Georadar-derived estimates of firn density in the percolation zone, western Greenland ice sheet

Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface

Volumn 117, Issue 1, 2012, Pages

  Brown, Joel ^a,b   Bradford, John ^a   Harper, Joel ^b   Pfeffer, W Tad ^c   Humphrey, Neil ^d   Mosley Thompson, Ellen ^e  

^a BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING   (United States)

^e OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE; EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS; FIRN; ICE CORE; ICE SHEET; MELTWATER; NUMERICAL MODEL; PERCOLATION; UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS; WAVE VELOCITY;

ARCTIC; GREENLAND; GREENLAND ICE SHEET;

EID: 84863015658     PISSN: None     EISSN: 21699011     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2011JF002089     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. Abdalati, W. (2007), Greenland ice sheet melt characteristics derived from passive microwave data, 2 April 1979-31 October 2007, Natl. Snow and Ice Data Cent, Boulder, Colo., http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0218.html.
2. Bales, R. C., Q. Guo, D. Shen, J. R. McConnell, G. Du, J. F. Burkhart, V. B. Spikes, E. Hanna, and J. Cappelen (2009), Annual accumulation for Greenland updated using ice core data developed during 2000-2006 and analysis of daily coastal meteorological data, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D06116, doi:10.1029/ 2008JD011208.
3. Bamber, J. L., R. L. Layberry, and S. P. Gogenini (2001), A new ice thick-ness and bed data set for the Greenland ice sheet 1. Measurement, data reduction, and errors, J. Geophys. Res., 106(D24), 33,773-33,780, doi:10.1029/2001JD900054.
4. Benson, C. S. (1960), Stratigraphic studies in the snow and firn of the Greenland ice sheet, Ph.D.diss., Calif Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, Calif
5. Box, J. E., D. H. Bromwich, and L. S. Bai (2004), Greenland ice sheet sur-face mass balance 1991-2000: Application of Polar MM5 mesoscale model and in situ data, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D16105, doi:10.1029/ 2003JD004451.
6. Bradford, J. H. (2002), Depth characterization of shallow aquifers with seis-mic reflection, Part I-The failure of NMO velocity analysis and quanti-tative error prediction, Geophysics, 67, 89-97, doi:10.1190/1.1451362. (Pubitemid 34179839)
7. Bradford, J. H., J. T. Harper, and J. Brown (2009), Complex dielectric per-mittivity measurements from ground-penetrating radar data to estimate snow liquid water content in the pendular regime, Water Resour. Res., 45, W08403, doi:10.1029/2008WR007341.
8. Braithwaite, R. J., M. Laternser, and W. T. Pfeffer (1994), Variations of near-surface firn density in the lower accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet, Pâkitsoq, West Greenland, J. Glaciol., 40(136), 477-485.
9. Brown, J., J. Harper, W. T. Pfeffer, N. Humphrey, and J. Bradford (2011), High resolution study oflayering within the percolation and soaked facies of the Greenland ice sheet, Ann. Glaciol., 52(59), 35-42.
10. Dix, C. H. (1955), Seismic velocities from surface measurements, Geophysics, 20, 68-86, doi:10.1190/1.1438126.
11. Dunse, T., O. Eisen, V. Helm, W. Rack, D. Steinhage, and V. Parry (2008), Characteristics and small-scale variability of GPR signals and their rela-tion to snow accumulation in Greenland's percolation zone, J. Glaciol., 54(185), 333-342, doi:10.3189/002214308784886207.
12. Fausto, R., A. Ahlstrom, D. Van As, C. Boggild, and S. Johnsen (2009), A new present-day temperature parameterization for Greenland, J. Glaciol., 55(189), 95-105, doi:10.3189/002214309788608985.
13. Fischer, H., D. Wagenbach, M. Laternser, and W. Haeberli (1995), Glacio-meteorological and isotopic studies along the EGIG line, central Greenland, J. Glaciol., 41(139), 515-527. (Pubitemid 26445357)
14. Hanna, E., P. Huybrechts, I. Janssens, J. Cappelen, K. Steffen, and A. Stephens (2005), Runoff and mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet: 1958-2003,J. Geophys. Res., 110, D13108, doi:10.1029/2004JD005641. (Pubitemid 44651213)
15. Harper, J. T., and J. H. Bradford (2003), Snow stratigraphy over a uniform depositional surface: Spatial variability and measurement tools, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 37, 289-298, doi:10.1016/S0165-232X(03)00071-5. (Pubitemid 37312637)
16. Helsen, M. M., M. R. van den Broeke, R. S. W. van de Wal, W. J. van de Berg, E. van Meijgaard, C. H. Davis, Y. Li, and I. Goodwin (2008), Elevation changes in Antarctica mainly determined by accumulation variability, Science, 320, 1626-1629, doi:10.1126/science.1153894. (Pubitemid 351931250)
17. Hempel, L., F. Thyssen, N. Gundestrup, H. B. Clausen, and H. Miller (2000), A comparison of radio echo sounding data and electrical conduc-tivity of the GRIP ice core, J. Glaciol., 46(154), 369-374, doi:10.3189/ 172756500781833070. (Pubitemid 32065344)
18. Herron, M. M., and C. C. Langway Jr. (1980), Firn densification: An empirical model, J. Glaciol., 25(93), 373-385.
19. Holland, P. R., H. F. J. Corr, H. D. Pritchard, D. G. Vaughan, R. J. Arthern, A. Jenkins, and M. Tedesco (2011), The air content of the Larson Ice Shelf, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L10503, doi:10.1029/2011GL047245.
20. Hörhold, M. W., S. Kipfstuhl, F. Wilhelms, J. Freitag, and A. Frenzel (2011), The densification of layered polar firn, J. Geophys. Res., 116, F01001, doi:10.1029/2009JF001630.
21. Hou, S., and D. Qin (2002), The effect of postdepositional process on the chemical profiles of snow pits in the percolation zone, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 34(2), 111-116, doi:10.1016/S0165-232X(01)00065-9. (Pubitemid 34466088)
22. Knight, R., P. Tercier, and J. Irving (2004), The effect ofvertical measure-ment resolution on the correlation structure of a ground penetrating radar reflection image, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L21607, doi:10.1029/ 2004GL021112.
23. Legarsky, J. J., and X. Gao (2006), Internal layer tracing and age-depth rela-tionship from the ice divide toward Jacobshavn, Greenland, IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett., 3(4), 471-475, doi:10.1109/LGRS.2006.877749. (Pubitemid 44679652)
24. Maeno, N., and T. Ebinuma (1983), Pressure sintering of ice and its impli-cation to the densification of snow at polar glaciers and ice sheets, J. Phys. Chem., 87(21), 4103-4110, doi:10.1021/j100244a023.
25. McConnell, J. R., R. J. Arthern, E. Mosley-Thompson, C. H. Davis, R. C. Bales, R. Thomas, J. F. Burkhart, and J. D. Kyne (2000), Changes in Greenland ice sheet elevation attributed primarily to snow accumula-tion variability, Nature, 406, 877-879, doi:10.1038/35022555. (Pubitemid 30664260)
26. Mosley-Thompson, E., J. R. McConnell, R. C. Bales, Z. Li, P.-N. Lin, K. Steffen, L. G. Thompson, R. Edwards, and D. Bathke (2001), Local to regional-scale variability of Greenland accumulation from PARCA cores, J. Geophys. Res., 106(D24), 33,839-33,851, doi:10.1029/2001JD900067.
27. Murray, T., A. Booth, and D. M. Rippin (2007), Water-content of glacier-ice: Limitations on estimates from velocity analysis of surface ground-penetrating radar surveys, J. Environ. Eng. Geophys., 12(1), 87-99, doi:10.2113/JEEG12.1.87. (Pubitemid 47528274)
28. Nghiem, S. V., K. Steffen, G. Neumann, and R. Huff (2005), Mapping of ice layer extent and snow accumulation in the percolation zone of the Greenland ice sheet, J. Geophys. Res., 110, F02017, doi:10.1029/ 2004JF000234.
29. Parry, V., P. Nienow, D. Mair, J. Scott, B. Hubbard, K. Steffen, and D. Wingham (2007), Investigations of meltwater refreezing and density variations in the snowpack and firn within the percolation zone of the Greenland ice sheet, Ann. Glaciol., 46(1), 61-68, doi:10.3189/ 172756407782871332.
30. Paterson, W. S. B. (1994), The Physics of Glaciers, 3rd ed., Pergamon, Oxford, U. K.
31. Pfeffer, W. T., M. F. Meier, and T. H. Illangasekare (1991), Retention of Greenland runoff by refreezing: Implications for projected future sea level change, J. Geophys. Res., 96(C12), 22,117-22,124, doi:10.1029/ 91JC02502.
32. Steffen, K., J. E. Box, and W. Abdalati (1996), Greenland Climate Network: GC-Net, in Special Report on Glaciers, Ice Sheets and Volcanoes: A Tribute to Mark F. Meier, edited by S. C. Colbeck et al., pp. 98-103, U.S. Army Cold Regions Res. and Eng. Lab., Hanover, N. H.
33. Tiuri, M. E., A. Sihvola, E. Nyfors, and M. Hallikaiken (1984), The complex dielectric constant of snow at microwave frequencies, IEEE J. Oceanic Eng., 9(5), 377-382, doi:10.1109/JOE.1984.1145645. (Pubitemid 15454357)
34. Wharton, R. P., R. N. Rau, and D. L. Best (1980), Electromagnetic propa-gation logging: Advances in technique and interpretation, paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Soc. of Pet. Eng., Dallas, Tex., 21-24 September, doi:10.2118/9267-MS.
35. Yilmaz, Ö. (2001), Seismic Data Analysis: Processing, Inversion, and Interpretation ofSeismic Data, Soc. of Explor. Geophys., Tulsa, Okla., doi:10.1190/1.9781560801580.
36. Zelt, C. A., and R. B. Smith (1992), Seismic traveltime inversion for 2-D crustal velocity structure, Geophys. J. Int., 108(1), 16-34, doi:10.1111/ j.1365-246X.1992.tb00836.x.
37. Zwally, H. J., and J. Li (2002), Seasonal and interannual variations of firn densification and ice-sheet surface elevation at the Greenland summit, J. Glaciol.,48(161), 199-207,doi:10.3189/172756502781831403. (Pubitemid 36017336)
38. Zwally, H. J., M. B. Giovinetto, J. Li, H. G. Cornejo, M. A. Beckley, A. C. Brenner, J. L. Saba, and D. Yi (2005), Mass changes of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and shelves and contributions to sea level rise: 1992-2002, J. Glaciol., 51(175), 509-527, doi:10.3189/ 172756505781829007. (Pubitemid 43329191)