Studies of melting blue ice areas

The model is comprised of a heat transfer equation with a spectrally-dependent solar-radiation source term. The penetration of radiation into the snow and blue-ice depends on the surface albedo, and the snow and blue-ice grain size and density. Model simulations show that ice melt occurring in this area is sensitive to potential variations in atmospheric forcing.

Under certain conditions more traditional surface melting occurs and, under other conditions, the existing melt processes can be shut down completely. In light of the sensitivity of this system to variations in atmospheric forcing and the ability to view melt-related features using remote-sensing, a tool exists to efficiently monitor variations in Antarctic coastal climate. We are currently analysing to what degree this process contribute to the mass balance of Antarctica The data set includes: 1) Meteorological data from Jutulgryta, Dronning Maud Land, 2) Satellite images from Jutulgryta, 3) NOAA AVHRR mosaic mapping blue ice areas all over the Antarctic continent, 4) albedo measurements from Jutulgryta, 5) GPS data on surface topography, 6) Snow temperature records, 7) model results