Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska
Lakes are abundant throughout the pan-Arctic region. For many of these lakes ice cover lasts for up to two thirds of the year. The frozen cover allows human access to these lakes, which are therefore used for many subsistence and recreational activities, including water harvesting, fishing, and skii...
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2012
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 https://doaj.org/article/f2fc7e3accaa4a28b80c16588108a9ac |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f2fc7e3accaa4a28b80c16588108a9ac 2023-05-15T15:09:05+02:00 Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska A. Gusmeroli G. Grosse 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 https://doaj.org/article/f2fc7e3accaa4a28b80c16588108a9ac EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1435/2012/tc-6-1435-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/f2fc7e3accaa4a28b80c16588108a9ac The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 6, Pp 1435-1443 (2012) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 2022-12-31T02:26:35Z Lakes are abundant throughout the pan-Arctic region. For many of these lakes ice cover lasts for up to two thirds of the year. The frozen cover allows human access to these lakes, which are therefore used for many subsistence and recreational activities, including water harvesting, fishing, and skiing. Safe traveling condition onto lakes may be compromised, however, when, after significant snowfall, the weight of the snow acts on the ice and causes liquid water to spill through weak spots and overflow at the snow-ice interface. Since visual detection of subsnow slush is almost impossible our understanding on overflow processes is still very limited and geophysical methods that allow water and slush detection are desirable. In this study we demonstrate that a commercially available, lightweight 1 GHz, ground penetrating radar system can detect and map extent and intensity of overflow. The strength of radar reflections from wet snow-ice interfaces are at least twice as much in strength than returns from dry snow-ice interface. The presence of overflow also affects the quality of radar returns from the base of the lake ice. During dry conditions we were able to profile ice thickness of up to 1 m, conversely, we did not retrieve any ice-water returns in areas affected by overflow. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic The Cryosphere Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic The Cryosphere 6 6 1435 1443 |
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 A. Gusmeroli G. Grosse Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Lakes are abundant throughout the pan-Arctic region. For many of these lakes ice cover lasts for up to two thirds of the year. The frozen cover allows human access to these lakes, which are therefore used for many subsistence and recreational activities, including water harvesting, fishing, and skiing. Safe traveling condition onto lakes may be compromised, however, when, after significant snowfall, the weight of the snow acts on the ice and causes liquid water to spill through weak spots and overflow at the snow-ice interface. Since visual detection of subsnow slush is almost impossible our understanding on overflow processes is still very limited and geophysical methods that allow water and slush detection are desirable. In this study we demonstrate that a commercially available, lightweight 1 GHz, ground penetrating radar system can detect and map extent and intensity of overflow. The strength of radar reflections from wet snow-ice interfaces are at least twice as much in strength than returns from dry snow-ice interface. The presence of overflow also affects the quality of radar returns from the base of the lake ice. During dry conditions we were able to profile ice thickness of up to 1 m, conversely, we did not retrieve any ice-water returns in areas affected by overflow. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Gusmeroli G. Grosse |
author_facet |
A. Gusmeroli G. Grosse |
author_sort |
A. Gusmeroli |
title |
Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska |
title_short |
Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska |
title_full |
Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska |
title_sort |
ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow slush on ice-covered lakes in interior alaska |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 https://doaj.org/article/f2fc7e3accaa4a28b80c16588108a9ac |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic The Cryosphere Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic The Cryosphere Alaska |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 6, Pp 1435-1443 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1435/2012/tc-6-1435-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/f2fc7e3accaa4a28b80c16588108a9ac |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1435 |
op_container_end_page |
1443 |
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1766340312427397120 |