Cloud Radiative Impact on Antarctic Ice Shelves

An accurate prediction of global sea-level rise requires that the cause of recent and intensifying glacier acceleration along the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) coastal margins is understood. Ice shelf thinning and abrupt ice shelf collapse have been linked to surface melt that is prevalent across coastal Antarctica. Primarily, surface melt is...

Greenland Ice Sheet Memory for Cloud Radiation determines its impact on the Surface Mass Balance

As of yet, there is no consensus on the role of the cloud radiative effect (CRE) on the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). This study focuses on the seasonal and temporal variability of the CRE, to better understand the response of the firn. To do so, we combine satellite observations, climate-model output, and a snow model. We separate short-term and...

Evaluating and improving ice sheet clouds, radiation, and precipitation in the Community Earth System Model

Clouds exert a pivotal control on the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheet and therefore their contribution to global sea level. Clouds transport moisture onto the marginal ice sheet, where steep topographic gradients force the air to rise and cool, inducing strong orographic precipitation and leaving the interior ice sheet dry ...