Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays
Observations of mass accumulation and net balance on glaciers and ice sheets are sparse due to the difficulty of acquiring manual measurements and the lack of a reliable remote-sensing method. The methodology for recording the water-equivalent accumulation of snowfall using the attenuation of fast n...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e2d20861880a4b4aa9cf826b7e65e193 2023-05-15T16:21:32+02:00 Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays I. M. Howat S. de la Peña D. Desilets G. Womack 2018-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018 https://doaj.org/article/e2d20861880a4b4aa9cf826b7e65e193 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/12/2099/2018/tc-12-2099-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/e2d20861880a4b4aa9cf826b7e65e193 The Cryosphere, Vol 12, Pp 2099-2108 (2018) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018 2022-12-30T23:03:29Z Observations of mass accumulation and net balance on glaciers and ice sheets are sparse due to the difficulty of acquiring manual measurements and the lack of a reliable remote-sensing method. The methodology for recording the water-equivalent accumulation of snowfall using the attenuation of fast neutrons generated by cosmic ray impacts was developed in the 1970s and has been employed in large-network snowpack monitoring but has yet to be applied to glaciers and ice sheets. In order to assess this potential method, we installed a cosmic ray neutron-sensing device at Summit Camp, Greenland, in April 2016. Hourly neutron count was recorded for ∼ 24 months and converted to water-equivalent thickness after correcting for variability in atmospheric pressure and incoming cosmic radiation. The daily accumulation estimates are analysed for noise level and compared to manual surface core and snow stake network measurements. Based on measurements of up to 56 cm of water equivalent, we estimate the sensor's precision to be better than 1 mm for water-equivalent thicknesses less than 14 cm and better than 1 cm in up to 140 cm, or approximately 0.7 %. Our observations agree with the surface core measurements to within their respective errors, with temporary biases that are explained by snow drifting, as supported by comparison to the snow stake network. Our observations reveal large temporal variability in accumulation on daily to monthly scales, but with similar annual totals. Based on these results, cosmic ray sensing represents a potentially transformative method for acquiring continuous in situ measurements of mass accumulation that may add constraint to glacier and ice sheet mass balance estimates from meteorological models and remote sensing. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Summit Camp ENVELOPE(-38.453,-38.453,72.579,72.579) The Cryosphere 12 6 2099 2108 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 I. M. Howat S. de la Peña D. Desilets G. Womack Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Observations of mass accumulation and net balance on glaciers and ice sheets are sparse due to the difficulty of acquiring manual measurements and the lack of a reliable remote-sensing method. The methodology for recording the water-equivalent accumulation of snowfall using the attenuation of fast neutrons generated by cosmic ray impacts was developed in the 1970s and has been employed in large-network snowpack monitoring but has yet to be applied to glaciers and ice sheets. In order to assess this potential method, we installed a cosmic ray neutron-sensing device at Summit Camp, Greenland, in April 2016. Hourly neutron count was recorded for ∼ 24 months and converted to water-equivalent thickness after correcting for variability in atmospheric pressure and incoming cosmic radiation. The daily accumulation estimates are analysed for noise level and compared to manual surface core and snow stake network measurements. Based on measurements of up to 56 cm of water equivalent, we estimate the sensor's precision to be better than 1 mm for water-equivalent thicknesses less than 14 cm and better than 1 cm in up to 140 cm, or approximately 0.7 %. Our observations agree with the surface core measurements to within their respective errors, with temporary biases that are explained by snow drifting, as supported by comparison to the snow stake network. Our observations reveal large temporal variability in accumulation on daily to monthly scales, but with similar annual totals. Based on these results, cosmic ray sensing represents a potentially transformative method for acquiring continuous in situ measurements of mass accumulation that may add constraint to glacier and ice sheet mass balance estimates from meteorological models and remote sensing. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
I. M. Howat S. de la Peña D. Desilets G. Womack |
author_facet |
I. M. Howat S. de la Peña D. Desilets G. Womack |
author_sort |
I. M. Howat |
title |
Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
title_short |
Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
title_full |
Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
title_fullStr |
Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
title_full_unstemmed |
Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
title_sort |
autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018 https://doaj.org/article/e2d20861880a4b4aa9cf826b7e65e193 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.453,-38.453,72.579,72.579) |
geographic |
Greenland Summit Camp |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Summit Camp |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 12, Pp 2099-2108 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/12/2099/2018/tc-12-2099-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/e2d20861880a4b4aa9cf826b7e65e193 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2099 |
op_container_end_page |
2108 |
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1766009543313063936 |