| Title | Spatial and temporal variability in the snowpack of a High Arctic ice cap: Implications for mass-change measurements |
| |
| Author | Bell, C; Mair, D; Burgess, D ; Sharp, M; Demuth, M; Cawkwell, F; Bingham, R; Wadham, J |
| Source | Annals of Glaciology vol. 48, 2008 p. 159-170, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756408784700725  Open Access |
| Year | 2008 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20181245 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | geophysics; remote sensing |
| Program | Public Safety Geoscience
|
| Program | Climate Change
Geoscience |
| Released | 2017 09 14 |
| Abstract | Interpretation of ice mass elevation changes observed by satellite altimetry demands quantification of the proportion of elevation change which is attributable to variations in firn densification.
Detailed stratigrraphic logging of snowpack structure and density was carried out at ?1 km intervals along a 47 km transect on Devon Ice Cap, Canada, in spring (pre-melt) and autumn (during/after melt) 2004 and 2006 to characterize seasonal snowpack
variability across the full range of snow facies. Simultaneous meteorological measurements were gathered. Spring (pre-melt) snowpacks show low variability over large spatial scales, with low-magnitude changes in density. The end-of-summer/autumn
density profiles show high variability in both 2004 and 2006, with vastly different melt regimes generating dissimilar patterns of ice-layer formation over the two melt seasons. Dye-tracing experiments from spring to autumn 2006 reveal that vertical
and horizontal distribution of meltwater flow within and below the annual snowpack is strongly affected by the pre-existing, often subtle stratigraphic interfaces in the snowpack, rather than its bulk properties. Strong interannual variability
suggests that using a simple relationship between air temperature, elevation and snowpack densification to derive mass change from measurements of elevation change across High Arctic ice caps may be misguided. Melt timing and duration are important
extrinsic factors governing snowpack densification and ice-layer formation in summer, rather than averaged air temperatures. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 311599 |
|
|