Objective
To develop and validate a numerical model of the physical characteristics of polar snow which can affect the exchange of energy and mass between the atmosphere and ice of the ice sheets.
An existing model (CROCUS), initially set up for temperate mountain snow, will be modified and adapted for
polar climate conditions. Formulations for fresh snow characteristics, densification, metamorphism, crusting,
and thermodynamics will be revised on the basis of existing observations, new field data and remote sensing.
The model is driven by surface meteorology.
The project takes advantage of scheduled British, French and Spanish field campaigns in both Greenland and
Antarctica to acquire new snow (temperature, density, stratigraphy, grain size and shape...) and atmospheric
(temperature, wind, precipitation, radiation, heat exchange...) observations which, along with archived data,
will provide ground truth at a few test sites and along traverses. Snow temperature, stratigraphy, grainsize,
surface roughness will also be validated using visible and microwave satellite data.
Eventually, a full scale 'climatology' of snow structure over Greenland and Antarctica will be obtained using
the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasts archive as a full coverage meteorological input to
the snow model. Coupling with a general circulation model will also be done to assess the predictive capabilities
of the snow model.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorology
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesthermodynamics
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringremote sensing
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatology
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Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
38402 SAINT-MARTIN-D'HERES
France