Direct measurements of firn-density evolution from 2016 to 2022 at Wolverine Glacier, Alaska

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: C. Max Stevens, Louis Sass, Caitlyn Florentine, Christopher McNeil, Emily Baker, Katherine Bollen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2024
• Subjects: glacier mass balance; mountain glaciers; polar firn; snow/ice surface processes; surface mass budget; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; glacier; glaciers; Journal of Glaciology; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.24; https://doaj.org/article/15ff81bf472643d2aaca95e02d363d8c

Knowledge of snow and firn-density change is needed to use elevation-change measurements to estimate glacier mass change. Additionally, firn-density evolution on glaciers is closely connected to meltwater percolation, refreezing and runoff, which are key processes for glacier mass balance and hydrology. Since 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey Benchmark Glacier Project has recovered firn cores from a site on Wolverine Glacier in Alaska's Kenai Mountains. We use annual horizons in repeat cores to track firn densification and meltwater retention over seasonal and interannual timescales, and we use density measurements to quantify how the firn air content (FAC) changes through time. The results suggest the firn is densifying due primarily to compaction rather than refreezing. Liquid-water retention in the firn is transient, likely due to gravity-fed drainage and irreducible-water-content decreases that accompany decreasing porosity. We show that the uncertainty (±60 kg m−3) in the commonly used volume-to-mass conversion factor of 850 kg m−3 is an underestimation when glacier-wide FAC variability exceeds 12% of the glacier-averaged height change. Our results demonstrate how direct measurements of firn properties on mountain glaciers can be used to better quantify the uncertainty in geodetic volume-to-mass conversions.