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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L11501, doi:10.1029/2006GL026444, 2006

Satellite-derived, melt-season surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet (2000–2005) and its relationship to mass balance

D. K. Hall

Cryospheric Sciences Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA


R. S. Williams Jr.

U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA


K. A. Casey

Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USA


N. E. DiGirolamo

Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USA


Z. Wan

Institute for Computational Earth System Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA


Abstract

Mean, clear-sky surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet was measured for each melt season from 2000 to 2005 using Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)–derived land-surface temperature (LST) data-product maps. During the period of most-active melt, the mean, clear-sky surface temperature of the ice sheet was highest in 2002 (−8.29 ± 5.29°C) and 2005 (−8.29 ± 5.43°C), compared to a 6-year mean of −9.04 ± 5.59°C, in agreement with recent work by other investigators showing unusually extensive melt in 2002 and 2005. Surface-temperature variability shows a correspondence with the dry-snow facies of the ice sheet; a reduction in area of the dry-snow facies would indicate a more-negative mass balance. Surface-temperature variability generally increased during the study period and is most pronounced in the 2005 melt season; this is consistent with surface instability caused by air-temperature fluctuations.

Received 28 March 2006; accepted 2 May 2006; published 8 June 2006.

Index Terms: 0726 Cryosphere: Ice sheets; 0475 Biogeosciences: Permafrost, cryosphere, and high-latitude processes (0702, 0716); 0720 Cryosphere: Glaciers; 0480 Biogeosciences: Remote sensing.

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Citation: Hall, D. K., R. S. Williams Jr., K. A. Casey, N. E. DiGirolamo, and Z. Wan (2006), Satellite-derived, melt-season surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet (2000–2005) and its relationship to mass balance, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L11501, doi:10.1029/2006GL026444.