Meteorological Conditions on Nordenskiöldbreen Glacier, Svalbard (2009 – 2015)

Abstract: Glacial environments in the Arctic are a much-studied topic as well as a field of research with strong influences regarding the current and future global climate of our planet. This report is focused on the meteorological conditions on Nordenskiöldbreen glacier from 2009-2015 and how they correlate with each other, the glacier surface and the surrounding terrain. With data gathered from an automatic weather station located at the centre of the glacier, a range of meteorological parameters is examined; wind direction and velocity, snow depth, cloud cover, incoming and reflected shortwave radiation, temperature deficit, albedo and drifting snow. Seasonal differences were discovered, especially for wind direction and velocity where winds from the northeast occurred more frequently in the winter, indicating katabatic winds, whereas winds from the west and southwest were more pronounced in the summer. The calculated temperature deficit shows that katabatic winds blow down-glacier under stably stratified conditions and are shown to increase in strength with increasing temperature deficit (atmospheric temperature minus surface temperature). The mean albedo at Nordenskiöldbreen during this period is within the expected limits, 0.8 for snow and 0.3 for ice and the cloud cover was 0.58. Additionally, it could be observed that the occurrence of dry, drifting snow is present in the winter season as snow depth shows pronounced drops during high-wind events in winter. Overall, it is concluded that most of the examined parameters correlate and need each other to function and act as mechanisms within the cryosphere and as such it is crucial for scientists to understand their connected relationships when attempting to study global climate changes.