Firn on ice sheets
Most of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are covered with firn — the transitional material between snow and glacial ice. Firn is vital for understanding ice-sheet mass balance and hydrology, and palaeoclimate. In this Review, we synthesize knowledge of firn, including its formation, observatio...
Published in: | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |
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2024
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Online Access: | https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/464f62b7-cc4d-4fb9-b9b5-7023c85ec6fd https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 |
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ftdtupubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/464f62b7-cc4d-4fb9-b9b5-7023c85ec6fd 2024-06-23T07:46:20+00:00 Firn on ice sheets Amory, Charles Buizert, Christo Buzzard, Sammie Case, Elizabeth Clerx, Nicole Culberg, Riley Datta, Rajashree Tri Dey, Rahul Drews, Reinhard Dunmire, Devon Eayrs, Clare Hansen, Nicolaj Humbert, Angelika Kaitheri, Athul Keegan, Kaitlin Kuipers Munneke, Peter Lenaerts, Jan T. M. Lhermitte, Stef Mair, Doug McDowell, Ian Mejia, Jessica Meyer, Colin R. Morris, Elizabeth Moser, Dorothea Oraschewski, Falk M. Pearce, Emma de Roda Husman, Sophie Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne Schultz, Timm Simonsen, Sebastian B. Stevens, C. Max Thomas, Elizabeth R. Thompson-Munson, Megan Wever, Nander Wouters, Bert 2024 https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/464f62b7-cc4d-4fb9-b9b5-7023c85ec6fd https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 eng eng https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/464f62b7-cc4d-4fb9-b9b5-7023c85ec6fd info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess The Firn Symposium team , Amory , C , Buizert , C , Buzzard , S , Case , E , Clerx , N , Culberg , R , Datta , R T , Dey , R , Drews , R , Dunmire , D , Eayrs , C , Hansen , N , Humbert , A , Kaitheri , A , Keegan , K , Kuipers Munneke , P , Lenaerts , J T M , Lhermitte , S , Mair , D , McDowell , I , Mejia , J , Meyer , C R , Morris , E , Moser , D , Oraschewski , F M , Pearce , E , de Roda Husman , S , Schlegel , N-J , Schultz , T , Simonsen , S B , Stevens , C M , Thomas , E R , Thompson-Munson , M , Wever , N & Wouters , B 2024 , ' Firn on ice sheets ' , Nature Reviews Earth and Environment , vol. 5 , no. 2 , pp. 79-99 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 article 2024 ftdtupubl https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 2024-06-11T15:21:26Z Most of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are covered with firn — the transitional material between snow and glacial ice. Firn is vital for understanding ice-sheet mass balance and hydrology, and palaeoclimate. In this Review, we synthesize knowledge of firn, including its formation, observation, modelling and relevance to ice sheets. The refreezing of meltwater in the pore space of firn currently prevents 50% of meltwater in Greenland from running off into the ocean and protects Antarctic ice shelves from catastrophic collapse. Continued atmospheric warming could inhibit future protection against mass loss. For example, warming in Greenland has already contributed to a 5% reduction in firn pore space since 1980. All projections of future firn change suggest that surface meltwater will have an increasing impact on firn, with melt occurring tens to hundreds of kilometres further inland in Greenland, and more extensively on Antarctic ice shelves. Although progress in observation and modelling techniques has led to a well-established understanding of firn, the large uncertainties associated with meltwater percolation processes (refreezing, ice-layer formation and storage) must be reduced further. A tighter integration of modelling components (firn, atmosphere and ice-sheet models) will also be needed to better simulate ice-sheet responses to anthropogenic warming and to quantify future sea-level rise. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelves Technical University of Denmark: DTU Orbit Antarctic Greenland Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 5 2 79 99 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Technical University of Denmark: DTU Orbit |
op_collection_id |
ftdtupubl |
language |
English |
description |
Most of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are covered with firn — the transitional material between snow and glacial ice. Firn is vital for understanding ice-sheet mass balance and hydrology, and palaeoclimate. In this Review, we synthesize knowledge of firn, including its formation, observation, modelling and relevance to ice sheets. The refreezing of meltwater in the pore space of firn currently prevents 50% of meltwater in Greenland from running off into the ocean and protects Antarctic ice shelves from catastrophic collapse. Continued atmospheric warming could inhibit future protection against mass loss. For example, warming in Greenland has already contributed to a 5% reduction in firn pore space since 1980. All projections of future firn change suggest that surface meltwater will have an increasing impact on firn, with melt occurring tens to hundreds of kilometres further inland in Greenland, and more extensively on Antarctic ice shelves. Although progress in observation and modelling techniques has led to a well-established understanding of firn, the large uncertainties associated with meltwater percolation processes (refreezing, ice-layer formation and storage) must be reduced further. A tighter integration of modelling components (firn, atmosphere and ice-sheet models) will also be needed to better simulate ice-sheet responses to anthropogenic warming and to quantify future sea-level rise. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amory, Charles Buizert, Christo Buzzard, Sammie Case, Elizabeth Clerx, Nicole Culberg, Riley Datta, Rajashree Tri Dey, Rahul Drews, Reinhard Dunmire, Devon Eayrs, Clare Hansen, Nicolaj Humbert, Angelika Kaitheri, Athul Keegan, Kaitlin Kuipers Munneke, Peter Lenaerts, Jan T. M. Lhermitte, Stef Mair, Doug McDowell, Ian Mejia, Jessica Meyer, Colin R. Morris, Elizabeth Moser, Dorothea Oraschewski, Falk M. Pearce, Emma de Roda Husman, Sophie Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne Schultz, Timm Simonsen, Sebastian B. Stevens, C. Max Thomas, Elizabeth R. Thompson-Munson, Megan Wever, Nander Wouters, Bert |
spellingShingle |
Amory, Charles Buizert, Christo Buzzard, Sammie Case, Elizabeth Clerx, Nicole Culberg, Riley Datta, Rajashree Tri Dey, Rahul Drews, Reinhard Dunmire, Devon Eayrs, Clare Hansen, Nicolaj Humbert, Angelika Kaitheri, Athul Keegan, Kaitlin Kuipers Munneke, Peter Lenaerts, Jan T. M. Lhermitte, Stef Mair, Doug McDowell, Ian Mejia, Jessica Meyer, Colin R. Morris, Elizabeth Moser, Dorothea Oraschewski, Falk M. Pearce, Emma de Roda Husman, Sophie Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne Schultz, Timm Simonsen, Sebastian B. Stevens, C. Max Thomas, Elizabeth R. Thompson-Munson, Megan Wever, Nander Wouters, Bert Firn on ice sheets |
author_facet |
Amory, Charles Buizert, Christo Buzzard, Sammie Case, Elizabeth Clerx, Nicole Culberg, Riley Datta, Rajashree Tri Dey, Rahul Drews, Reinhard Dunmire, Devon Eayrs, Clare Hansen, Nicolaj Humbert, Angelika Kaitheri, Athul Keegan, Kaitlin Kuipers Munneke, Peter Lenaerts, Jan T. M. Lhermitte, Stef Mair, Doug McDowell, Ian Mejia, Jessica Meyer, Colin R. Morris, Elizabeth Moser, Dorothea Oraschewski, Falk M. Pearce, Emma de Roda Husman, Sophie Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne Schultz, Timm Simonsen, Sebastian B. Stevens, C. Max Thomas, Elizabeth R. Thompson-Munson, Megan Wever, Nander Wouters, Bert |
author_sort |
Amory, Charles |
title |
Firn on ice sheets |
title_short |
Firn on ice sheets |
title_full |
Firn on ice sheets |
title_fullStr |
Firn on ice sheets |
title_full_unstemmed |
Firn on ice sheets |
title_sort |
firn on ice sheets |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/464f62b7-cc4d-4fb9-b9b5-7023c85ec6fd https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 |
geographic |
Antarctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Greenland |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelves |
op_source |
The Firn Symposium team , Amory , C , Buizert , C , Buzzard , S , Case , E , Clerx , N , Culberg , R , Datta , R T , Dey , R , Drews , R , Dunmire , D , Eayrs , C , Hansen , N , Humbert , A , Kaitheri , A , Keegan , K , Kuipers Munneke , P , Lenaerts , J T M , Lhermitte , S , Mair , D , McDowell , I , Mejia , J , Meyer , C R , Morris , E , Moser , D , Oraschewski , F M , Pearce , E , de Roda Husman , S , Schlegel , N-J , Schultz , T , Simonsen , S B , Stevens , C M , Thomas , E R , Thompson-Munson , M , Wever , N & Wouters , B 2024 , ' Firn on ice sheets ' , Nature Reviews Earth and Environment , vol. 5 , no. 2 , pp. 79-99 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 |
op_relation |
https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/464f62b7-cc4d-4fb9-b9b5-7023c85ec6fd |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00507-9 |
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Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |
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99 |
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