Field activities at the SIGMA-A site, northwestern Greenland ice sheet, 2023

Abstract

The northwestern Greenland ice sheet is a hot spot of the recent “Arctic Amplification” of climate change. Since 2012, we have continuously monitored surface weather conditions at the SIGMA-A site on the northwestern ice sheet and carried out several field campaigns to obtain in-situ data on snow physical conditions at the site. From 21 to 27 June 2023, we performed a research expedition at the SIGMA-A site for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. In this report, we aim to describe our activities during the expedition, including 1) installation of a new automated weather station, 2) snow pit measurements to obtain near-surface profiles of snow grain shapes, snow density, and specific surface area of snow, and 3) weather forecast to support the expedition.