Extreme melt events on northern James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula region, linked to isentropic drawdown and Foehn winds
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Glaciology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2025.41 |
| Keywords | Antarctic glaciology; energy balance; glacier meteorology; ice/atmosphere interactions |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The Antarctic Peninsula (AP) and James Ross Island (JRI) region have experienced exceptionally warm spells in recent decades, leading to substantial glacier mass loss. This study investigates a sequence of three massive heat waves between November 2022 and January 2023, leading to extreme surface ablation. Their impact was examined through a wide range of in-situ atmospheric and glaciological observations on two JRI glaciers: the cirque-based Triangular Glacier and the dome-shaped Davies Dome. Furthermore, the Weather Research and Forecasting model was used with a very-high horizontal resolution of 300 m to provide insights into surface-atmosphere interactions and the synoptic- and meso-scale drivers of the exceptionally high near-surface air temperatures. The three investigated events generated total surface ablation of 1237 mm w.e. on Triangular Glacier and 271 mm w.e. on Davies Dome contributing to annual ablation >= 4 times higher than a recent mean on Triangular Glacier. A striking local variability in atmosphere-glacier energy exchange was found in the complicated topography of the northeastern AP region. A complex foehn mechanism analysis revealed that isentropic drawdown with a small contribution of latent heat release played a crucial role in enhancing leeward warming and surface melt. |
| Related projects: |