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Long believed to be insignificant, melt activity on the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) has increased in recent years. Summertime Arctic clouds have the potential to strongly affect surface melt processes by regulating the amount of radiation received at the surface. However, the cloud effect over Greenland is spatially and temporally variable and high‐resolution information on the northeast is absent. This study aims at exploring the potential of a high‐resolution configuration of the polar‐optimized Weather Research & Forecasting Model (PWRF) in simulating cloud properties in the area of the Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier (79 N Glacier). Subsequently, the model simulations are employed to investigate the impact of Arctic clouds on the surface energy budget and on surface melting during the extensive melt event at the end of July 2019. Compared to automatic weather station (AWS) measurements and remote‐sensing data (Sentinel‐2A and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS), PWRF simulates cloud properties with sufficient accuracy. It appears that peak melt was caused by an increase in solar radiation and sensible heat flux (SHF) in response to a blocking anticyclone and foehn winds in the absence of clouds. Cloud warming over high‐albedo surfaces helped to precondition the surface and prolonged the melting as the anticyclone abated. The results are sensitive to the surface albedo and suggest spatiotemporal differences in the cloud effect as snow and ice properties change over the course of the melting season. This demonstrates the importance of including high‐resolution information on clouds in analyses of ice sheet dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northeast region of Greenland is of growing interest due to changes taking place on the large marine-terminating glaciers which drain the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream. Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden, or 79 ∘ N Glacier, is one of these that is currently experiencing accelerated thinning, retreat, and enhanced surface melt. Understanding both the influence of atmospheric processes on the glacier and feedbacks from changing surface conditions is crucial for our understanding of present stability and future change. However, relatively few studies have focused on the atmospheric processes in this region, and even fewer have used high-resolution modelling as a tool to address these research questions. Here we present a high-spatial-resolution (1 km) and high-temporal-resolution (up to hourly) atmospheric modelling dataset, NEGIS_WRF, for the 79 ∘ N and northeast Greenland region from 2014 to 2018 and an evaluation of the model's success at representing daily near-surface meteorology when compared with automatic weather station records. The dataset (Turton et al., 2019b: 10.17605/OSF.IO/53E6Z) is now available for a wide variety of applications in the atmospheric, hydrological, and oceanic sciences in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northeast region of Greenland is of growing interest due to changes taking place on the large marine-terminating glaciers which drain the north east Greenland ice stream. Nioghalvfjerdsfjordern, or 79° N glacier, is one of these glaciers that is currently experiencing accelerated thinning, retreat and enhanced surface melt. Understanding both the influence of atmospheric processes on the glacier and the interactions between the atmosphere and the changing surface is crucial for our understanding of present stability and future change. However, relatively few studies have focused on the atmospheric processes in this region, and even fewer have used high-resolution modelling as a tool for these research questions. Here we present a high-resolution (1 km) atmospheric modelling dataset, NEGIS_WRF, for the 79° N and northeast Greenland region from 2014–2018, and an evaluation of the model’s success at representing daily near-surface meteorology compared with two automatic weather station records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local climate in Southern Patagonia is strongly influenced by the interaction between the topography and persistent westerlies, which can generate föhn events, dry and warm downslope winds. The upstream flow regime influences different föhn types which dictate the lee-side atmospheric response regarding the strength, spatial extent and phenomenology. We use a combination of observations from four automatic weather stations (AWSs) and high-resolution numerical modeling with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for a region in Southern Patagonia (48° S–52° S, 72° W–76.5° W) including the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI). The application of a föhn identification algorithm to a 10-month study period (June 2018–March 2019) reveals 81 föhn events in total. A simulation of three events of differing flow regimes (supercritical, subcritical, transition) suggests that a supercritical flow regime leads to a linear föhn event with a large spatial extent but moderate intensity. In contrast, a spatially limited but locally strong föhn response is induced by a subcritical regime with upstream blocking and by a transition regime with a hydraulic jump present. Our results imply that the hydraulic jump-type föhn event (transition case) is the most critical for glacier mass balances since it shows the strongest warming, drying, wind velocities and solar radiation over the SPI. The consideration of flow regimes over the last 40 years shows that subcritical flow occurs most frequently (78%), however transitional flow occurs 14% of the time, implying the potential impact on Patagonian glaciers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) mountain range and the adjacent ice shelves are frequently affected by föhn winds originating from upwind of the mountains. Six automatic weather stations (AWSs) and archived model output from 5 km resolution Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS) forecasts have been combined to identify the occurrence of föhn conditions, and their spatial distribution over the Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS) from 2009 to 2012. Algorithms for semi‐automatic detection of föhn conditions have been developed for both AWS and AMPS data. The frequency of föhn varies by location, being most frequent at the foot of the AP and in the north of the ice shelf. They are most common in spring, when they can prevail for 50% of the time. The results of this study have important implications for further research, investigating the impact of föhn on surface melting, and the surface energy budget of the ice shelf. This is of particular interest due to the collapse of Larsen A and B ice shelves in 1995 and 2002 respectively, and the potential instability issues following a large calving event on Larsen C in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]