Combining traditional and novel techniques to increase our understanding of the lock-in depth of atmospheric gases in polar ice cores - results from the EastGRIP region

• Main Authors: Westhoff, Julien, Freitag, Johannes, Orsi, Anaïs, Martinerie, Patricia, Weikusat, Ilka, Dyonisius, Michael, Faïn, Xavier, Fourteau, Kevin, Blunier, Thomas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: article; Verlagsveröffentlichung; Greenland; ice core
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1904; https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00069033; https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00067436/egusphere-2023-1904.pdf; https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1904/egusphere-2023-1904.pdf

We investigate the lock-in zone (LIZ) of the EastGRIP region, Northeast Greenland, in detail. We present results from the firn air pumping campaign of the S6 borehole, forward modeling, and a novel technique for finding the lock-in depth (LID, the top of the LIZ) based on the visual stratigraphy of the EastGRIP ice core. The findings in this work help to deepen our knowledge of how atmospheric gases are trapped in ice cores. CO2, δ15N, and CH4 data suggest the LID lies around 58 to 61 m depth. With the grayscale and bright spot analysis based on visual stratigraphy, we can pinpoint a change in ice properties to exactly 58.3 m depth, which we define as the optical lock-in depth (OLID). This visual change in ice properties is caused by the formation of rounded and enclosed air bubbles, altering the measured refraction of the light pathways. The results for the LID and OLID agree accurately on the depth. We furthermore use the visual stratigraphy images to obtain information on the sharpness of the open to closed porosity transition. Combing traditional methods with the independent optical method presented here, we can now better constrain the bubble closure processes in polar firn.