Cloud effects on surface energy and mass balance in the ablation area of Brewster Glacier, New Zealand

Conway, J. P.; Cullen, N. J.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-313-2016

Articles | Volume 10, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-313-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-313-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 10, issue 1

Research article

|

10 Feb 2016

Research article |

| 10 Feb 2016

Cloud effects on surface energy and mass balance in the ablation area of Brewster Glacier, New Zealand

J. P. Conway and N. J. Cullen

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Final revised paper (published on 10 Feb 2016)
Preprint (discussion started on 18 Feb 2015)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC C566: 'Review', Johannes Oerlemans, 25 Apr 2015
- AC C729: 'Reply to review of Johannes Oerlemans', Jonathan Conway, 08 May 2015
AC C634: 'Updated citation for article describing cloud metrics', Jonathan Conway, 01 May 2015
RC C940: 'Reviewer #2 Review', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Jun 2015
- AC C1293: 'Reply to Anonymous Referee #2', Jonathan Conway, 24 Jul 2015

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

AR by Jonathan Conway on behalf of the Authors (24 Jul 2015) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (25 Aug 2015) by Eric Larour

RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (28 Sep 2015)

ED: Publish as is (17 Nov 2015) by Eric Larour

AR by Jonathan Conway on behalf of the Authors (17 Nov 2015)

Short summary

Clouds are shown to force fundamental changes in the surface energy and mass balance of Brewster Glacier, New Zealand. Cloudy periods exhibit greater melt due to increased incoming long-wave radiation and higher atmospheric vapour pressure rather than through minimal changes in mean air temperature and wind speed. Surface mass-balance sensitivity to air temperature is enhanced in overcast compared to clear-sky periods due to more frequent melt and a strong precipitation phase to albedo feedback.