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

由于大片土地覆盖的反射率，高海拔积雪在全球气候系统中发挥着重要作用。气溶胶将尘埃和黑碳等杂质沉积到冰雪上，可以减少表面反射的太阳辐射量，并增加融水的产生。这可能会对社区水资源造成短期和长期影响，以及海平面上升等下游影响。新西兰阿尔卑斯山等山区的地面观测由于地形不便而很难收集。卫星用来量化地表反照率的遥感工具的最新发展使得能够更快地量化雪/冰的变化。这项研究的目的是改进遥感技术，以识别冰雪上的杂质。该项目将利用新西兰的布鲁斯特冰川作为案例研究，对遥感估算进行地面验证。这项研究将与新西兰奥塔哥大学雪遥感小组的帕斯卡尔·西尔盖博士和尼古拉斯·卡伦博士合作进行。高反射率的冰雪覆盖区域的表面反照率在全球能量平衡中发挥着重要作用，例如新西兰(新西兰)的山脉。由于地形不便，很难收集新西兰阿尔卑斯山等山区的地面观测数据。灰尘和黑碳(BC)等吸光杂质(LAI)在空气中的残留物在沉积到这些高反射表面之前可能会传播数千公里。暗粒子吸收了更多的太阳辐射，从而减少了相应雪/冰的表面反照率，并促进了融化。这项研究将利用尖端遥感工具确定新西兰布鲁斯特冰川表面反照率的变化，对这些技术进行实地验证，并量化BC和LAI对冰川表面反照率的影响。该奖项由东亚和太平洋夏季学院项目资助一名美国研究生的暑期研究，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.