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

由于大面积土地覆盖的反射率，高海拔积雪在全球气候系统中发挥着重要作用。尘埃和黑碳等杂质在冰雪上的气溶胶沉积可以减少地表反射的太阳辐射量，并增强融水的产生。这可能会对社区水资源造成短期和长期的影响，以及海平面上升等下游影响。在山区，如新西兰阿尔卑斯山脉，由于地形难以接近，地面观测很难收集。最近发展的用于量化地表反照率的卫星遥感工具使得能够更快速地量化雪/冰的变化。本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冰雪遥感组的Pascal Sirguey博士和Nicolas Cullen博士合作进行。高反射率冰雪区（如新西兰山区）的地表反照率在全球能量平衡中起着重要作用。在山区，如新西兰阿尔卑斯山脉，由于地形难以接近，地面观测很难收集。空气中吸收光的杂质（LAIs）的残留物，如灰尘和黑碳（BC），在沉积在这些高反射表面之前，可能会飞行数千公里。深色颗粒吸收更多的太阳辐射，从而降低相应雪/冰的表面反照率，并加速融化。本研究将利用最先进的遥感工具来识别新西兰布鲁斯特冰川表面反照率的变化，为这些技术提供地面验证，并量化BC和LAIs对冰川表面反照率的影响。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会和新西兰皇家学会共同资助，隶属于东亚和太平洋暑期研究所项目，支持一名美国研究生进行暑期研究。

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.