Polar field measurements of snow physical and radiometric properties for model improvement / Mesures despropriétés physiques et radiométriques de la neige des régions polaires

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Geophysical and thermophysical properties of snow are known to be sensitive to climate variability and change and are of primary importance for hydrological and climatological process simulations, especially in the northern hemisphere where 40% of the land surface is influenced by seasonal snow. Of particular relevance, the first and strongest signs of global climate variability and change have been observed in arctic and subarctic regions over the past three decades which has led to a variety of strong climate related feedbacks such as winter extreme events (WEE). The NSERC Northern Research Supplement (NSERC-NS) will complement the 'applied for' NSERC Discovery Individual Grant (NSERC-DG) of A. Langlois' proposal entitled 'Study of arctic and subarctic winter extreme events in a changing climate', as well as an 'applied for' NSERC Tools and Instruments Grant (NSERC-RTI) that will be used for the purchase of a snow-dedicated meteorological station. The main approach of the proposal herein is to capture and characterize WEE at 6 arctic and subarctic sites across Canada. The novelty of the proposed research is to address the longstanding issue of a lack of field measurements under WEE in remote northern regions, which affects the performance of climate models while limiting the validation and development capacities of these models. The NSERC-NS will partially cover fieldwork expenses in 6 remote sites: 1) James Bay, QC, 2) Churchill, MB, 3) Inuvik, NWT, 4) Baker Lake, NU, 5) Pingaluit National Park, QC and 6) Pond Inlet, NU. This grant is essential to the success of the research program of A. Langlois' NSERC-DG, which is based on field measurements and detection of WEE in arctic and subarctic regions. The data collected in these regions will allow the development of WEE satellite retrieval algorithms as well as improve climate scenarios through more accurate snow simulations.