainly the impurity content and the snow and firn grain size (due to aging). We updated the SNow, ICe, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) albedo model to account for the effect of cloudiness on incident radiation spectra, improving the match of modeled and measured values. We also ran sensitivity studies considering the uncertainty in the main measured parameters (impurity content and composition, snow grain size, layer thickness, etc.) to identify the field measurements that should be improved to facilitate the validation of the snow albedo model. Finally, we studied the impact of these albedo reductions on Alerce Glacier using a spatially distributed surface mass balance model. We found a large impact of albedo changes on glacier mass balance, and we estimated that the effect of observed ash concentrations can be as high as a 1.25 m water equivalent decrease in the annual surface mass balance (due to a 34 % increase in the melt during the ablation season).

Snow Surface Albedo Sensitivity to Black Carbon: Radiative Transfer Modelling

The broadband surface albedo of snow can greatly be reduced by the deposition of light-absorbing impurities, such as black carbon on or near its surface. Such a reduction increases the absorption of solar radiation and may initiate or accelerate snowmelt and snow albedo feedback. Coincident measurements of both black carbon concentration and broadband snow albedo may be difficult to obtain in field studies; however, using the relationship developed in this simple model sensitivity study, black carbon mass densities deposited can be estimated from changes in measured broadband snow albedo, and vice versa. Here, the relationship between the areal mass density of black carbon found near the snow surface to the amount of albedo reduction was investigated using the popular snow radiative transfer model Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR). We found this relationship to be linear for realistic amounts of black carbon mass concentrations, such as those found in snow at remote locations. We applied this relationship to measurements of broadband albedo in the Chilean Andes to estimate how vehicular emissions contributed to black carbon (BC) deposition that was previously unquantified.

Effects of black carbon and mineral dust on glacial melting on the Muz Taw glacier, Central Asia

Light-absorbing impurities (LAIs), including black carbon (BC) and mineral dust, in snow can trigger a positive feedback. In this study, we estimate the contribution of BC and dust to glacial melting in Central Asia. Average BC and dust concentrations in the surface snow of the Muz Taw glacier are 1788 ± 1754 ng g−1 and 172 ± 178 μg g−1, respectively. Simulation using the Snow Ice and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model indicates that the combined effect of BC and dust reduces the snow albedo by approximately 6.24% to 50.4% relative to clean snow. Radiative forcing (RF) induced by BC and dust deposited in snow ranges from 1.61 to 32.69 W m−2, with an average of 16.74 W m−2 for the central scenario. Thus, glacier melting can be enhanced by 36.37 cm w.e. by BC and dust in snow, accounting for about 16.3% of the total glacier melt. LAIs deposited on the Muz Taw glacier mostly originate from Central Asia, West Siberia and local emissions during the study period. More than 80% of BC deposited is attributed to anthropogenic emissions. These results strengthen the important role of BC and dust in glacier melting in Central Asia, and further highlights the potential benefits of mitigation of BC emissions.

Modeling of aerosol induced snow albedo feedbacks over the Himalayas and its implications on regional climate

Regional climate model (RegCM-4.6.0) coupled with Community Land Model (CLM4.5), which includes SNow, ICe and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model was used to investigate the effect of aerosol-induced snow albedo feedback on the regional radiation balance and atmospheric thermodynamics. During pre-monsoon (March–April–May) season, the deposition of absorbing aerosols such as dust and Black Carbon (BC) decreases the snow albedo of Himalayan–Tibetan region by 0.15 ± 0.13 causing a positive radiative effect of 14 ± 13 W m−2. In spite of the low absorption efficiency, the contribution of dust to the total radiative effect is found to be comparable to that due to BC over this region. The snow darkening due to aerosols increases the surface temperature by 1.33 ± 1.2 K, which results in the reduction of snow cover fraction by 7 ± 11%. The snow cover reduction is more than 20% in the mid-Himalayan region and northern Tibetan slopes due to its proximity to the major source regions like Indo-Gangetic Plain and Taklimakan desert respectively. Direct radiative effect (DRE, scattering and absorption of radiation) of atmospheric aerosols is smaller compared to the snow albedo effect (SAE) over the Himalayan region. DRE increase the mid-tropospheric temperature up to 1 K, whereas SAE effects are smaller and highly localized over the Himalayan region. Due to the large geographical extend of the forcing, the change in precipitation due to the direct effect is more prominent than that of the snow albedo effect. In general, change in snow cover fraction is dominated by the SAE and precipitation is more dominated by DRE. Present work demonstrates that the snow albedo feedback process over the Himalayan–Tibetan region plays a significant role in the regional climate of South Asia and therefore is crucial for the assessment of anthropogenic impacts.

Impact of surface Albedo on Martian photochemistry

Solar energy is the primary driving force behind a planet’s climate system, and surface albedo plays a key role in determining the energy budget of the planet. Coupling the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) with the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD) Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) to create a new coupled model leads to an approximately 4% drop in the net CO2 ice deposition on Mars. Newly simulated surface albedo affects the concentration of gaseous species in the Martian atmosphere (condensation-sublimation cycle). The new set-up also impacts the solar energy available in the atmosphere. These two effects together lead to subsequent and significant changes in other chemical species in the Martian atmosphere. Compared with results of the MGCM model alone, in the new coupled model CO2 (gas) and O3 show a drop of about 1.17% and 8.59% in their respective concentrations, while H2O (vapor) and CO show an increase of about 13.63% and 0.56% in their respective concentrations. Among trace species, OH shows a maximum increase of about 29.44%, while the maximum drop of 11.5% is observed in the O concentration. Photochemically neutral species such as Ar and N2 remain unaffected by the albedo changes.

Concentrations and source regions of light-absorbing particles in snow/ice in northern Pakistan and their impact on snow albedo

Abstract. Black carbon (BC), water-insoluble organic carbon (OC), and mineral dust are important particles in snow and ice which significantly reduce albedo and accelerate melting. Surface snow and ice samples were collected from the Karakoram–Himalayan region of northern Pakistan during 2015 and 2016 in summer (six glaciers), autumn (two glaciers), and winter (six mountain valleys). The average BC concentration overall was 2130 ± 1560 ng g−1 in summer samples, 2883 ± 3439 ng g−1 in autumn samples, and 992 ± 883 ng g−1 in winter samples. The average water-insoluble OC concentration overall was 1839 ± 1108 ng g−1 in summer samples, 1423 ± 208 ng g−1 in autumn samples, and 1342 ± 672 ng g−1 in winter samples. The overall concentration of BC, OC, and dust in aged snow samples collected during the summer campaign was higher than the concentration in ice samples. The values are relatively high compared to reports by others for the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. This is probably the result of taking more representative samples at lower elevation where deposition is higher and the effects of ageing and enrichment are more marked. A reduction in snow albedo of 0.1–8.3 % for fresh snow and 0.9–32.5 % for aged snow was calculated for selected solar zenith angles during daytime using the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model. The daily mean albedo was reduced by 0.07–12.0 %. The calculated radiative forcing ranged from 0.16 to 43.45 W m−2 depending on snow type, solar zenith angle, and location. The potential source regions of the deposited pollutants were identified using spatial variance in wind vector maps, emission inventories coupled with backward air trajectories, and simple region-tagged chemical transport modeling. Central, south, and west Asia were the major sources of pollutants during the sampling months, with only a small contribution from east Asia. Analysis based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-STEM) chemical transport model identified a significant contribution (more than 70 %) from south Asia at selected sites. Research into the presence and effect of pollutants in the glaciated areas of Pakistan is economically significant because the surface water resources in the country mainly depend on the rivers (the Indus and its tributaries) that flow from this glaciated area.

Improvement of Mars Surface Snow Albedo Modeling in LMD Mars GCM With SNICAR

AbstractThe current version of Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) Mars GCM (original‐MGCM) uses annually repeating (prescribed) CO2 snow albedo values based on the Thermal Emission Spectrometer observations. We integrate the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model with MGCM (SNICAR‐MGCM) to prognostically determine H2O and CO2 snow albedos interactively in the model. Using the new diagnostic capabilities of this model, we find that cryospheric surfaces (with dust) increase the global surface albedo of Mars by 0.022. Over snow‐covered regions, SNICAR‐MGCM simulates mean albedo that is higher by about 0.034 than prescribed values in the original‐MGCM. Globally, shortwave flux into the surface decreases by 1.26 W/m2, and net CO2 snow deposition increases by about 4% with SNICAR‐MGCM over one Martian annual cycle as compared to the original‐MGCM simulations. SNICAR integration reduces the mean global surface temperature and the surface pressure of Mars by about 0.87% and 2.5%, respectively. Changes in albedo also show a similar distribution to dust deposition over the globe. The SNICAR‐MGCM model generates albedos with higher sensitivity to surface dust content as compared to original‐MGCM. For snow‐covered regions, we improve the correlation between albedo and optical depth of dust from −0.91 to −0.97 with SNICAR‐MGCM as compared to the original‐MGCM. Dust substantially darkens Mars's cryosphere, thereby reducing its impact on the global shortwave energy budget by more than half, relative to the impact of pure snow.

Effects of snow grain shape on climate simulations: sensitivity tests with the Norwegian Earth System Model

Abstract. Snow consists of non-spherical grains of various shapes and sizes. Still, in radiative transfer calculations, snow grains are often treated as spherical. This also applies to the computation of snow albedo in the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model and in the Los Alamos sea ice model, version 4 (CICE4), both of which are employed in the Community Earth System Model and in the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM). In this study, we evaluate the effect of snow grain shape on climate simulated by NorESM in a slab ocean configuration of the model. An experiment with spherical snow grains (SPH) is compared with another (NONSPH) in which the snow shortwave single-scattering properties are based on a combination of three non-spherical snow grain shapes optimized using measurements of angular scattering by blowing snow. The key difference between these treatments is that the asymmetry parameter is smaller in the non-spherical case (0.77–0.78 in the visible region) than in the spherical case ( ≈ 0.89). Therefore, for the same effective snow grain size (or equivalently, the same specific projected area), the snow broadband albedo is higher when assuming non-spherical rather than spherical snow grains, typically by 0.02–0.03. Considering the spherical case as the baseline, this results in an instantaneous negative change in net shortwave radiation with a global-mean top-of-the-model value of ca. −0.22 W m−2. Although this global-mean radiative effect is rather modest, the impacts on the climate simulated by NorESM are substantial. The global annual-mean 2 m air temperature in NONSPH is 1.17 K lower than in SPH, with substantially larger differences at high latitudes. The climatic response is amplified by strong snow and sea ice feedbacks. It is further demonstrated that the effect of snow grain shape could be largely offset by adjusting the snow grain size. When assuming non-spherical snow grains with the parameterized grain size increased by ca. 70 %, the climatic differences to the SPH experiment become very small. Finally, the impact of assumed snow grain shape on the radiative effects of absorbing aerosols in snow is discussed.

Research progress of light-absorbing impurities in glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings

Light-absorbing impurities (LAIs, including black carbon, organic carbon, and dust) deposited on glacier surface can have strong effects on mass and energy balance of the cryosphere. Widespread with amount of glaciers, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is considered to be an ideal region to study the impact of LAIs to glacier melt. Based on recent studies of LAIs in glacial snow of the TP, we summarized the research progress of LAIs in glacial snow, including their concentrations and spatial distributions, especially focusing on discussion of sources of black carbon, and documenting the albedo reduction and radiative forcing caused by LAIs. Additionally, we identified research gaps and suggested future research directions. At present, spatial distribution of LAIs in glacial snow and ice from TP and its surroundings exist a significant difference due to natural/anthropogenic emission sources, local topography, atmospheric transportation, and different glacial surface (e.g., fresh snow, aged snow, granular ice, bare ice). In general, higher concentrations of BC occurred in the northern and southern regions; LAIs in aged snow or granular ice were higher by 1–2 order of magnitude than that in the fresh snow or snowpit. Characteristics of LAIs from different glacial surfaces were still limited especially in Tienshan regions, which need to be further studies. Since Industrial Revolution, BC in ice cores increased in recent decades which may be likely caused by increasing emissions of fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning in the South Asia and Central Asia. The process of snowmelt can enrich the BC concentrations in surface and change the mixture of BC with snow grains, which will further enhance the albedo reduction. Studies on post-deposition processes of other LAIs and their effects on snow surface albedo are urgent to be strengthened. Simulation results indicated that BC aerosol of the southern TP mainly originated from the South Asia, which can contributed to approximately 50% in non-monsoon season and 30% in monsoon season; anthropogenic sourced BC can contributed to 30%–70%. However, studies on enrichment and transport processes of LAIs in glacial surface snow still should be emphasized. Although LAIs initiated powerful snow albedo feedbacks and glacier melt, estimation of this effect was associated with a large uncertainty. Based snow ice and aerosol radiation (SNICAR) model, effects of BC and dust on albedo reduction were estimated to be less than 10% in the southern TP and more than 25% in the central and northern TP influencing by snow types. Simulation of BC on albedo effects were affected by mixture of BC, coatings with other components, and snow grains, which lead to different radiative forcing in different regions. For aged snow or granular ice, effects of BC and dust can give localized instantaneous radiative forcing to about near or more than 100 W m−2; for fresh or snowpit, BC and dust can result in a minor radiative forcing (mostly less than 10 W m−2). These effects of LAIs on albedo reduction and radiative forcing enhanced glacier melt, which will further affect the hydrological processes. Estimation represented that LAIs in snow can lead to approximately 15% of the total glacier melt in the southeast TP and 6.3% increasing glacier melt in the Pamir regions. However, there still existed differences between the observations and simulations of LAIs in snow, which was mostly related to the different deposition flux and snow accumulation. In the future, mixing state of LAIs in snow, and their synergistic effects of biogeochemical process and climate change will be a new research direction.

Improvement of a snow albedo parameterization in the Snow–Atmosphere–Soil Transfer model: evaluation of impacts of aerosol on seasonal snow cover

The presence of light-absorbing aerosols (LAA) in snow profoundly influence the surface energy balance and water budget. However, most snow-process schemes in land-surface and climate models currently do not take this into consideration. To better represent the snow process and to evaluate the impacts of LAA on snow, this study presents an improved snow albedo parameterization in the Snow–Atmosphere–Soil Transfer (SAST) model, which includes the impacts of LAA on snow. Specifically, the Snow, Ice and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model is incorporated into the SAST model with an LAA mass stratigraphy scheme. The new coupled model is validated against in-situ measurements at the Swamp Angel Study Plot (SASP), Colorado, USA. Results show that the snow albedo and snow depth are better reproduced than those in the original SAST, particularly during the period of snow ablation. Furthermore, the impacts of LAA on snow are estimated in the coupled model through case comparisons of the snowpack, with or without LAA. The LAA particles directly absorb extra solar radiation, which accelerates the growth rate of the snow grain size. Meanwhile, these larger snow particles favor more radiative absorption. The average total radiative forcing of the LAA at the SASP is 47.5 W m−2. This extra radiative absorption enhances the snowmelt rate. As a result, the peak runoff time and “snow all gone” day have shifted 18 and 19.5 days earlier, respectively, which could further impose substantial impacts on the hydrologic cycle and atmospheric processes.

Observations and model simulations of snow albedo reduction in seasonal snow due to insoluble light-absorbing particles during 2014 Chinese survey

Abstract. A snow survey was carried out to collect 13 surface snow samples (10 for fresh snow, and 3 for aged snow) and 79 subsurface snow samples in seasonal snow at 13 sites across northeastern China in January 2014. A spectrophotometer combined with chemical analysis was used to quantify snow particulate absorption by insoluble light-absorbing particles (ILAPs, e.g., black carbon, BC; mineral dust, MD; and organic carbon, OC) in snow. Snow albedo was measured using a field spectroradiometer. A new radiative transfer model (Spectral Albedo Model for Dirty Snow, or SAMDS) was then developed to simulate the spectral albedo of snow based on the asymptotic radiative transfer theory. A comparison between SAMDS and an existing model – the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) – indicates good agreements in the model-simulated spectral albedos of pure snow. However, the SNICAR model values tended to be slightly lower than those of SAMDS when BC and MD were considered. Given the measured BC, MD, and OC mixing ratios of 100–5000, 2000–6000, and 1000–30 000 ng g−1, respectively, in surface snow across northeastern China, the SAMDS model produced a snow albedo in the range of 0.95–0.75 for fresh snow at 550 nm, with a snow grain optical effective radius (Reff) of 100 µm. The snow albedo reduction due to spherical snow grains assumed to be aged snow is larger than fresh snow such as fractal snow grains and hexagonal plate or column snow grains associated with the increased BC in snow. For typical BC mixing ratios of 100 ng g−1 in remote areas and 3000 ng g−1 in heavy industrial areas across northern China, the snow albedo for internal mixing of BC and snow is lower by 0.005 and 0.036 than that of external mixing for hexagonal plate or column snow grains with Reff of 100 µm. These results also show that the simulated snow albedos by both SAMDS and SNICAR agree well with the observed values at low ILAP mixing ratios but tend to be higher than surface observations at high ILAP mixing ratios.

An improved carbon dioxide snow spectral albedo model: Application to Martian conditions

AbstractCarbon dioxide ice is abundant on the Martian surface and plays an important role in the planet's energy budget due to its high reflectivity and seasonal variation. Here we adapt the terrestrial Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model to simulate CO2 snow albedo across the ultraviolet, visible, and near‐IR spectra (0.2–5.0 µm). We apply recent laboratory‐derived refractive indices of CO2 ice, which produce higher broadband CO2 snow albedo (0.93–0.98) than previously estimated. Compared with H2O snow, we find that CO2 snow albedo is much higher in the near‐IR spectrum, less dependent on ice grain size, less dependent on solar zenith angle, and more susceptible to darkening from dust. A mass concentration of 0.01% Martian dust reduces visible and near‐IR CO2 snow albedos by about 60% and 35%, respectively. The presence of small amounts of H2O snow on top of CO2 snow can substantially decrease the surface albedo. Whereas 2.5 cm of H2O snow can completely mask the impact of underlying CO2 ice or the surface, roughly twice as much overlying CO2 snow is required to mask underlying H2O snow. Similarly, a 10% mixing ratio of H2O ice embedded in CO2 snow decreases broadband albedo by 0.18, while 10% CO2 ice elevates H2O snow broadband albedo by 0.10. We also present comparisons between hemispherical albedo produced by SNICAR and observations of directional reflectance of Martian polar ice caps. While imperfect, this best fit analysis provides general ranges of physical parameters in different Martian environments that produce reasonable model‐observation agreement.