Author:

Keywords:

surface mass-balance, general-circulation model, ice cores, snow, precipitation, climate, information, forecasts, moisture, record, Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Geography, Physical, Geosciences, Multidisciplinary, Physical Geography, Geology, SURFACE MASS-BALANCE, ICE, PRECIPITATION, CLIMATE, INFORMATION, ISOTOPES, MOISTURE, RECORD, 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences, 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience

Abstract:

In this study we investigate the ability of the Regional Atmospheric Climate MOdel (RACMO) to represent temporal variations of Antarctic accumulation using weekly stake array measurements from Neumayer Station. The model uses European Centre for Medium-RangeWeather Forecasts re-analysis data to force the atmospheric variables at the lateral boundaries of the model domain. Accumulation is defined as precipitation minus sublimation. Generally the model represents reasonably well the synoptic situations that lead to precipitation. The amounts of accumulation are, however, usually lower in the model than in the measurements. It cannot be determined whether the model underestimates precipitation or whether this effect is due to the redistribution of snow by the wind, which is not taken into account in the model but affects the accumulation at the measuring site. Significant differences between model and measurements also occur in cases of net ablation due to wind erosion or when accumulation at the stakes was due to snowdrift from the southwest without precipitation being observed.