An official website of the United States government
Abstract. The net rate of snow accumulation b is predicted to increase over large areas of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets as the climate warms. Models disagree on how this will affect the thickness of the firn layer – the relatively low-density upper layer of the ice sheets that influences altimetric observations of ice sheet mass change and palaeo-climate reconstructions from ice cores. Here we examine how b influences firn compaction and porosity in a simplified model that accounts for mass conservation, dry firn compaction, grain-size evolution, and the impact of grain size on firn compaction. Treating b as a boundary condition and employing an Eulerian reference frame helps to untangle the factors controlling the b dependence of firn thickness. We present numerical simulations using the model, as well as simplified steady-state approximations to the full model, to demonstrate how the downward advection of porosity and grain size are both affected by b but have opposing impacts on firn thickness. The net result is that firn thickness increases with b and that the strength of this dependence increases with increasing surface grain size. We also quantify the circumstances under which porosity advection and grain-size advection balance exactly, which counterintuitively renders steady-state firn thickness independent of b. These findings are qualitatively independent of the stress-dependence of firn compaction and whether the thickness of the ice sheet is increasing, decreasing, or steady. They do depend on the grain-size dependence of firn compaction. Firn models usually ignore grain-size evolution, but we highlight the complex effect it can have on firn thickness when included in a simplified model. This work motivates future efforts to better observationally constrain the rheological effect of grain size in firn.
more »
« less
A new model of dry firn-densification constrained by continuous strain measurements near South Pole
Abstract Converting measurements of ice-sheet surface elevation change to mass change requires measurements of accumulation and knowledge of the evolution of the density profile in the firn. Most firn-densification models are tuned using measured depth–density profiles, a method which is based on an assumption that the density profile in the firn is invariant through time. Here we present continuous measurements of firn-compaction rates in 12 boreholes near the South Pole over a 2 year period. To our knowledge, these are the first continuous measurements of firn compaction on the Antarctic plateau. We use the data to derive a new firn-densification algorithm framed as a constitutive relationship. We also compare our measurements to compaction rates predicted by several existing firn-densification models. Results indicate that an activation energy of 60 kJ mol−1, a value within the range used by current models, best predicts the seasonal cycle in compaction rates on the Antarctic plateau. Our results suggest models can predict firn-compaction rates with at best 7% uncertainty and cumulative firn compaction on a 2 year timescale with at best 8% uncertainty.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2024469
- PAR ID:
- 10537530
- Publisher / Repository:
- Cambridge University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Glaciology
- ISSN:
- 0022-1430
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 15
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Basal melting of ice shelves is a major source of mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In situ measurements of ice shelf basal melt rates are sparse, while the more extensive estimates from satellite altimetry require precise information about firn density and characteristics of near‐surface layers. We describe a novel method for estimating multidecadal basal melt rates using airborne ice penetrating radar data acquired during a 3‐year survey of the Ross Ice Shelf. These data revealed an ice column with distinct upper and lower units whose thicknesses change as ice flows from the grounding line toward the ice front. We interpret the lower unit as continental meteoric ice that has flowed across the grounding line and the upper unit as ice formed from snowfall onto the relatively flat ice shelf. We used the ice thickness difference and strain‐induced thickness change of the lower unit between the survey lines, combined with ice velocities, to derive basal melt rates averaged over one to six decades. Our results are similar to satellite laser altimetry estimates for the period 2003–2009, suggesting that the Ross Ice Shelf melt rates have been fairly stable for several decades. We identify five sites of elevated basal melt rates, in the range 0.5–2 m a−1, near the ice shelf front. These hot spots indicate pathways into the sub‐ice‐shelf ocean cavity for warm seawater, likely a combination of summer‐warmed Antarctic Surface Water and modified Circumpolar Deep Water, and are potential areas of ice shelf weakening if the ocean warms.more » « less
-
Abstract The thermal field within the firn layer on the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) governs meltwater retention processes, firn densification with surface elevation change, and heat transfer from the surface boundary to deep ice. However, there are few observational data to constrain these processes with only sparse in situ temperature time series that do not extend through the full firn depth. Here, we quantify the thermal structure of Western Greenland’s firn column using instrumentation installed in an elevation transect of boreholes extending to 30 and 96 m depths. During the high‐melt summer of 2019, heat gain in the firn layer showed strong elevation dependency, with greater uptake and deeper penetration of heat at lower elevations. The bulk thermal conductivity increased by 15% per 100 m elevation loss due to higher density related to ice layers. Nevertheless, the conductive heat gain remained relatively constant along the transect due to stronger temperature gradients in the near surface firn at higher elevations. The primary driver of heat gain during this high melt summer was latent heat transfer, which increased up to ten‐fold over the transect, growing by 34 MJ m−2per 100 m elevation loss. The deep‐firn temperature gradient beneath the seasonally active layer doubled over a 270‐m elevation drop across the study transect, increasing heat flux from the firn layer into deep ice at lower elevations. Our in situ firn temperature time series offers observational constraints for modeling studies and insights into the future evolution of the percolation zone in a warmer climate.more » « less
-
Cold sintering of surface‐modified iron compacts results in a co‐continuous phosphate interphase between iron particles that provide both enhanced green strength and green density similar to the process that has been successfully introduced in low‐temperature densification of ceramic materials. Relative density as high as 95% along with transverse rupture strength of ≈ 75 MPa, which is almost six times that of conventional powdered metal iron compact and 2.5 times that of warm compacted controls, is achieved. Dilatometry study at different pressures shows a small but significant improvement in densification process during cold sintering relative to the larger densification of warm compacted control. Strength model based on microstructural analysis as well as in situ diffused reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments reveals the nature of the interphase that imparts the large cohesive strength under the cold sintered assisted warm compaction. The process is conducive to produce iron compacts for green machining. Furthermore, the samples when subjected to high‐temperature sintering yield a fully sintered iron compact with density > 7.2 g cm−3and transverse rupture strength as high as 780 MPa. All in all, there are major new opportunities with the cold sintered assisted warm compaction of powdered metals that will also be discussed.more » « less
-
Abstract. The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are covered in a layer of porous firn. Knowledge of firn structure improves our understanding of ice sheet mass balance, supra- and englacial hydrology, and ice core paleoclimate records. While macroscale firn properties, such as firn density, are relatively easy to measure in the field or lab, more intensive measurements of microstructural properties are necessary to reduce uncertainty in remote sensing observations of mass balance, model meltwater infiltration, and constrain ice age – gas age differences in ice cores. Additionally, as the duration and extent of surface melting increases, refreezing meltwater will greatly alter firn structure. Field observations of firn grain size and ice layer stratigraphy are required to test and validate physical models that simulate the ice-sheet-wide evolution of the firn layer. However, visually measuring grain size and ice layer distributions is tedious, is time-consuming, and can be subjective depending on the method. Here we demonstrate a method to systematically map firn core grain size and ice layer stratigraphy using a near-infrared hyperspectral imager (NIR-HSI; 900–1700 nm). We scanned 14 firn cores spanning ∼ 1000 km across western Greenland’s percolation zone with the NIR-HSI mounted on a linear translation stage in a cold laboratory. We leverage the relationship between effective grain size, a measure of NIR light absorption by firn grains, and NIR reflectance to produce high-resolution (0.4 mm) maps of effective grain size and ice layer stratigraphy. We show the NIR-HSI reproduces visually identified ice layer stratigraphy and infiltration ice content across all cores. Effective grain sizes change synchronously with traditionally measured grain radii with depth, although effective grains in each core are 1.5× larger on average, which is largely related to the differences in measurement techniques. To demonstrate the utility of the firn stratigraphic maps produced by the NIR-HSI, we track the 2012 melt event across the transect and assess its impact on deep firn structure by quantifying changes to infiltration ice content and grain size. These results indicate that NIR-HSI firn core analysis is a robust technique that can document deep and long-lasting changes to the firn column from meltwater percolation while quickly and accurately providing detailed firn stratigraphy datasets necessary for firn research applications.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.87
