Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet
<p>Ice cores from polar ice sheets and glaciers are an important climate archive. Snow layers, consecutively deposited and buried, contain climatic information from the time of their formation. However, particularly low-accumulation areas are characterised by temporally intermittent precipitat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2021-10-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4873/2021/tc-15-4873-2021.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818589182744854528 |
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| author | A. M. Zuhr A. M. Zuhr T. Münch H. C. Steen-Larsen M. Hörhold T. Laepple T. Laepple |
| author_facet | A. M. Zuhr A. M. Zuhr T. Münch H. C. Steen-Larsen M. Hörhold T. Laepple T. Laepple |
| author_sort | A. M. Zuhr |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Ice cores from polar ice sheets and glaciers are an important climate archive. Snow layers, consecutively deposited and buried, contain climatic information from the time of their formation. However, particularly low-accumulation areas are characterised by temporally intermittent precipitation, which can be further redistributed after initial deposition, depending on the local surface features at different spatial scales. Therefore, the accumulation conditions at an ice core site influence the quantity and quality of the recorded climate signal in proxy records. This study aims to characterise the local accumulation patterns and the evolution of the snow height to describe the contribution of the snow (re-)deposition to the overall noise level in climate records from ice cores. To this end, we applied a structure-from-motion photogrammetry approach to generate near-daily elevation models of the surface snow for a 195 m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> area in the vicinity of the deep drilling site of the East Greenland Ice-core Project in northeast Greenland. Based on the snow height information we derive snow height changes on a day-to-day basis throughout our observation period from May to August 2018 and find an average snow height increase of <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 11 cm. The spatial and temporal data set also allows an investigation of snow deposition versus depositional modifications. We observe irregular snow deposition and erosion causing uneven snow accumulation patterns, a removal of more than 60 % of the deposited snow, and a negative relationship between the initial snow height and the amount of accumulated snow. Furthermore, the surface roughness decreased by approximately a factor of 2 throughout the spring and summer season at our study site. Finally, our study shows that structure from motion is a relatively simple method to demonstrate the potential influences of depositional processes on proxy signals in snow and ice.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T09:36:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-225c79571f4d4a37979e319e31996ad6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T09:36:35Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-225c79571f4d4a37979e319e31996ad62022-12-21T22:36:22ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242021-10-01154873490010.5194/tc-15-4873-2021Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheetA. M. Zuhr0A. M. Zuhr1T. Münch2H. C. Steen-Larsen3M. Hörhold4T. Laepple5T. Laepple6Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyUniversity of Potsdam, Institute of Geosciences, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, GermanyAlfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGeophysical Institute, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, NorwayAlfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Bremerhaven, 27568 Bremerhaven, GermanyAlfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyUniversity of Bremen, MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Geosciences, 28334 Bremen, Germany<p>Ice cores from polar ice sheets and glaciers are an important climate archive. Snow layers, consecutively deposited and buried, contain climatic information from the time of their formation. However, particularly low-accumulation areas are characterised by temporally intermittent precipitation, which can be further redistributed after initial deposition, depending on the local surface features at different spatial scales. Therefore, the accumulation conditions at an ice core site influence the quantity and quality of the recorded climate signal in proxy records. This study aims to characterise the local accumulation patterns and the evolution of the snow height to describe the contribution of the snow (re-)deposition to the overall noise level in climate records from ice cores. To this end, we applied a structure-from-motion photogrammetry approach to generate near-daily elevation models of the surface snow for a 195 m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> area in the vicinity of the deep drilling site of the East Greenland Ice-core Project in northeast Greenland. Based on the snow height information we derive snow height changes on a day-to-day basis throughout our observation period from May to August 2018 and find an average snow height increase of <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 11 cm. The spatial and temporal data set also allows an investigation of snow deposition versus depositional modifications. We observe irregular snow deposition and erosion causing uneven snow accumulation patterns, a removal of more than 60 % of the deposited snow, and a negative relationship between the initial snow height and the amount of accumulated snow. Furthermore, the surface roughness decreased by approximately a factor of 2 throughout the spring and summer season at our study site. Finally, our study shows that structure from motion is a relatively simple method to demonstrate the potential influences of depositional processes on proxy signals in snow and ice.</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4873/2021/tc-15-4873-2021.pdf |
| spellingShingle | A. M. Zuhr A. M. Zuhr T. Münch H. C. Steen-Larsen M. Hörhold T. Laepple T. Laepple Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet The Cryosphere |
| title | Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet |
| title_full | Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet |
| title_fullStr | Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet |
| title_short | Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet |
| title_sort | local scale deposition of surface snow on the greenland ice sheet |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4873/2021/tc-15-4873-2021.pdf |
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