The transmission of sunlight through Arctic sea ice depends on the presence of ice, snow, and melt ponds, data collected over 6 years reveal.
Energy balance
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Novel Way to Map Debris Thickness on Himalayan Glaciers
By combining changes in elevation with other data, scientists have developed a method for estimating the thickness of debris covering glaciers on whose water more than 800 million people depend.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
On-the-Ground Measurements Overestimate Earth’s Albedo
Weather stations can be used to calibrate and validate albedo measurements from satellites, but they fail to account for variability across landscapes, overestimating how reflective our planet is.
Posted inScience Updates
Understanding Causes and Effects of Rapid Warming in the Arctic
A new German research consortium is investigating why near-surface air temperatures in the Arctic are rising more quickly than in the rest of the world.
Posted inNews
Faster-Merging Snow Crystals Speed Greenland Ice Sheet Melting
Satellite data and modeling reveal a trend toward coarser-grained, more-light-absorbent snow.
Posted inOpinions
What Darkens the Greenland Ice Sheet?
Limited observational data sets and incomplete surface energy balance models constrain understanding of the driving processes for Greenland's ice sheet.