Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland
The Greenland ice sheet is losing mass, which can contribute to sea level rise. Firn aquifers covering between 22,000 â€" 90,000 km2 have been discovered within the ice sheet. In summer, surface snowmelt infiltrates to depth, saturating pore space within the compacting firn. Recharge ceases whe...
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ftdatacite:10.26053/0h-fa0d-fxg0 2023-05-15T15:07:05+02:00 Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland Miller, Olivia Leigh 2018 application/pdf https://dx.doi.org/10.26053/0h-fa0d-fxg0 https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6h45x12 en eng University of Utah climate change firn aquifer Greenland hydrology ice sheet article-journal Text ScholarlyArticle 2018 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.26053/0h-fa0d-fxg0 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z The Greenland ice sheet is losing mass, which can contribute to sea level rise. Firn aquifers covering between 22,000 â€" 90,000 km2 have been discovered within the ice sheet. In summer, surface snowmelt infiltrates to depth, saturating pore space within the compacting firn. Recharge ceases when the surface temperatures cool below 0ºC in the fall. Instead of refreezing, the meltwater stays in liquid phase throughout the year because of the insulation produced by high snow accumulation rates. This liquid flows through the firn, and discharges from the aquifer, likely to crevasses at the edge of the ice sheet. Flow through the firn behaves according to Darcy’s law. The firn aquifer is a modern feature of the ice sheet, likely caused by warming of the Arctic associated with global climate change. Water in the aquifer recharged the aquifer within the past ~50 years. Instead of permanently storing meltwater, either through refreezing or simple storage in pore space, firn aquifers allow large volumes of meltwater to discharge from the ice sheet. The fate of that meltwater and its pathways to the ocean remain unknown and require further work as some scenarios (e.g., hydrofracturing crevasses leading to basal lubrication) could play important roles in accelerating ice flow and discharge to the ocean. Text Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Arctic Greenland |
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climate change firn aquifer Greenland hydrology ice sheet |
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climate change firn aquifer Greenland hydrology ice sheet Miller, Olivia Leigh Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
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climate change firn aquifer Greenland hydrology ice sheet |
description |
The Greenland ice sheet is losing mass, which can contribute to sea level rise. Firn aquifers covering between 22,000 â€" 90,000 km2 have been discovered within the ice sheet. In summer, surface snowmelt infiltrates to depth, saturating pore space within the compacting firn. Recharge ceases when the surface temperatures cool below 0ºC in the fall. Instead of refreezing, the meltwater stays in liquid phase throughout the year because of the insulation produced by high snow accumulation rates. This liquid flows through the firn, and discharges from the aquifer, likely to crevasses at the edge of the ice sheet. Flow through the firn behaves according to Darcy’s law. The firn aquifer is a modern feature of the ice sheet, likely caused by warming of the Arctic associated with global climate change. Water in the aquifer recharged the aquifer within the past ~50 years. Instead of permanently storing meltwater, either through refreezing or simple storage in pore space, firn aquifers allow large volumes of meltwater to discharge from the ice sheet. The fate of that meltwater and its pathways to the ocean remain unknown and require further work as some scenarios (e.g., hydrofracturing crevasses leading to basal lubrication) could play important roles in accelerating ice flow and discharge to the ocean. |
format |
Text |
author |
Miller, Olivia Leigh |
author_facet |
Miller, Olivia Leigh |
author_sort |
Miller, Olivia Leigh |
title |
Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
title_short |
Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
title_full |
Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
title_fullStr |
Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
title_sort |
hydrology of a firn aquifer in southeast greenland |
publisher |
University of Utah |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.26053/0h-fa0d-fxg0 https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6h45x12 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26053/0h-fa0d-fxg0 |
_version_ |
1766338646198190080 |