Determination of Stratiform Cloud Formation and its Effect upon Glacial Ablation at Linnébreen, Svalbard for the Summer of 2005

The intent of this study is to investigate the formation and organization of Arctic stratiform clouds due to their critical role as a climate forcing mechanism in a warming Polar Basin as well as their impact upon the glacial mass balance. For four weeks in the summer of 2005, meteorological and insolation data were collected at the high-arctic glacier Linnébreen in Svalbard, Norway as part of an NSF funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program. The first portion of this project involves modeling the atmospheric circulation over several nested domains; these domains are scaled from the western Atlantic Arctic region down to the 1km-scale resolving the glacial melt-water basin using the Polar Fifth Generation Mesoscale Model (Polar MM5). Cases were selected based upon dates preceding significant glacial ablation events. The second component of this research focuses upon correlating glacial ablation data with the meteorological observations. With the assistance of the Polar MM5 it is possible to simulate these occurrences, which reveal the moisture and temperature advection as well as the heat budget for the Svalbard region.本研究旨在探究北极层状云（Arctic stratiform clouds）的形成与组织机制，因其在变暖极地盆地中作为气候强迫机制发挥关键作用，同时其对冰川物质平衡亦存在重要影响。2005年夏季，研究团队在挪威斯瓦尔巴群岛的高北极冰川林恩冰川（Linnébreen）开展了为期四周的数据采集工作，采集内容涵盖气象与太阳辐射观测数据，该工作隶属于美国国家科学基金会（National Science Foundation, NSF）资助的本科生研究经历计划（Research Experience for Undergraduates program）。本项目的第一部分内容为构建多嵌套区域的大气环流模拟，模拟区域的尺度范围从大西洋北极西部区域，直至分辨率达1公里级、可解析冰川融水盆地的区域，模拟采用极地第五代中尺度模式（Polar Fifth Generation Mesoscale Model, Polar MM5）完成。研究选取了显著冰川消融（glacial ablation）事件发生前的时段作为案例。本研究的第二部分聚焦于将冰川消融数据与气象观测结果进行关联分析。借助极地第五代中尺度模式（Polar MM5），可对上述事件进行模拟，模拟结果能够揭示斯瓦尔巴地区的水汽与温度平流，以及该区域的热量收支情况。