IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcli/v8y2018i11d10.1038_s41558-018-0286-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Snow in the changing sea-ice systems

Author

Listed:
  • Melinda Webster

    (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

  • Sebastian Gerland

    (Norwegian Polar Institute)

  • Marika Holland

    (National Center for Atmospheric Research)

  • Elizabeth Hunke

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • Ron Kwok

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  • Olivier Lecomte

    (Université Catholique de Louvain)

  • Robert Massom

    (Australian Antarctic Division and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre)

  • Don Perovich

    (Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College)

  • Matthew Sturm

    (University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Abstract

Snow is the most reflective, and also the most insulative, natural material on Earth. Consequently, it is an integral part of the sea-ice and climate systems. However, the spatial and temporal heterogeneities of snow pose challenges for observing, understanding and modelling those systems under anthropogenic warming. Here, we survey the snow–ice system, then provide recommendations for overcoming present challenges. These include: collecting process-oriented observations for model diagnostics and understanding snow–ice feedbacks, and improving our remote sensing capabilities of snow for monitoring large-scale changes in snow on sea ice. These efforts could be achieved through stronger coordination between the observational, remote sensing and modelling communities, and would pay dividends through distinct improvements in predictions of polar environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Melinda Webster & Sebastian Gerland & Marika Holland & Elizabeth Hunke & Ron Kwok & Olivier Lecomte & Robert Massom & Don Perovich & Matthew Sturm, 2018. "Snow in the changing sea-ice systems," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(11), pages 946-953, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:8:y:2018:i:11:d:10.1038_s41558-018-0286-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-018-0286-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0286-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41558-018-0286-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:8:y:2018:i:11:d:10.1038_s41558-018-0286-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.