Influence of distributed snow and firn cover evolution on glacier surface mass change., RIS ID 11152

The glaciers of Svalbard are undergoing profound change due to climate forcing. Precipitation and temperature changes are leading to changes in the timing and duration of the melt period, the type of ice undergoing accumulation (firn versus frozen liquid precipitation or snowmelt) and the overall mass balance of the glacier. Several important modeling experients from Van Pelt et al (2012, 2014, 2015) and others have shown that understanding future mass balance and thermal state of Svalbard glaciers are very sensitive to the persistence of snow cover (firn) at high elevations. Since almost all these studies have in common that they largely relied upon the heuristic application of state of the science models, there is a critical need for empirical studies to „catch up“ by providing much-needed field data for monitoring and model validation. Therefore this master project aims to establish such a monitoring site and collect a set of field data sufficient for understanding the effects of melt and thermal flux behaviour on the mass balance.