Dear Jonathan,
Back in February you proposed three new names for ice sheet mass balance:
>
> surface_snow_and_ice_melt_flux (kg m-2 s-1): the mass flux of melting
> at the
> surface
>
> surface_snow_and_ice_refreezing_flux (kg m-2 s-1): the mass flux of
> surface
> meltwater which refreezes within the snow or firn
>
> land_ice_surface_specific_mass_balance_flux (kg m-2 s-1): the net rate
> of
> gain (if positive) or loss (if negative) of frozen water mass per unit
> area
> due to all processes of surface accumulation and ablation
>
> I would also like to propose a new area_type of ice_free_land.
>
No comments were received on any of these names. The first two are fine and I have included them in the table update today.
When entering the third name into the vocabulary editor I noticed that it is very similar to an existing name land_ice_surface_specific_mass_balance (m s-1). The definition of the existing name says "Specific mass balance means the net rate at which ice is added per unit area at the land ice surface" which also sounds very similar to the definition of your proposed name. However, the units of m s-1 make me think this name perhaps refers to the thickness of ice being deposited/ablated per unit time so should it really refer to "mass balance"? Your proposed name has units of kg m-2 s-1 which seems correct for a mass flux. Please can you confirm that the two quantities are distinct? Do you think we need to modify the existing name?
I agree that it is fine to introduce a new area_type of ice_free_land.
Best wishes,
Alison
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Received on Fri Jul 22 2011 - 12:26:43 BST
