EAPSI: Refining Techniques for Remote Sensing of Snow and Ice Impurities on Brewster Glacier, NZ

高海拔积雪在全球气候系统中起着重要作用，这是由于大面积土地覆盖的反射性。 雪和冰上的尘埃和黑碳等杂质的气溶胶沉积可以减少表面反射的太阳辐射量，并增加融水的产生。 这可能对社区水资源造成短期和长期影响，并对下游造成影响，如海平面上升。在新西兰阿尔卑斯山等山区，由于地形难以进入，很难收集地面观测数据。 最近开发的卫星遥感工具可量化地表积雪，这使得能够更迅速地量化雪/冰的变化。 这项研究的目的是改进遥感技术，以确定冰雪上的杂质。 该项目将利用新西兰的布鲁斯特冰川作为案例研究，对遥感估计进行地面验证。该研究将与新西兰奥塔哥大学雪遥感小组的Pascal Sirguey博士和Nicolas Cullen博士合作进行。高反射率冰雪的表面反射率在全球能量平衡中发挥着重要作用，例如在新西兰（NZ）的山脉中。 在山区，如新西兰阿尔卑斯山，由于地形难以进入，很难收集地面观测数据。来自光吸收杂质（莱什）（例如灰尘和炭黑（BC））的空气残留物在沉积在这些高反射表面上之前可能行进数千公里。 深色的颗粒吸收更多的太阳辐射，从而减少了相应雪/冰的表面覆盖度，并促进了融化。 这项研究将利用先进的遥感工具，以确定在布鲁斯特冰川，新西兰的表面覆盖度的变化，提供地面验证这些技术，以及量化的影响BC和莱什的冰川表面覆盖度。 该奖项在东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划下支持美国研究生的夏季研究，由NSF和新西兰皇家学会共同资助。

High elevation snow packs play a major role in the global climate system due to the reflectivity of the large land cover. Aerosol deposition of impurities such as dust and black carbon on snow and ice can reduce the amount of solar radiation reflected by the surface, as well as enhance the generation of melt-water. This can result in both short and long-term impacts on community water resources, as well as downstream impacts such as sea-level rise. Ground-based observations in mountainous regions, such as the New Zealand Alps, are difficult to collect due to the inaccessibility of the terrain. Recent development of remote sensing tools by satellite to quantify surface albedo is enabling more rapid quantification of changes of snow/ice. This aim of this study is to refine remote sensing techniques to identify impurities on snow and ice. The project will utilize Brewster Glacier in New Zealand as a case study to conduct ground validation of the remote sensing estimates. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Pascal Sirguey and Dr. Nicolas Cullen in the Snow Remote Sensing Group at the University of Otago in New Zealand.The surface albedos of highly reflective snow/ice expanses, such as in the mountains of New Zealand (NZ), play a significant role in the global energy balance. Ground-based observations in mountainous regions, such as the NZ Alps, are difficult to collect due to the inaccessibility of the terrain. Airborne residues from light absorbing impurities (LAIs) such as dust and black carbon (BC) may travel thousands of kilometers before being deposited on these highly reflective surfaces. The dark particles absorb more solar radiation, thereby reducing the surface albedo of the corresponding snow/ice, as well as enhancing melt. This study will utilize cutting edge remote sensing tools to identify changes in surface albedo of Brewster Glacier, New Zealand, provide ground validation of those techniques, as well as quantify the impact of BC and LAIs on the surface albedo of the glacier. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Royal Society of New Zealand.