Modeling of surface energy balance for Icelandic glaciers using remote-sensing albedo

Abstract

During the melt season, absorbed solar energy, modulated at the surface by albedo, is one of the main governing factors controlling surface melt variability for glaciers in Iceland. An energy balance model was applied with the possibility of utilizing spatiotemporal Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite-derived daily surface albedo driven by high-resolution climate forcing data to reconstruct the surface energy balance (SEB) for all Icelandic glaciers for the period 2000–2021. The SEB was reconstructed from April through September for 2000–2021 at a daily time step with a 500 m spatial resolution. Validation was performed using observations from various glaciers spanning distinct locations and elevations with good visual and statistical agreement. The results show that spatiotemporal patterns for the melt season have high annual and interannual variability for Icelandic glaciers. The variability was influenced by high climate variability, deposition of light-absorbing particles (LAPs) from volcanic eruptions and dust hotspots in pro-glacial areas close to the glaciers. Impacts of LAPs can lead to significant melt enhancement due to lowering of albedo and increased short-wave radiative energy forced at the surface. Large impacts on the SEB were observed for years with high LAP deposits, such as the volcanic eruption years of 2004, 2010 and 2011 and the sand- and dust-rich year of 2019. The impacts of volcanic eruptions and other LAP events were estimated using historical mean albedo under the same climatology forcing to provide estimations of melt energy enhancements. The impact of LAPs was often significant even though the glaciers were far away from the eruption location. On average, the melt enhancements due to LAPs were ∼27 % in 2010, ∼16 % in 2011 and ∼14 % in 2019 for Vatnajökull, Hofsjökull and Langjökull.