The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf
[1] The air content of glacial firn determines the effect and attribution of observed changes in ice surface elevation, but is currently measurable only using labor‐intensive ground‐based techniques. Here a novel method is presented for using radar sounding measurements to decompose the total thickn...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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American Geophysical Union
2011
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Online Access: | https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047245 https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/1/2011GL047245.pdf |
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ftunivnorthumb:oai:nrl.northumbria.ac.uk:46028 2023-05-15T16:41:51+02:00 The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf Holland, Paul R. Corr, Hugh F. J. Pritchard, Hamish D. Vaughan, David G. Arthern, Robert J. Jenkins, Adrian Tedesco, Marco 2011-05-01 text https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047245 https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/1/2011GL047245.pdf en eng American Geophysical Union https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/1/2011GL047245.pdf Holland, Paul R., Corr, Hugh F. J., Pritchard, Hamish D., Vaughan, David G., Arthern, Robert J., Jenkins, Adrian and Tedesco, Marco (2011) The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf. Geophysical Research Letters, 38 (10). L10503. ISSN 0094-8276 F700 Ocean Sciences F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftunivnorthumb https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047245 2022-09-25T06:13:44Z [1] The air content of glacial firn determines the effect and attribution of observed changes in ice surface elevation, but is currently measurable only using labor‐intensive ground‐based techniques. Here a novel method is presented for using radar sounding measurements to decompose the total thickness of floating ice shelves into thicknesses of solid ice and firn air (or firn water). The method is applied to a 1997/98 airborne survey of Larsen Ice Shelf, revealing large spatial gradients in air content that are consistent with existing measurements and local meteorology. The gradients appear to be governed by meltwater‐induced firn densification. We find sufficient air in Larsen C Ice Shelf for increased densification to account for its previously observed surface lowering, and the rate of lowering superficially agrees with published trends in melting. This does not preclude a contribution to the lowering from oceanic basal melting, but a modern repeat of the survey could conclusively distinguish atmosphere‐led from ocean‐led change. The technique also holds promise for the calibration of firn‐density models, derivation of ice thickness from surface elevation measurements, and calculation of the sea‐level contribution of changes in grounded‐ice discharge. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Larsen Ice Shelf Northumbria University, Newcastle: Northumbria Research Link (NRL) Larsen Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-62.500,-62.500,-67.500,-67.500) Geophysical Research Letters 38 10 n/a n/a |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Northumbria University, Newcastle: Northumbria Research Link (NRL) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnorthumb |
language |
English |
topic |
F700 Ocean Sciences F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
F700 Ocean Sciences F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences Holland, Paul R. Corr, Hugh F. J. Pritchard, Hamish D. Vaughan, David G. Arthern, Robert J. Jenkins, Adrian Tedesco, Marco The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf |
topic_facet |
F700 Ocean Sciences F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences |
description |
[1] The air content of glacial firn determines the effect and attribution of observed changes in ice surface elevation, but is currently measurable only using labor‐intensive ground‐based techniques. Here a novel method is presented for using radar sounding measurements to decompose the total thickness of floating ice shelves into thicknesses of solid ice and firn air (or firn water). The method is applied to a 1997/98 airborne survey of Larsen Ice Shelf, revealing large spatial gradients in air content that are consistent with existing measurements and local meteorology. The gradients appear to be governed by meltwater‐induced firn densification. We find sufficient air in Larsen C Ice Shelf for increased densification to account for its previously observed surface lowering, and the rate of lowering superficially agrees with published trends in melting. This does not preclude a contribution to the lowering from oceanic basal melting, but a modern repeat of the survey could conclusively distinguish atmosphere‐led from ocean‐led change. The technique also holds promise for the calibration of firn‐density models, derivation of ice thickness from surface elevation measurements, and calculation of the sea‐level contribution of changes in grounded‐ice discharge. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Holland, Paul R. Corr, Hugh F. J. Pritchard, Hamish D. Vaughan, David G. Arthern, Robert J. Jenkins, Adrian Tedesco, Marco |
author_facet |
Holland, Paul R. Corr, Hugh F. J. Pritchard, Hamish D. Vaughan, David G. Arthern, Robert J. Jenkins, Adrian Tedesco, Marco |
author_sort |
Holland, Paul R. |
title |
The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf |
title_short |
The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf |
title_full |
The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf |
title_fullStr |
The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf |
title_full_unstemmed |
The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf |
title_sort |
air content of larsen ice shelf |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047245 https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/1/2011GL047245.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.500,-62.500,-67.500,-67.500) |
geographic |
Larsen Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Larsen Ice Shelf |
genre |
Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Larsen Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Larsen Ice Shelf |
op_relation |
https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46028/1/2011GL047245.pdf Holland, Paul R., Corr, Hugh F. J., Pritchard, Hamish D., Vaughan, David G., Arthern, Robert J., Jenkins, Adrian and Tedesco, Marco (2011) The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf. Geophysical Research Letters, 38 (10). L10503. ISSN 0094-8276 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047245 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
n/a |
op_container_end_page |
n/a |
_version_ |
1766032319722815488 |