Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica
Geothermal heat flux (GHF) is an important control on the dynamics of Antarctica's ice sheet because it controls basal melt and internal deformation. However, it is hard to estimate because of a lack of in-situ measurements. Estimating GHF from ice-borehole temperature profiles is possible by c...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143020000271/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811155817004531712 |
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| author | Laura Mony Jason L. Roberts Jacqueline A. Halpin |
| author_facet | Laura Mony Jason L. Roberts Jacqueline A. Halpin |
| author_sort | Laura Mony |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Geothermal heat flux (GHF) is an important control on the dynamics of Antarctica's ice sheet because it controls basal melt and internal deformation. However, it is hard to estimate because of a lack of in-situ measurements. Estimating GHF from ice-borehole temperature profiles is possible by combining a heat-transfer equation and the physical properties of the ice sheet in a numerical model. In this study, we truncate ice-borehole temperature profiles to determine the minimum ratio of temperature profile depth to ice-sheet thickness required to produce acceptable GHF estimations. For Law Dome, a temperature profile that is within 60% of the local ice thickness is sufficient for an estimation that is within approximately one median absolute deviation of the whole-profile GHF estimation. This result is compared with the temperature profiles at Dome Fuji and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide which require a temperature profile that is 80% and more than 91% of the ice thickness, respectively, for comparable accuracy. In deriving GHF median estimations from truncated temperature profiles, it is possible to discriminate between available GHF models. This is valuable for assessing and constraining future GHF models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:41:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b383200fbed2423caa86fc9986aa67c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:41:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b383200fbed2423caa86fc9986aa67c12023-03-09T12:40:55ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522020-06-016650951910.1017/jog.2020.27Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East AntarcticaLaura Mony0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7181-7833Jason L. Roberts1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3477-4069Jacqueline A. Halpin2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4992-8681Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 129, Hobart, Tasmania7001, AustraliaAustralian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania7050, Australia Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 80, Hobart, Tasmania7001, AustraliaInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 129, Hobart, Tasmania7001, AustraliaGeothermal heat flux (GHF) is an important control on the dynamics of Antarctica's ice sheet because it controls basal melt and internal deformation. However, it is hard to estimate because of a lack of in-situ measurements. Estimating GHF from ice-borehole temperature profiles is possible by combining a heat-transfer equation and the physical properties of the ice sheet in a numerical model. In this study, we truncate ice-borehole temperature profiles to determine the minimum ratio of temperature profile depth to ice-sheet thickness required to produce acceptable GHF estimations. For Law Dome, a temperature profile that is within 60% of the local ice thickness is sufficient for an estimation that is within approximately one median absolute deviation of the whole-profile GHF estimation. This result is compared with the temperature profiles at Dome Fuji and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide which require a temperature profile that is 80% and more than 91% of the ice thickness, respectively, for comparable accuracy. In deriving GHF median estimations from truncated temperature profiles, it is possible to discriminate between available GHF models. This is valuable for assessing and constraining future GHF models.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143020000271/type/journal_articleGlacier geophysicsice coreice dynamicsice temperature |
| spellingShingle | Laura Mony Jason L. Roberts Jacqueline A. Halpin Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Glacier geophysics ice core ice dynamics ice temperature |
| title | Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica |
| title_full | Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica |
| title_fullStr | Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica |
| title_short | Inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice-borehole temperature profile at Law Dome, East Antarctica |
| title_sort | inferring geothermal heat flux from an ice borehole temperature profile at law dome east antarctica |
| topic | Glacier geophysics ice core ice dynamics ice temperature |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143020000271/type/journal_article |
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