Inverse estimation of snow accumulation along a radar transect on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard

Pelt, Ward van; Pettersson, Rickard; Pohjola, Veijo; Marchenko, S. S.; Claremar, Björn; Oerlemans, J.

doi:10.1002/2013jf003040

Cited by 34 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…In line with earlier studies (Dunse and others, 2008;Brown and others, 2011;Van Pelt and others, 2014;Sold and others, 2015) we suggest that most of the prominent maxima in the composite data from our radar and video surveys originate at the firn horizons exposed to melt at the end of ablation seasons (summer surfaces). The rate and pattern of water infiltration through snow and firn is highly dependent on the structure of the media (Campbell and others, 2006).…”

Section: Firn Stratigraphysupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In 2012 the summer surfaces found by Van Pelt and others (2014) (coloured labels at 4.0, 5.6, 7.5, 8.9 and 9.9 m in Fig. 7a, also see Fig.…”

Section: Firn Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 93%

“…7a) fall between the summer surfaces from Van Pelt and others (2014). They are also noticeable on the 500 MHz radargrams (Van Pelt and others, 2014) but were not regarded as buried summer surfaces based on the lack of lateral consistency on the kilometre scale.…”

Section: Firn Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Recent field and modelling results in the area showed that at the elevation of the study site the average accumulation rate during 2007-12 is ≈0.75 m w.e. a −1 (Van Pelt and others, 2014) and the melt rate during 1989-2010 was on average ≈0.34 m w.e. a −1 (Van Pelt and others, 2012).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…To test if the maxima in our grid-averaged GPR and also video data likewise originate at the buried summer surfaces, we compare their depths with positions of the summer surfaces 2011-2007 detected by Van Pelt and others (2014) in a 15 km long 500 MHz GPR profile done at Lomonosovfonna and Nordenskiöldbreen in April 2012. The uppermost point of this profile was within 10 m from our plot and is used here for comparison.…”

Section: Firn Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A plot-scale study of firn stratigraphy at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, using ice cores, borehole video and GPR surveys in 2012–14

et al. 2016

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ABSTRACT. Spatial heterogeneity of snow and firn properties on glaciers introduces uncertainty in interpretation of point and profile observations and complicates modelling of meltwater percolation and runoff. Here we present a study of the temporal and spatial dynamics of firn density and stratigraphy at the plot-scale (≈10 m × 10 m × 10 m) repeated annually during 2012-14 at the Lomonosovfonna icefield, Svalbard. Results from cores, video inspections in boreholes and radar grid surveys are compared. Ice layers 0.1-50 cm thick comprised ≈8% of the borehole length. Most of them are 1-3 cm thick and could not be traced between boreholes separated by 3 m. Large lateral variability of firn structure affects representativeness of observations in single holes and calls for repeated studies in multiple points to derive a representative stratigraphy signal. Radar reflections are poorly correlated with ice layers in individual boreholes. However, the match between the high amplitude peaks in the grid-averaged radar signal and horizons of preferential ice layer formation revealed by averaging the video surveys over multiple boreholes is higher. These horizons are interpreted as buried firn layers previously exposed to meltfreeze or wind-driven densification and several of them are consistently recovered throughout three field campaigns.

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Section: Firn Stratigraphysupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In 2012 the summer surfaces found by Van Pelt and others (2014) (coloured labels at 4.0, 5.6, 7.5, 8.9 and 9.9 m in Fig. 7a, also see Fig.…”

Section: Firn Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Firn Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Firn Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A plot-scale study of firn stratigraphy at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, using ice cores, borehole video and GPR surveys in 2012–14

et al. 2016

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Dynamic perennial firn aquifer on an Arctic glacier

Christianson

Kohler

Alley

et al. 2015

Geophysical Research Letters

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Ice‐penetrating radar and GPS observations reveal a perennial firn aquifer (PFA) on a Svalbard ice field, similar to those recently discovered in southeastern Greenland. A bright, widespread radar reflector separates relatively dry and water‐saturated firn. This surface, the phreatic firn water table, is deeper beneath local surface elevation maxima, shallower in surface lows, and steeper where the surface is steep. The reflector crosscuts snow stratigraphy; we use the apparent deflection of accumulation layers due to the higher dielectric permittivity below the water table to infer that the firn pore space becomes progressively more saturated as depth increases. Our observations indicate that PFAs respond rapidly (subannually) to surface forcing, and are capable of providing significant input to the englacial hydrology system.

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End‐of‐winter snow depth variability on glaciers in Alaska

et al. 2015

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A quantitative understanding of snow thickness and snow water equivalent (SWE) on glaciers is essential to a wide range of scientific and resource management topics. However, robust SWE estimates are observationally challenging, in part because SWE can vary abruptly over short distances in complex terrain due to interactions between topography and meteorological processes. In spring 2013, we measured snow accumulation on several glaciers around the Gulf of Alaska using both ground-and helicopter-based ground-penetrating radar surveys, complemented by extensive ground truth observations. We found that SWE can be highly variable (40% difference) over short spatial scales (tens to hundreds of meters), especially in the ablation zone where the underlying ice surfaces are typically rough. Elevation provides the dominant basin-scale influence on SWE, with gradients ranging from 115 to 400 mm/100 m. Regionally, total accumulation and the accumulation gradient are strongly controlled by a glacier's distance from the coastal moisture source. Multiple linear regressions, used to calculate distributed SWE fields, show that robust results require adequate sampling of the true distribution of multiple terrain parameters. Final SWE estimates (comparable to winter balances) show reasonable agreement with both the Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model climate data set (9-36% difference) and the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Benchmark Glaciers (6-36% difference). All the glaciers in our study exhibit substantial sensitivity to changing snow-rain fractions, regardless of their location in a coastal or continental climate. While process-based SWE projections remain elusive, the collection of ground-penetrating radar (GPR)-derived data sets provides a greatly enhanced perspective on the spatial distribution of SWE and will pave the way for future work that may eventually allow such projections.

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Inverse estimation of snow accumulation along a radar transect on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard

Cited by 34 publications

References 54 publications

A plot-scale study of firn stratigraphy at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, using ice cores, borehole video and GPR surveys in 2012–14

A plot-scale study of firn stratigraphy at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, using ice cores, borehole video and GPR surveys in 2012–14

Dynamic perennial firn aquifer on an Arctic glacier

End‐of‐winter snow depth variability on glaciers in Alaska

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