Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-116
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-116
28 Apr 2023
 | 28 Apr 2023
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

Quality-controlled meteorological datasets from SIGMA automatic weather stations in northwest Greenland, 2012–2020

Motoshi Nishimura, Teruo Aoki, Masashi Niwano, Sumito Matoba, Tomonori Tanikawa, Tetsuhide Yamasaki, Satoru Yamaguchi, and Koji Fujita

Abstract. In situ meteorological data are essential to better understand ongoing environmental changes in the Arctic. Here, we present a dataset of quality-controlled meteorological observations by two automatic weather stations in northwest Greenland from July 2012 to the end of August 2020. The stations were installed in an accumulation area on the Greenland Ice Sheet (SIGMA-A site, 1490 m a.s.l.) and near the equilibrium line of the Qaanaaq Ice Cap (SIGMA-B site, 944 m a.s.l.). We describe the two-step sequence of quality-control procedures that we used to create increasingly reliable datasets by masking erroneous data records. We analyzed the resulting 2012–2020 time series of air temperature, positive degree-days, snow height, surface albedo, and histograms of longwave radiation (a proxy of cloud formation frequency). We found that snow height increased and albedo remained steady at the SIGMA-A site, whereas high air temperatures and clear-sky conditions prevailed while snow height and albedo decreased in the summers of 2015, 2019, and 2020 at the SIGMA-B site. Therefore, it appears that these weather conditions led to notable snow height degradation at the SIGMA-B site but not at the SIGMA-A site. We anticipate that this quality-control method and these datasets will aid in climate studies of northwest Greenland as well as contribute to the advancement of broader polar climate studies.

Motoshi Nishimura et al.

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2023-116', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 May 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Motoshi Nishimura, 17 Jul 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2023-116', Anonymous Referee #2, 18 May 2023
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC2', Motoshi Nishimura, 17 Jul 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on essd-2023-116', Motoshi Nishimura, 08 Jun 2023
  • RC3: 'Comment on essd-2023-116', Baptiste Vandecrux, 09 Jun 2023
    • AC4: 'Reply on RC3', Motoshi Nishimura, 17 Jul 2023
  • EC1: 'Comment on essd-2023-116', Tobias Gerken, 26 Jun 2023
    • AC5: 'Reply on EC1', Motoshi Nishimura, 17 Jul 2023

Motoshi Nishimura et al.

Data sets

Quality-controlled datasets of Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at SIGMA-A site from 2012 to 2020: Level 1.1 M. Nishimura, T. Aoki, M. Niwano, S. Matoba, T. Tanikawa, S. Yamaguchi, T. Yamasaki, A. Tsushima, K. Fujita, Y. Iizuka, and Y. Kurosaki http://doi.org/10.17592/001.2022041301

Quality-controlled datasets of Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at SIGMA-A site from 2012 to 2020: Level 1.2 M. Nishimura, T. Aoki, M. Niwano, S. Matoba, T. Tanikawa, S. Yamaguchi, T. Yamasaki, A. Tsushima, K. Fujita, Y. Iizuka, and Y. Kurosaki http://doi.org/10.17592/001.2022041302

Quality-controlled datasets of Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at SIGMA-A site from 2012 to 2020: Level 1.3 M. Nishimura, T. Aoki, M. Niwano, S. Matoba, T. Tanikawa, S. Yamaguchi, T. Yamasaki, A. Tsushima, K. Fujita, Y. Iizuka, and Y. Kurosaki http://doi.org/10.17592/001.2022041303

Quality-controlled datasets of Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at SIGMA-B site from 2012 to 2020: Level 1.1 M. Nishimura, T. Aoki, M. Niwano, S. Matoba, T. Tanikawa, S. Yamaguchi, T. Yamasaki, K. Fujita http://doi.org/10.17592/001.2022041304

Quality-controlled datasets of Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at SIGMA-B site from 2012 to 2020: Level 1.2 M. Nishimura, T. Aoki, M. Niwano, S. Matoba, T. Tanikawa, S. Yamaguchi, T. Yamasaki, K. Fujita http://doi.org/10.17592/001.2022041305

Quality-controlled datasets of Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at SIGMA-B site from 2012 to 2020: Level 1.3 M. Nishimura, T. Aoki, M. Niwano, S. Matoba, T. Tanikawa, S. Yamaguchi, T. Yamasaki, K. Fujita http://doi.org/10.17592/001.2022041306

Motoshi Nishimura et al.

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Short summary
We presented the method of data quality checks and the dataset for two ground weather observations in northwest Greenland. We found that the warm and clear weather conditions in the 2015, 2019, and 2020 summers caused the snowmelt and declined the surface reflectance of solar radiation at a low-elevated site (SIGMA-B; 944 m), but those were not seen at the high-elevated site (SIGMA-A; 1490 m). We hope that our data management method and findings will help climate scientists.