GEO4432 ¨C The Surface Energy Balance in Cold Environments

Course content

The course introduces energy exchange processes at the Earth¡¯s surface, connecting the coupled cycles of water, energy and greenhouse gases of the atmosphere and ground. You will become familiar with this so-called "surface energy balance" in different environments, providing a common framework to understand a range of phenomena, like surface temperature regimes on Earth and other planets, evapotranspiration, plant wilting, lake ice formation and ground freezing, as well as snow melt and glacier mass balance. Ultimately, you will gain a better understanding of the Earth¡¯s water cycle and key formulations in state-of-the-art land surface and climate models.

Learning outcome

After taking this course, you will have

• understood the different components of the surface energy balance, i.e. different radiation components, turbulent fluxes or the ground heat flux
• gotten hands-on experience with calculating the surface energy balance for a range of applications
• written computer models to simulate the surface energy balance
• applied the surface energy balance formalism to hydrology with a focus on evapotranspiration
• understood and applied different methods to infer evapotranspiration and snow mass balance in the field
• quantified processes related to the built-up and melt of snow cover, as well as the mass balance of a glacier
• understood how the surface energy formalism is implemented in climate models, driving b