Abstract

Abstract. Assessing changes in the density of snow and firn is vital to convert volume changes into mass changes on glaciers and ice sheets. Firn models simulate this process but typically rely upon steady-state assumptions and geographically and temporally limited sets of field measurements for validation. Given rapid changes recently observed in Greenland's surface mass balance, a contemporary dataset measuring firn compaction in a range of climate zones across the Greenland ice sheet's accumulation zone is needed. To fill this need, the Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) dataset comprises daily measurements from 48 strainmeters installed in boreholes at eight sites on the Greenland ice sheet between 2013 and 2019. The dataset also includes daily records of 2 m air temperature, snow height, and firn temperature from each station. The majority of the FirnCover stations were installed in close proximity to automated weather stations that measure a wider suite of meteorological measurements, allowing the user access to auxiliary datasets for model validation studies using FirnCover data. The dataset can be found here: https://doi.org/10.18739/A25X25D7M (MacFerrin et al., 2021).

Highlights

  • Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) is currently one of the largest direct contributors to sea-level rise (IPCC, 2013), and the majority of that loss since the early 2000s has been due to significant increases in surface melt and runoff (Velicogna et al, 2014; van den Broeke et al, 2016; Mottram et al, 2019)

  • We present the Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) dataset, which comprises measurements of firn compaction, depth–density profiles, and temperatures from eight sites on the GrIS

  • The two abovementioned phenomena are interconnected because meltwater refreezing releases latent heat and increases the firn temperature, which accelerates compaction of surrounding firn (Pfeffer and Humphrey, 1996; Humphrey et al, 2012)

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Summary

Introduction

Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) is currently one of the largest direct contributors to sea-level rise (IPCC, 2013), and the majority of that loss since the early 2000s has been due to significant increases in surface melt and runoff (Velicogna et al, 2014; van den Broeke et al, 2016; Mottram et al, 2019). Bubbles of atmospheric gasses become trapped in closed pores at the firn–ice transition, and knowledge of the age of the firn at this bubble close-off depth is essential to accurately establish the chronology of past climate changes (Schwander and Stauffer, 1984; Schwander et al, 1997). In all these cases, knowledge of the firn’s compaction rate is crucial, yet to date there are relatively few in situ measurements of firn compaction, and there is no single, widely accepted model to simulate it. We present the Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) dataset, which comprises measurements of firn compaction, depth–density profiles, and temperatures from eight sites on the GrIS

Background
The FirnCover stations and dataset
The FirnCover strainmeters
Air temperature, surface height, and firn temperature observations
Firn core and snow pit observations
Dataset structure and handling
Data overview and preliminary analysis
Oct 2018 7 Oct 2018 7 Oct 2018 7 Oct 2018 7 Oct 2018 7 Oct 2018
20 February 2018 29 July 2019 – – 27 May 2018 – – 16 July 2018
Summary remarks
Findings
966 Appendix A
Full Text
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