Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers
Data from three continuously operating GPS sites located in the interior of the Greenland ice sheet are analyzed. Traditionally these kinds of GPS installations (where the GPS antenna is placed on a pole deployed into the firn) are used to estimate the local horizontal speed and direction of the ice...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/309156 2023-07-23T04:19:29+02:00 Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers Larson, Kristine Wahr, John Kuipers Munneke, Peter Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research 2015 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/309156 en eng 0022-1430 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/309156 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess accumulation ice dynamics ice velocity polar firn snow Article 2015 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T01:15:38Z Data from three continuously operating GPS sites located in the interior of the Greenland ice sheet are analyzed. Traditionally these kinds of GPS installations (where the GPS antenna is placed on a pole deployed into the firn) are used to estimate the local horizontal speed and direction of the ice sheet. However, these data are also sensitive to the vertical displacement of the pole as it moves through the firn layer. A new method developed to measure snow depth variations with reflected GPS signals is applied to these GPS data from Greenland. This method provides a constraint on the vertical distance between the GPS antenna and the surface snow layer. The vertical positions and snow surface heights are then used to assess output from surface accumulation and firn densification models, showing agreement better than 10% at the sites with the longest records. Comparisons between the GPS reflection method and in situ snow sensors at the Dye-2 site show good agreement, capturing the dramatic changes observed in Greenland during the 2012 summer melt season. The geocentric elevation of the snow surface can be inferred by subtracting the snow surface height estimates from the vertical position measurements. It should be possible to use those surface elevation estimates to help validate elevation results obtained from satellite altimetry. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Utrecht University Repository Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
topic |
accumulation ice dynamics ice velocity polar firn snow |
spellingShingle |
accumulation ice dynamics ice velocity polar firn snow Larson, Kristine Wahr, John Kuipers Munneke, Peter Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers |
topic_facet |
accumulation ice dynamics ice velocity polar firn snow |
description |
Data from three continuously operating GPS sites located in the interior of the Greenland ice sheet are analyzed. Traditionally these kinds of GPS installations (where the GPS antenna is placed on a pole deployed into the firn) are used to estimate the local horizontal speed and direction of the ice sheet. However, these data are also sensitive to the vertical displacement of the pole as it moves through the firn layer. A new method developed to measure snow depth variations with reflected GPS signals is applied to these GPS data from Greenland. This method provides a constraint on the vertical distance between the GPS antenna and the surface snow layer. The vertical positions and snow surface heights are then used to assess output from surface accumulation and firn densification models, showing agreement better than 10% at the sites with the longest records. Comparisons between the GPS reflection method and in situ snow sensors at the Dye-2 site show good agreement, capturing the dramatic changes observed in Greenland during the 2012 summer melt season. The geocentric elevation of the snow surface can be inferred by subtracting the snow surface height estimates from the vertical position measurements. It should be possible to use those surface elevation estimates to help validate elevation results obtained from satellite altimetry. |
author2 |
Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Larson, Kristine Wahr, John Kuipers Munneke, Peter |
author_facet |
Larson, Kristine Wahr, John Kuipers Munneke, Peter |
author_sort |
Larson, Kristine |
title |
Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers |
title_short |
Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers |
title_full |
Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers |
title_fullStr |
Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers |
title_sort |
constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in greenland using gps receivers |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/309156 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
0022-1430 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/309156 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772182625504460800 |