Albedo of ice types in northeast Greenland's ablation zone

Along this ice margin the width of the ablation zone is only about 8 km. The emergence and melting of old ice in the ablation zone creates a surface layer of dust that was originally deposited with snowfall high on the ice sheet.

This debris cover is augmented by locally derived wind-blown sediment. Subsequently, the surface dust particles often aggregate together to form centimetre-scale clumps that melt into the ice, creating cryoconite holes. The debris in the cryoconite holes becomes hidden from sunlight, raising the area-averaged albedo relative to surfaces with uniform debris cover.