Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential
This paper presents a feasibility study of in situ field measurements of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux within the vertical profile of a snowpack, using the self-potential (SP) method. On-site snowmelt column tests calibrated the SP measurements. The SP data measured electrical field strengt...
Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.67 https://doaj.org/article/f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 2023-05-15T16:57:36+02:00 Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential Wilson S. Clayton 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.67 https://doaj.org/article/f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000678/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2021.67 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 Journal of Glaciology, Vol 68, Pp 25-40 (2022) Energy balance glacier hydrology melt–surface snow Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.67 2023-03-12T01:30:57Z This paper presents a feasibility study of in situ field measurements of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux within the vertical profile of a snowpack, using the self-potential (SP) method. On-site snowmelt column tests calibrated the SP measurements. The SP data measured electrical field strength with an electrode spacing of 20 cm, and coincident water saturation (Sw) measurements using time domain reflectometry allowed calculation of SP-modeled vertical percolation flux (qsp), expressed as Darcy velocity. The results reflected transient diurnal snowmelt dynamics, with peak flux lagging arrival of a saturation wetting front. Peak daily qsp was 60 to >300 mm d−1, whereas daily snowmelt was 20–50 mm w.e. Surface refreezing events appeared to cause upward flow, possibly representing water redistribution toward the freezing boundary. Calculated fluxes were comparable to actual fluxes, although average errors ranged from −15 to +46% compared to average of melt expected from surface energy-balance and ablation stake measurements. By advancing method development to measure unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in snowpacks this study creates opportunities to study fundamental snowmelt processes, may improve mathematical modeling and may supplement glacier mass-balance studies and studies of snowmelt interactions with avalanches, groundwater and surface water. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Glaciology 68 267 25 40 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Energy balance glacier hydrology melt–surface snow Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Energy balance glacier hydrology melt–surface snow Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Wilson S. Clayton Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
topic_facet |
Energy balance glacier hydrology melt–surface snow Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
This paper presents a feasibility study of in situ field measurements of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux within the vertical profile of a snowpack, using the self-potential (SP) method. On-site snowmelt column tests calibrated the SP measurements. The SP data measured electrical field strength with an electrode spacing of 20 cm, and coincident water saturation (Sw) measurements using time domain reflectometry allowed calculation of SP-modeled vertical percolation flux (qsp), expressed as Darcy velocity. The results reflected transient diurnal snowmelt dynamics, with peak flux lagging arrival of a saturation wetting front. Peak daily qsp was 60 to >300 mm d−1, whereas daily snowmelt was 20–50 mm w.e. Surface refreezing events appeared to cause upward flow, possibly representing water redistribution toward the freezing boundary. Calculated fluxes were comparable to actual fluxes, although average errors ranged from −15 to +46% compared to average of melt expected from surface energy-balance and ablation stake measurements. By advancing method development to measure unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in snowpacks this study creates opportunities to study fundamental snowmelt processes, may improve mathematical modeling and may supplement glacier mass-balance studies and studies of snowmelt interactions with avalanches, groundwater and surface water. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wilson S. Clayton |
author_facet |
Wilson S. Clayton |
author_sort |
Wilson S. Clayton |
title |
Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
title_short |
Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
title_full |
Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
title_fullStr |
Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
title_full_unstemmed |
Measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
title_sort |
measurement of unsaturated meltwater percolation flux in seasonal snowpack using self-potential |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.67 https://doaj.org/article/f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology, Vol 68, Pp 25-40 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000678/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2021.67 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/f88f4d0201a0448fa17bf178ba9ec4c2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.67 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
68 |
container_issue |
267 |
container_start_page |
25 |
op_container_end_page |
40 |
_version_ |
1766049167654780928 |