Regional climate-model performance in Greenland firn derived from in situ observations

Recent record-warm summers in Greenland (Khan et al. 2015) have started affecting the higher regions of the ice sheet (i.e. the accumulation area), where increased melt has altered the properties of firn (i.e. multi-year snow). At high altitudes, meltwater percolates in the porous snow and firn, where it refreezes. The result is mass conservation, as the refrozen meltwater is essentially stored (Harper et al. 2012). However, in some regions increased meltwater refreezing in shallow firn has created thick ice layers. These ice layers act as a lid, and can inhibit meltwater percolation to greater depths, causing it to run off instead (Machguth et al. 2016). Meltwater at the surface also results in more absorbed sunlight, and hence increased melt in the accumulation area (Charalampidis et al. 2015). These relatively poorly understood processes are important for ice-sheet mass-budget projections

Preparation of hydrogen, fluorine and chlorine doped and co-doped titanium dioxide photocatalysts: a theoretical and experimental approach

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has a strong photocatalytic activity in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum combined with excellent chemical stability and abundance. However, its photocatalytic efficiency is prohibited by limited absorption within the visible range derived from its wide band gap value and the presence of charge trapping states located at the band edges, which act as electron-hole recombination centers. Herein, we modify the band gap and improve the optical properties of TiO2via co-doping with hydrogen and halogen. The present density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that hydrogen is incorporated in interstitial sites while fluorine and chlorine can be inserted both as interstitial and oxygen substitutional defects. To investigate the synergy of dopants in TiO2 experimental characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray and ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS/UPS), UV-Vis absorption and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements, have been conducted. The observations suggest that the oxide’s band gap is reduced upon halogen doping, particularly for chlorine, making this material promising for energy harvesting devices. The studies on hydrogen production ability of these materials support the enhanced hydrogen production rates for chlorine doped (Cl:TiO2) and hydrogenated (H:TiO2) oxides compared to the pristine TiO2 reference

A multifractal approach to space-filling recovery for PET quantification.

Purpose: A new image-based methodology is developed for estimating the apparent space-filling properties of an object of interest in PET imaging without need for a robust segmentation step and used to recover accurate estimates of total lesion activity (TLA). Methods: A multifractal approach and the fractal dimension are proposed to recover the apparent space-filling index of a lesion (tumor volume, TV) embedded in nonzero background. A practical implementation is proposed, and the index is subsequently used with mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) to correct TLA estimates obtained from approximate lesion contours. The methodology is illustrated on fractal and synthetic objects contaminated by partial volume effects (PVEs), validated on realistic 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET simulations and tested for its robustness using a clinical 18F-fluorothymidine PET test-retest dataset. Results: TLA estimates were stable for a range of resolutions typical in PET oncology (4-6 mm). By contrast, the space-filling index and intensity estimates were resolution dependent. TLA was generally recovered within 15% of ground truth on postfiltered PET images affected by PVEs. Volumes were recovered within 15% variability in the repeatability study. Results indicated that TLA is a more robust index than other traditional metrics such as SUVmean or TV measurements across imaging protocols. Conclusions: The fractal procedure reported here is proposed as a simple and effective computational alternative to existing methodologies which require the incorporation of image preprocessing steps (i.e., partial volume correction and automatic segmentation) prior to quantification

Firn data compilation reveals widespread decrease of firn air content in western Greenland

The perennial snow, or firn, on the Greenland ice sheet each summer stores part of the meltwater formed at the surface, buffering the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level. We gathered observations of firn air content, indicative of the space available in the firn to retain meltwater, and find that this air content remained stable in cold regions of the firn over the last 65 years but recently decreased significantly in western Greenland

Climatology and firn processes in the lower accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet

The Greenland ice sheet is the largest Northern Hemisphere store of fresh water, and it is responding rapidly to the warming climate. In situ observations document the changing ice sheet properties in the lower accumulation area, Southwest Greenland. Firn densities from 1840 meters above sea level retrieved in May 2012 revealed the existence of a 5.5-meter-thick, near-surface ice layer in response to the recent increased melt and refreezing in firn. As a consequence, vertical meltwater percolation in the extreme summer 2012 was inefficient, resulting in surface runoff. Meltwater percolated and refroze at six meters depth only after the end of the melt season. This prolonged autumn refreezing under the newly accumulated snowpack resulted in unprecedented firn warming with temperature at ten meters depth increased by more than four degrees Celsius. Simulations confirm that meltwater reached nine meters depth at most. The refrozen meltwater was estimated at 0.23 meters water equivalent, amounting to 25 % of the total 2012 ablation. A surface energy balance model was used to evaluate the seasonal and interannual variability of all surface energy fluxes at that elevation in the years 2009 to 2013. Due to the meltwater presence at the surface in 2012, the summer-averaged albedo was significantly reduced (0.71 in 2012; typically 0.78). A sensitivity analysis revealed that 71 % of the subsequent additional solar radiation in 2012 was used for melt, corresponding to 36 % of the total 2012 surface lowering. This interplay between melt and firn properties highlights that the lower accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet will be responding rapidly in a warming climate.Stability and Variations of Arctic Land Ice (SVALI)Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE)Greenland Analogue Project (GAP

Climatology and firn processes in the lower accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet

The Greenland ice sheet is the largest Northern Hemisphere store of fresh water, and it is responding rapidly to the warming climate. In situ observations document the changing ice sheet properties in the lower accumulation area, Southwest Greenland. Firn densities from 1840 meters above sea level retrieved in May 2012 revealed the existence of a 5.5-meter-thick, near-surface ice layer in response to the recent increased melt and refreezing in firn. As a consequence, vertical meltwater percolation in the extreme summer 2012 was inefficient, resulting in surface runoff. Meltwater percolated and refroze at six meters depth only after the end of the melt season. This prolonged autumn refreezing under the newly accumulated snowpack resulted in unprecedented firn warming with temperature at ten meters depth increased by more than four degrees Celsius. Simulations confirm that meltwater reached nine meters depth at most. The refrozen meltwater was estimated at 0.23 meters water equivalent, amounting to 25 % of the total 2012 ablation. A surface energy balance model was used to evaluate the seasonal and interannual variability of all surface energy fluxes at that elevation in the years 2009 to 2013. Due to the meltwater presence at the surface in 2012, the summer-averaged albedo was significantly reduced (0.71 in 2012; typically 0.78). A sensitivity analysis revealed that 71 % of the subsequent additional solar radiation in 2012 was used for melt, corresponding to 36 % of the total 2012 surface lowering. This interplay between melt and firn properties highlights that the lower accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet will be responding rapidly in a warming climate.Stability and Variations of Arctic Land Ice (SVALI)Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE)Greenland Analogue Project (GAP