Variations of ablation, albedo and energy balance at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet, Kronprins Christian Land, eastern north Greenland

A meteorological and glaciological experiment was carried out in July 1993 at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet in Kronprins Christian Land, eastern north Greenland. Within a small area (about 100m2) daily measurements were made on 10 ablation stakes fixed in "light' and "dark' ice and were compared to each other. Simultaneously, the components of the energy balance, including net radiation, sensible-heat flux, latent-heat flux and conductive-heat flux in the ice were determined. Net radiation is the major source of ablation energy, and turbulent fluxes are smaller energy sources by about three times, while heat flux into the ice is a substantial heat sink, reducing energy available for ice melt. Albedo varies from 0.42 to 0.56 within the experimental site and causes relatively large differences in ablation at stakes close to each other. -from Authors