Papers by Christoph Schneider
International Journal of Applied Energy Systems
This contribution describes the urban climate model system PALM 6.0 for applications in urban are... more This contribution describes the urban climate model system PALM 6.0 for applications in urban areas (Palm4U). PALM4U contains several components to enable the model to simulate the atmospheric processes in urban areas on a building resolving scale. These components include the following modules: a land-and urban surface model, a chemistry model, a wind turbine model, a plant canopy model, human biometeorology model, an indoor and building energy model, and a radiation model. A study case representing a realistic urban domain is designed and simulated to show the model capabilities. The chosen domain is located in the Charlottenburg neighbourhood in Berlin, Germany. In this study we show the flow (wind field) as well as the thermal (radiation and temperature) properties as an example of a typical model application. The study emphasises on the potential of using such an urban climate model as a design tool for urban planing strategies, planning of renewable energy systems, and the investigation of implications of climate change.
Geosciences
The Cordillera Darwin Icefield loses mass at a similar rate as the Northern and Southern Patagoni... more The Cordillera Darwin Icefield loses mass at a similar rate as the Northern and Southern Patagonian Icefields, showing contrasting individual glacier responses, particularly between the north-facing and south-facing glaciers, which are subject to changing climate conditions. Detailed investigations of climatic mass balance processes on recent glacier behavior are not available for glaciers of the Cordillera Darwin Icefield and surrounding icefields. We therefore applied the coupled snow and ice energy and mass balance model in Python (COSIPY) to assess recent surface energy and mass balance variability for the Schiaparelli Glacier at the Monte Sarmiento Massif. We further used COSIPY to simulate steady-state glacier conditions during the Little Ice Age using information of moraine systems and glacier areal extent. The model is driven by downscaled 6-hourly atmospheric data and high resolution precipitation fields, obtained by using an analytical orographic precipitation model. Preci...
This paper investigates the mass balance of the snow cover in the wet snow zone and the energy ba... more This paper investigates the mass balance of the snow cover in the wet snow zone and the energy balance during the summer on Northeast Glacier located at 67 °W and 68 "S in Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula. Three automatie weather stations (AWS) were operared on Northeast ancl the nearby McClary Glacier in summer 1994/95. Furthermore, snow cover characteristics and the snow cover development were observed by mcans of snow pits and ablation stakes. During the winter accumulation varies spatially to a high degree. Readings in snow pits and at ablation stakes give values between 300 mm ancl 400 mm of water equivalent. The ablation during sununer time correlates with mean air temperature or altitude. In the lowennost parts of the glaciers, ablation is 200-400 mm of water equivalent. The observations show that an ablation zone developed on Northeast Glacier at the end of the summer 1994/95. The equilibrium line altitude then was at 110m above sca level. There was good agreemcnt be...
ITC …, 1996
... 1996-3/4 Compression of spaceborne SAR images Bernd Triebfürst1, Christoph Schneider1, Stefan... more ... 1996-3/4 Compression of spaceborne SAR images Bernd Triebfürst1, Christoph Schneider1, Stefan Wunderle1, Helmut Saurer1 and Hermann Gossmann1 ABSTRACT ... steps of the Freiburg coding module (FREIKOM) the lower part of the image, two small rocky islands, the ...
... For this purpose, the inflation procedure, introduced by Karl et al. (1990), has been used mo... more ... For this purpose, the inflation procedure, introduced by Karl et al. (1990), has been used most commonly. ... Karl, TR, WC Wang, ME Schlesinger, RW Knight, and D. Portman, 1990: A method of relating general circulation model simulated climate to the observed local climate. ...
Late Glacial glacier fluctuations and the deglaciation of the Southernmost Andes was investigated... more Late Glacial glacier fluctuations and the deglaciation of the Southernmost Andes was investigated in a transect at 53°S, ranging from the previous ice divide until the progracial lake Skyring, around 120 km to the east. Glacier derived sediments and submarine moraine systems as well as submarine terraces and neotectonics were observed in the Andean fjords by a Parametric Echo Sounder with a sediment penetration of up to 50 m and a high layer resolution (< 5 cm). Cores drilled into lake and fjord sediments and peat indicate the evolution of soils and the biosphere during deglaciation. In addition, a high resolution pollen record (1 anaylses/120 years) from a peat core taken near the previous ice divide show the vegetational history during the last 14500 years. Investigations of neotectonic structures in basement rocks and fjord sediments indicate that formation and orientation of the glacial valleys (mainly fjords) were strongly controlled by sinestral Magellanes transform fault system and conjugated NNE-trending dextral faults. East of the Andes, the proglacial lakes, like Seno Skyring and Seno Otway, were formed in a N-S extension zone (pull apart basins). Along the eastern slopes of the Andes late Glacial and Holocene horst and graben structures of up to 40 m vertical displacement in the sediments also reflect a young regime of decompression east of the major transform fault system which has strongly superimposed the glacioisostasy. A major glacier retreat (>80 % of max. length) from the >120 km long proglacial lake Skyring occurred between 18000 and 14200 cal years. B.P. During this phase more than >92% of the total ice volume east of the Andean climate divide was lost and extended ice raft debris were deposited in the proglacial lakes. For the period between 14 200 and 11200 cal years B.P. our palynological record from the area of the previous ice divide shows only the pioneeric plant Gunnera, Cyperacea and Notofagus. This plant association is typical for well drained rocky sites, like moraines and glacial debris, indicating a formation of new moraine systems in this area. Extended subaquatic moraine systems, observed by echo sounder, are likely to be formed during this period and indicate glacier lengths of 20 to 30 km. Lake sediment records show high late glacial sedimentation rates of clastic sediments until 10400 cal. years B.P., indicating enhanced fluvial erosion of the glacially shaped bedrocks. Afterwards increasing organic sediment components and a significant drop in sedimentation rates indicate the formation of soils and vegetation. The pollen record indicate a well established Magallanes rain fall forest interlocked with peat areas between 10500 until <4000 cal. years B.P.
Egs General Assembly Conference Abstracts, 2002
The Peninsula Muñoz Gamero, Chile, is located in the southernmost part of the Patag- onian Andes ... more The Peninsula Muñoz Gamero, Chile, is located in the southernmost part of the Patag- onian Andes at 53S. It is partly covered by the ice cap and several outlet glaciers of the Gran Campo Nevado (GCN) plus some minor glaciers and firn fields. All to- gether the ice covered areas sum up to 260 sqkm. The GCN forms the only major ice body between the Southern Patagonian Icefield and the Street of Magallan. Its almost unique location in the zone of all-year westerlies makes it a region of key interest in terms of glacier and climate change studies of the westwind zone of the Southern Hemisphere. The aim of this study, was to document the present extent of the glaciated area of the Peninsula Muñoz Gamero and to quantify the historic (last 60 years) glacier retreat. The work was conducted and supported as part of the in- ternational and interdisciplinary working group 'Gran Campo Nevado'. Since digital topographic data for the area was non-existent, it had to be created using aerial im- agery and topographic paper maps. Contour information of altitude from maps, terrain information derived from a Landsat TM satellite image and stereographic data from aerial photographs were combined in a kind of knowledge based scheme to obtain a high quality digital elevation model (DEM). Using standard software and hardware tools of the low-budget range a digital orthophoto map of 1998, several orthophotos of 1942 and 1984 could be produced from the DEM generated before. All of this in- formation was incorporated in a GIS together with satellite imagery. The GIS served to outline the extent of the present glaciation of the peninsula, as well as to compare the derived historic information. As a result, a spatial glacier database of the Peninsula Muñoz Gamero was produced which is currently being incorporated into the Global Land Ice Measurement from Space (GLIMS) database. The comparison of historic and present orthophotos showed a dramatic glacier retreat lasting for at least 60 years. Some of the outlet glaciers lost more than 10% of their total area during this period. This is in accordance with earlier publications on glacier retreat in the Patagonian An- des. Further research will link the obvious changes of the ice cover to variations of different climatic parameters.
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions, 2011
ABSTRACT In different fields of applied local climate investigation, highly resolved data of air ... more ABSTRACT In different fields of applied local climate investigation, highly resolved data of air temperature are of great importance. As a part of the research programme entitled City2020+, which deals with future climate conditions in agglomerations, this study focuses on increasing the quantity of urban air temperature data intended for the analysis of their spatial distribution. A new measurement approach using local transport buses as &amp;quot;riding thermometers&amp;quot; is presented. By this means, temperature data with a very high temporal and spatial resolution could be collected during scheduled bus rides. The data obtained provide the basis for the identification of thermally affected areas and for the investigation of factors in urban structure which influence the thermal conditions. Initial results from the ongoing study, which show the temperature distribution along different traverses through the city of Aachen, are presented.
International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2012
ABSTRACT In the framework of the Interreg-IV &#39;PM-Lab&#39; project a local-scale exerc... more ABSTRACT In the framework of the Interreg-IV &#39;PM-Lab&#39; project a local-scale exercise was set up to evaluate air pollution in terms of particulate matter (PM) within the centre of Liège, Belgium (pop. 190,000). Sixteen sites distributed on a boulevard and its side streets were selected to determine the spatio-temporal variation of PM concentration in this traffic-dominated area. In addition to the in situ measurements numerical simulations were performed by means of AUSTAL2000. The performance of this Lagrangian dispersion model was checked through some basic qualitative and quantitative comparisons. As the model was able to detect highest PM concentrations both in space and time, test scenarios of emission reductions were also run in order to examine the impact of different traffic related measures.
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 2014
ABSTRACT Occasionally, the surface albedo of glaciers may be abruptly altered by deposition of li... more ABSTRACT Occasionally, the surface albedo of glaciers may be abruptly altered by deposition of light-absorbing aerosols, which consequently has a sustained impact on their energy- and mass balance. Volcanic eruptions may spread tephra deposits over regional-scale glacierized areas. In November 2004, an explosive, phreatomagmatic eruption of the subglacial Grímsvötn volcano, located in the centre of the Icelandic ice cap Vatnajökull, produced ash fall covering an area of ∼1280 km2 in the northwestern part of the ice cap. This event affected the surface albedo of the glacier over several years after the eruption. We use MODIS surface-albedo data and an ash-dispersal dataset obtained from in situ measurements on the ice cap to develop a novel, empirically based modelling approach to describe the albedo decrease across the glacier surface caused by the deposited tephra. We present analyses of the temporal and spatial variability of the albedo pattern over the post-eruption period from November 2004 to December 2008. The tephra-induced albedo changes were largest and most widely distributed over the glacier surface during the summer season 2005. The observed albedo decrease reached 0.35 when compared to modelled, undisturbed conditions. In the low-lying ablation area, where strong surface melting takes place, the tephra influence on albedo diminished with time and completely faded out within four years after the eruption. In contrast, at the rim of the Grímsvötn caldera surrounding the eruption site the tephra influences on albedo considerably increased with time. Throughout the rest of the high-lying accumulation area, the influences were scattered in both space and time.
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Papers by Christoph Schneider