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Remote Sensing
Volume 12
Issue 22
10.3390/rs12223793
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Article

Dark Glacier Surface of Greenland’s Largest Floating Tongue Governed by High Local Deposition of Dust

by
Angelika Humbert
1,2,*,
Ludwig Schröder
1,
Timm Schultz
3,
Ralf Müller
3,
Niklas Neckel
1,
Veit Helm
1,
Robin Zindler
1,2,
Konstantinos Eleftheriadis
4,
Roberto Salzano
5 and
Rosamaria Salvatori
6
1
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, D-27560 Bremerhaven, Germany
2
Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
3
Institute of Applied Mechanics, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, TU Kaiserslautern, D-67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany
4
Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Science and Technology, Energy and Safety, P.O. Box 60037, 15310 Agia Paraskevi, Greece
5
CNR-IIA Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, National Research Council of Italy, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
6
CNR-ISP Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, 00010 Montelibretti, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(22), 3793; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12223793
Submission received: 2 October 2020 / Revised: 9 November 2020 / Accepted: 14 November 2020 / Published: 19 November 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Remote Sensing)
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Abstract

Surface melt, driven by atmospheric temperatures and albedo, is a strong contribution of mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet. In the past, black carbon, algae and other light-absorbing impurities were suggested to govern albedo in Greenland’s ablation zone. Here we combine optical (MODIS/Sentinel-2) and radar (Sentinel-1) remote sensing data with airborne radar and laser scanner data, and engage firn modelling to identify the governing factors leading to dark glacier surfaces in Northeast Greenland. After the drainage of supraglacial lakes, the former lake ground is a clean surface represented by a high reflectance in Sentinel-2 data and aerial photography. These bright spots move with the ice flow and darken by more than 20% over only two years. In contrast, sites further inland do not exhibit this effect. This finding suggests that local deposition of dust, rather than black carbon or cryoconite formation, is the governing factor of albedo of fast-moving outlet glaciers. This is in agreement with a previous field study in the area which finds the mineralogical composition and grain size of the dust comparable with that of the surrounding soils.
Keywords: glacier melt; albedo; Greenland ice sheet; remote sensing glacier melt; albedo; Greenland ice sheet; remote sensing
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MDPI and ACS Style

Humbert, A.; Schröder, L.; Schultz, T.; Müller, R.; Neckel, N.; Helm, V.; Zindler, R.; Eleftheriadis, K.; Salzano, R.; Salvatori, R. Dark Glacier Surface of Greenland’s Largest Floating Tongue Governed by High Local Deposition of Dust. Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12223793

AMA Style

Humbert A, Schröder L, Schultz T, Müller R, Neckel N, Helm V, Zindler R, Eleftheriadis K, Salzano R, Salvatori R. Dark Glacier Surface of Greenland’s Largest Floating Tongue Governed by High Local Deposition of Dust. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12(22):3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12223793

Chicago/Turabian Style

Humbert, Angelika, Ludwig Schröder, Timm Schultz, Ralf Müller, Niklas Neckel, Veit Helm, Robin Zindler, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Roberto Salzano, and Rosamaria Salvatori. 2020. "Dark Glacier Surface of Greenland’s Largest Floating Tongue Governed by High Local Deposition of Dust" Remote Sensing 12, no. 22: 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12223793

APA Style

Humbert, A., Schröder, L., Schultz, T., Müller, R., Neckel, N., Helm, V., Zindler, R., Eleftheriadis, K., Salzano, R., & Salvatori, R. (2020). Dark Glacier Surface of Greenland’s Largest Floating Tongue Governed by High Local Deposition of Dust. Remote Sensing, 12(22), 3793. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12223793

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