Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet
Greater understanding of variations in firn densification is needed to distinguish between dynamic and melt-driven elevation changes on the Greenland ice sheet. This is especially true in Greenland's percolation zone, where firn density profiles are poorly documented because few ice cores are e...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
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ftunivwyomingfig:oai:figshare.com:article/13678015 2023-05-15T16:27:35+02:00 Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet J. Brown J. Bradford J. Harper Neil Humphrey W. T. Pfeffer E. Mosley-Thompson 2012-01-25T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jf002089 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Georadar-Derived_Estimates_of_Firn_Density_in_the_Percolation_Zone_Western_Greenland_Ice_Sheet/13678015 unknown doi:10.1029/2011jf002089 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Georadar-Derived_Estimates_of_Firn_Density_in_the_Percolation_Zone_Western_Greenland_Ice_Sheet/13678015 CC BY 4.0 CC-BY Geology Text Journal contribution 2012 ftunivwyomingfig https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jf002089 2023-02-04T11:07:23Z Greater understanding of variations in firn densification is needed to distinguish between dynamic and melt-driven elevation changes on the Greenland ice sheet. This is especially true in Greenland's percolation zone, where firn density profiles are poorly documented because few ice cores are extracted in regions with surface melt. We used georadar to investigate firn density variations with depth along a similar to 70 km transect through a portion of the accumulation area in western Greenland that partially melts. We estimated electromagnetic wave velocity by inverting reflection traveltimes picked from common midpoint gathers. We followed a procedure designed to find the simplest velocity versus depth model that describes the data within estimated uncertainty. On the basis of the velocities, we estimated 13 depth-density profiles of the upper 80 m using a petrophysical model based on the complex refractive index method equation. At the highest elevation site, our density profile is consistent with nearby core data acquired in the same year. Our profiles at the six highest elevation sites match an empirically based densification model for dry firn, indicating relatively minor amounts of water infiltration and densification by melt and refreeze in this higher region of the percolation zone. At the four lowest elevation sites our profiles reach ice densities at substantially shallower depths, implying considerable meltwater infiltration and ice layer development in this lower region of the percolation zone. The separation between these two regions is 8 km and spans 60 m of elevation, which suggests that the balance between dry-firn and melt-induced densification processes is sensitive to minor changes in melt. Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet WyoScholar - University of Wyoming research repository Greenland Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 117 F1 n/a n/a |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
WyoScholar - University of Wyoming research repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwyomingfig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Geology |
spellingShingle |
Geology J. Brown J. Bradford J. Harper Neil Humphrey W. T. Pfeffer E. Mosley-Thompson Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet |
topic_facet |
Geology |
description |
Greater understanding of variations in firn densification is needed to distinguish between dynamic and melt-driven elevation changes on the Greenland ice sheet. This is especially true in Greenland's percolation zone, where firn density profiles are poorly documented because few ice cores are extracted in regions with surface melt. We used georadar to investigate firn density variations with depth along a similar to 70 km transect through a portion of the accumulation area in western Greenland that partially melts. We estimated electromagnetic wave velocity by inverting reflection traveltimes picked from common midpoint gathers. We followed a procedure designed to find the simplest velocity versus depth model that describes the data within estimated uncertainty. On the basis of the velocities, we estimated 13 depth-density profiles of the upper 80 m using a petrophysical model based on the complex refractive index method equation. At the highest elevation site, our density profile is consistent with nearby core data acquired in the same year. Our profiles at the six highest elevation sites match an empirically based densification model for dry firn, indicating relatively minor amounts of water infiltration and densification by melt and refreeze in this higher region of the percolation zone. At the four lowest elevation sites our profiles reach ice densities at substantially shallower depths, implying considerable meltwater infiltration and ice layer development in this lower region of the percolation zone. The separation between these two regions is 8 km and spans 60 m of elevation, which suggests that the balance between dry-firn and melt-induced densification processes is sensitive to minor changes in melt. |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. Brown J. Bradford J. Harper Neil Humphrey W. T. Pfeffer E. Mosley-Thompson |
author_facet |
J. Brown J. Bradford J. Harper Neil Humphrey W. T. Pfeffer E. Mosley-Thompson |
author_sort |
J. Brown |
title |
Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_short |
Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full |
Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_fullStr |
Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Georadar-Derived Estimates of Firn Density in the Percolation Zone, Western Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_sort |
georadar-derived estimates of firn density in the percolation zone, western greenland ice sheet |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jf002089 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Georadar-Derived_Estimates_of_Firn_Density_in_the_Percolation_Zone_Western_Greenland_Ice_Sheet/13678015 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
doi:10.1029/2011jf002089 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Georadar-Derived_Estimates_of_Firn_Density_in_the_Percolation_Zone_Western_Greenland_Ice_Sheet/13678015 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jf002089 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
container_volume |
117 |
container_issue |
F1 |
container_start_page |
n/a |
op_container_end_page |
n/a |
_version_ |
1766016980666548224 |