Densification of polar snow: Measurements, modeling, and implications for altimetry

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Density profiles in the upper 10–14 m of snow have been measured along a 500 km traverse across the Greenland ice sheet, using a neutron scattering technique. Repeat measurements, over periods ranging from a few days to 5 years, allow strain rates to be determined as a function of depth. Very large strain rates are observed in the surface layer of snow over summer periods. In the underlying multiyear snow, strain rate decreases with decreasing porosity. However, once this effect has been removed, the effect of increasing overburden pressure is counteracted by increasing strength of the material. There are fluctuations in strain rate associated with the annual layering, which indicate that winter and summer snow have different strengths. Based on these observations, we derive a new densification equation which includes the effect of snow density and snow type, and the effect of temperature, described by an Arrhenius expression with activation energy of the order of 110 kJ mol−1 and an exponential prefactor determined simply by the temperature history of the snow. For multiyear snow and meteorological conditions that do not vary from year to year, our equation reduces to a form similar to the Herron and Langway equation for first‐stage densification. Using the new equation, we calculate the sensitivity of compaction rate to short‐term fluctuations in temperature and accumulation as 0.11–0.20 m a−1 K−1 and 0.33–0.95 m a−1(meters water equivalent)−1, respectively, and discuss the consequent uncertainty in satellite measurements of the long‐term elevation trend in this area of the Greenland ice sheet.