Geothermal heat flux distribution for the Greenland ice sheet, derived by combining a global representation and information from deep ice cores

• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute of Polar Research 2019
• Subjects: Greenland ice sheet; Geothermal heat flux; Ice core; Basal temperature; Ice sheet modelling; Greenland; ice core; Ice Sheet; North Greenland
• Online Access: http://id.nii.ac.jp/1434/00000006/; https://pdr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=12; https://pdr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=12&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1; https://pdr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=12&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=2; https://pdr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=12&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=3

We present a distribution of the geothermal heat flux (GHF) for Greenland, which is an update of two earlier versions by Greve (2005, Ann. Glaciol. 42) and Greve and Herzfeld (2013, Ann. Glaciol. 54). The GHF distribution is constructed in two steps. First, the global representation by Pollack et al. (1993, Rev. Geophys. 31) is scaled for the area of Greenland. Second, by means of a paleoclimatic simulation carried out with the ice sheet model SICOPOLIS, the GHF values for five deep ice core locations are modified such that observed and simulated basal temperatures match closely. The resulting GHF distribution generally features low values in the south and the north-west, whereas elevated values prevail in central North Greenland and towards the north-east. The data are provided as NetCDF files on two different grids (EPSG:3413 grid, Bamber grid) that have frequently been used in modelling studies of the Greenland ice sheet, and for the three different resolutions of 5 km, 10 km and 20 km.