CR
Cryospheric Sciences

clouds

Do clouds affect melting over Antarctic ice shelves?

Do clouds affect melting over Antarctic ice shelves?

The Antarctic Peninsula is the ‘canary in the coalmine’ of Antarctic climate change. In the last half-century it has warmed faster than most other places on Earth, and considerable change has consequently been observed in the cryosphere, with several ice shelves collapsing in part or in full. Representing this change in models is difficult because …[Read More]

Image of the Week — Greenland ice sheet and clouds

Image of the Week — Greenland ice sheet and clouds

A new study combining satellite observations and model simulations shows that clouds increase meltwater runoff in Greenland by one-third compared to a cloud-free scenario. Precipitation effects not considered, clouds above the Greenland ice sheet reduce its Surface Mass Balance (SMB) [red in figure] compared to clear-sky conditions [blue in figure]. Because clouds trap the outgoing …[Read More]