Dear Sophie and Alison > 1. snow_land_ice_interface_temperature (K)
> 'Surface Temperature that is used to force ice sheet models. It is the > temperature at the base of the snowpack models, and does not vary with > seasons. Report surface temperature of ice sheet where snow thickness is > zero.' > I think the name itself is clear and that not mentioning firn (unless > strictly necessary) makes the name easier to understand for non-experts as > well as experts. Sorry to be awkward, but I think this may not be entirely clear. I understand the idea and I see why it was natural to use "firn" to mean the part of the ice-sheet that you regard as the ice, not as overlying snow. However I agree that "firn" is an obscure term. In fact this level is really a model concept, isn't it, as the definition indicates. In reality there is not a clear distinction between the snowpack and the ice, or at least not necessarily at the level we want to name here. Could we acknowledge this by calling it temperature_at_top_of_ice_sheet_model or temperature_at_base_of_surface_snow_model The former would have the advantage that it would *always* apply, even if there is no snow, and it corresponds to the first sentence of the definition given. In the second I suggest surface_snow instead of snowpack because we consistently use the former for snow lying on the ground in standard names. Reference to models is not unprecedented in standard names e.g. net_downward_radiative_flux_at_top_of_atmosphere_model Best wishes Jonathan _______________________________________________ CF-metadata mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.cgd.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/cf-metadata
