The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica
The Antarctic Dry Valleys represent a unique environment where it is possible to study dry permafrost overlaying an ice-rich permafrost. In this paper, two opposing mechanisms for ice table stability in University Valley are addressed: i) diffusive recharge via thin seasonal snow deposits andii) des...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7430506 2023-05-15T13:47:04+02:00 The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica WILLIAMS, K.E. HELDMANN, J.L. MCKAY, CHRISTOPHER P. MELLON, MICHAEL T. 2017-10-13 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7430506/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102017000402 en eng http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7430506/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954102017000402 Antarct Sci Article Text 2017 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102017000402 2020-08-23T00:35:04Z The Antarctic Dry Valleys represent a unique environment where it is possible to study dry permafrost overlaying an ice-rich permafrost. In this paper, two opposing mechanisms for ice table stability in University Valley are addressed: i) diffusive recharge via thin seasonal snow deposits andii) desiccation via salt deposits in the upper soil column. A high-resolution time-marching soil and snow model was constructed and applied to University Valley, driven by meteorological station atmospheric measurements. It was found that periodic thin surficial snow deposits (observed in University Valley) are capable of drastically slowing (if not completely eliminating) the underlying ice table ablation. The effects of NaCl, CaCl(2) and perchlorate deposits were then modelled. Unlike the snow cover, however, the presence of salt in the soil surface (but no periodic snow) results in a slight increase in the ice table recession rate, due to the hygroscopic effects of salt sequestering vapour from the ice table below. Near-surface pore ice frequently forms when large amounts of salt are present in the soil due to the suppression of the saturation vapour pressure. Implications for Mars high latitudes are discussed. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice permafrost PubMed Central (PMC) Antarctic The Antarctic University Valley ENVELOPE(160.667,160.667,-77.867,-77.867) Antarctic Science 30 1 67 78 |
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Article WILLIAMS, K.E. HELDMANN, J.L. MCKAY, CHRISTOPHER P. MELLON, MICHAEL T. The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica |
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Article |
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The Antarctic Dry Valleys represent a unique environment where it is possible to study dry permafrost overlaying an ice-rich permafrost. In this paper, two opposing mechanisms for ice table stability in University Valley are addressed: i) diffusive recharge via thin seasonal snow deposits andii) desiccation via salt deposits in the upper soil column. A high-resolution time-marching soil and snow model was constructed and applied to University Valley, driven by meteorological station atmospheric measurements. It was found that periodic thin surficial snow deposits (observed in University Valley) are capable of drastically slowing (if not completely eliminating) the underlying ice table ablation. The effects of NaCl, CaCl(2) and perchlorate deposits were then modelled. Unlike the snow cover, however, the presence of salt in the soil surface (but no periodic snow) results in a slight increase in the ice table recession rate, due to the hygroscopic effects of salt sequestering vapour from the ice table below. Near-surface pore ice frequently forms when large amounts of salt are present in the soil due to the suppression of the saturation vapour pressure. Implications for Mars high latitudes are discussed. |
format |
Text |
author |
WILLIAMS, K.E. HELDMANN, J.L. MCKAY, CHRISTOPHER P. MELLON, MICHAEL T. |
author_facet |
WILLIAMS, K.E. HELDMANN, J.L. MCKAY, CHRISTOPHER P. MELLON, MICHAEL T. |
author_sort |
WILLIAMS, K.E. |
title |
The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica |
title_short |
The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica |
title_full |
The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
The effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in University Valley, Antarctica |
title_sort |
effects of snow and salt on ice table stability in university valley, antarctica |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7430506/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102017000402 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(160.667,160.667,-77.867,-77.867) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic University Valley |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic University Valley |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice permafrost |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice permafrost |
op_source |
Antarct Sci |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7430506/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954102017000402 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102017000402 |
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Antarctic Science |
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30 |
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67 |
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78 |
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1766246273399128064 |