EGU2020-3633, updated on 12 Jun 2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3633
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Measurements and modelling of the impacts of light absorbing impurities during two contrasted snow seasons at Col du Lautaret

Marie Dumont1, Francois Tuzet1,2, Ghislain Picard2, Maxim Lamare1,2, Didier Voisin2, Pierre Nabat3, Matthieu Lafaysse1, Fanny Larue2, Jesus Revuelto1,4, and Laurent Arnaud2
Marie Dumont et al.
  • 1Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d’Etudes de la Neige, 38000 Grenoble, France
  • 2UGA,CNRS, Institut des Geosciences de l’Environnement (IGE) UMR 5001, Grenoble, France
  • 3Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, Toulouse, France
  • 4Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain

Light absorbing impurities (LAP) in snow, such as dust or black carbon, trigger potent snow-climate feedbacks. However, detailed measurements of the evolution of LAPs in seasonal snow are scarce, especially in the Alps. Here, we conducted detailed measurements of LAP in snow, snow physical and optical properties in the French Alps at a high altitude site. The dataset includes chemical measurements of mineral dust and black carbon (precisely elemental carbon and refractory black carbon), as well as spectral albedo measurements. The analysis of this dataset reveals strong discrepancies between elemental carbon and refractory black carbon measured concentrations, making it challenging to link the content of LAP to their radiative impacts. Using the dataset, the ensemble version of the Crocus snow model is evaluated and used to estimate the impacts of light-absorbing particles on snow cover evolution. Their impact on snowmelt turns out to be extremely sensitive to both meteorological conditions and uncertainties of the snow model, with a median shortening of 10 days for both snow seasons.

How to cite: Dumont, M., Tuzet, F., Picard, G., Lamare, M., Voisin, D., Nabat, P., Lafaysse, M., Larue, F., Revuelto, J., and Arnaud, L.: Measurements and modelling of the impacts of light absorbing impurities during two contrasted snow seasons at Col du Lautaret, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3633, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3633, 2020

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