Abstract Antarctic firn presents an exotic seismological environment in which the behaviors of propagating waves can be significantly at odds with those in other Earth media. We present a condensed view of the nascent field of ambient noise seismology in Antarctic firn-covered media, and highlight multiple unusual and information-rich observations framed through the lens of the firn's important role as a buffer for air temperature anomalies and a complex contributor to ice mass balance. We summarize key results from several recent papers depicting novel wind-excited firn resonances and point to the plethora of ways these observations could facilitate imaging and monitoring of glacial systems at single, isolated seismometers. Finally, we propose significant instrumental and computational objectives necessary to constrain resonance excitation mechanisms and broadly apply these observations as useful monitoring tools in Antarctica.
{"title":"The singing firn","authors":"J. Chaput, R. Aster, M. Karplus","doi":"10.1017/aog.2023.34","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.34","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Antarctic firn presents an exotic seismological environment in which the behaviors of propagating waves can be significantly at odds with those in other Earth media. We present a condensed view of the nascent field of ambient noise seismology in Antarctic firn-covered media, and highlight multiple unusual and information-rich observations framed through the lens of the firn's important role as a buffer for air temperature anomalies and a complex contributor to ice mass balance. We summarize key results from several recent papers depicting novel wind-excited firn resonances and point to the plethora of ways these observations could facilitate imaging and monitoring of glacial systems at single, isolated seismometers. Finally, we propose significant instrumental and computational objectives necessary to constrain resonance excitation mechanisms and broadly apply these observations as useful monitoring tools in Antarctica.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43720980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract It is commonly asserted that there are two distinct classes of glacier surges: slow, long-duration ‘Svalbard-type’ surges, triggered by a transition from cold- to warm-based conditions (thermal switching), and fast, shorter-duration ‘Alaska-type’ surges triggered by a reorganisation of the basal drainage system (hydraulic switching). This classification, however, reflects neither the diversity of surges in Svalbard and Alaska (and other regions), nor the fundamental dynamic processes underlying all surges. We argue that enthalpy balance theory offers a framework for understanding the spectrum of glacier surging behaviours while emphasising their essential dynamic unity. In this paper, we summarise enthalpy balance theory, illustrate its potential to explain so-called ‘Svalbard-type’ and ‘Alaska-type’ surges using a single set of principles, and show examples of a much wider range of glacier surge behaviour than previously observed. We then identify some future directions for research, including strategies for testing predictions of the theory against field and remote sensing data, and priorities for numerical model development.
{"title":"Enthalpy balance theory unifies diverse glacier surge behaviour","authors":"D. Benn, I. Hewitt, A. Luckman","doi":"10.1017/aog.2023.23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.23","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract It is commonly asserted that there are two distinct classes of glacier surges: slow, long-duration ‘Svalbard-type’ surges, triggered by a transition from cold- to warm-based conditions (thermal switching), and fast, shorter-duration ‘Alaska-type’ surges triggered by a reorganisation of the basal drainage system (hydraulic switching). This classification, however, reflects neither the diversity of surges in Svalbard and Alaska (and other regions), nor the fundamental dynamic processes underlying all surges. We argue that enthalpy balance theory offers a framework for understanding the spectrum of glacier surging behaviours while emphasising their essential dynamic unity. In this paper, we summarise enthalpy balance theory, illustrate its potential to explain so-called ‘Svalbard-type’ and ‘Alaska-type’ surges using a single set of principles, and show examples of a much wider range of glacier surge behaviour than previously observed. We then identify some future directions for research, including strategies for testing predictions of the theory against field and remote sensing data, and priorities for numerical model development.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43203621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Pearce, A. Booth, S. Rost, P. Sava, T. Konuk, A. Brisbourne, B. Hubbard, I. Jones
Abstract The density structure of firn has implications for hydrological and climate modelling and for ice shelf stability. The firn structure can be evaluated from depth models of seismic velocity, widely obtained with Herglotz-Wiechert inversion (HWI), an approach that considers the slowness of refracted seismic arrivals. However, HWI is appropriate only for steady-state firn profiles and the inversion accuracy can be compromised where firn contains ice layers. In these cases, Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) can be more successful than HWI. FWI extends HWI capabilities by considering the full seismic waveform and incorporates reflected arrivals, thus offering a more accurate estimate of a velocity profile. We show the FWI characterisation of the velocity model has an error of only 1.7% for regions (vs. 4.2% with HWI) with an ice slab (20 m thick, 40 m deep) in an otherwise steady-state firn profile.
{"title":"A synthetic study of acoustic full waveform inversion to improve seismic modelling of firn","authors":"E. Pearce, A. Booth, S. Rost, P. Sava, T. Konuk, A. Brisbourne, B. Hubbard, I. Jones","doi":"10.1017/aog.2023.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.10","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The density structure of firn has implications for hydrological and climate modelling and for ice shelf stability. The firn structure can be evaluated from depth models of seismic velocity, widely obtained with Herglotz-Wiechert inversion (HWI), an approach that considers the slowness of refracted seismic arrivals. However, HWI is appropriate only for steady-state firn profiles and the inversion accuracy can be compromised where firn contains ice layers. In these cases, Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) can be more successful than HWI. FWI extends HWI capabilities by considering the full seismic waveform and incorporates reflected arrivals, thus offering a more accurate estimate of a velocity profile. We show the FWI characterisation of the velocity model has an error of only 1.7% for regions (vs. 4.2% with HWI) with an ice slab (20 m thick, 40 m deep) in an otherwise steady-state firn profile.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44317809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Tidewater glaciers are an important and difficult part of the cryosphere to study owing to their complex nature and often inaccessible and physically challenging environments. The interaction of glacier and fjord processes furthermore presents particular observational challenges. Modelling provides a possible solution to these issues, but, at the glacier scale, the processual complexities require a 3-D full-Stokes approach that is computationally expensive. Additionally, the lack of data for model validation or constraints imposes further obstacles. Despite this, progress on modelling such glaciers with explicit inclusion of all relevant processes is being made. The key remaining challenges are including more realistic representations of calving and coupling 3-D glacier modelling with 3-D fjord circulation modelling to allow inclusion of the effect of cross-fjord circulation. We are confident, however, that these issues can be resolved and will be resolved over the next decade.
{"title":"Coupled 3-D full-Stokes modelling of tidewater glaciers","authors":"Samuel J. Cook, P. Christoffersen, Iain Wheel","doi":"10.1017/aog.2023.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.4","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Tidewater glaciers are an important and difficult part of the cryosphere to study owing to their complex nature and often inaccessible and physically challenging environments. The interaction of glacier and fjord processes furthermore presents particular observational challenges. Modelling provides a possible solution to these issues, but, at the glacier scale, the processual complexities require a 3-D full-Stokes approach that is computationally expensive. Additionally, the lack of data for model validation or constraints imposes further obstacles. Despite this, progress on modelling such glaciers with explicit inclusion of all relevant processes is being made. The key remaining challenges are including more realistic representations of calving and coupling 3-D glacier modelling with 3-D fjord circulation modelling to allow inclusion of the effect of cross-fjord circulation. We are confident, however, that these issues can be resolved and will be resolved over the next decade.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48227536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Markov, P. Talalay, M. Sysoev, Andrey Miller, A. Cherepakhin
Abstract This article presents the main aspects of the design solutions (based on the application of sensors MEMS and cantilevers), testing and applying of the multi-functional borehole logger ANTTIC (Antarctic Thermo-barometer, Inclinometer, Caliper) for geophysical high-precision monitoring (when simultaneous registering of temperature, pressure, axis inclination angle and radii of borehole cross-sections at 12 points), which is designed specifically for ultra-low temperatures and ultra-high pressures, and to determine an elliptical borehole shape and registration anisotropy factor in deep ice boreholes in the central region of Eastern Antarctica, in the areas of dome A at the Kunlun station (China) and/or of lake Vostok at the Vostok station (Russia).
{"title":"Borehole multi-functional logger for geophysical high-precision monitoring in Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and glaciers","authors":"A. Markov, P. Talalay, M. Sysoev, Andrey Miller, A. Cherepakhin","doi":"10.1017/aog.2021.17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2021.17","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article presents the main aspects of the design solutions (based on the application of sensors MEMS and cantilevers), testing and applying of the multi-functional borehole logger ANTTIC (Antarctic Thermo-barometer, Inclinometer, Caliper) for geophysical high-precision monitoring (when simultaneous registering of temperature, pressure, axis inclination angle and radii of borehole cross-sections at 12 points), which is designed specifically for ultra-low temperatures and ultra-high pressures, and to determine an elliptical borehole shape and registration anisotropy factor in deep ice boreholes in the central region of Eastern Antarctica, in the areas of dome A at the Kunlun station (China) and/or of lake Vostok at the Vostok station (Russia).","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44533795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Akane Tsushima, Morihiro Miyahara, Tetsuhide Yamasaki, Nao Esashi, Yota Sato, R. Kayastha, A. Sherpa, M. Sano, K. Fujita
Abstract We drilled an 81.2-m-long ice core in the accumulation area (5860 m a.s.l.) of Trambau Glacier in the Rolwaling region during October–November 2019. The drilling operation was conducted with a lightweight electro-mechanical drill system after two reconnaissance fieldworks in 2017 and 2018, during which two shallow firn cores were drilled with a hand auger. The drill system and ice core samples were transported by helicopters at a high elevation of 6000 m a.s.l. A further challenging issue was the ice core transportation between Nepal and Japan, as no regular commercial flight was available for the frozen samples. The addition of dry ice imported from India immediately prior to leaving Nepal allowed the ice core samples to be successfully transported to a cold room in Japan, and remain in a frozen state. Stratigraphic observations during the drilling operation suggest the drill site has been affected by melting and refreezing.
{"title":"Ice core drilling on a high-elevation accumulation zone of Trambau Glacier in the Nepal Himalaya","authors":"Akane Tsushima, Morihiro Miyahara, Tetsuhide Yamasaki, Nao Esashi, Yota Sato, R. Kayastha, A. Sherpa, M. Sano, K. Fujita","doi":"10.1017/aog.2021.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2021.15","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We drilled an 81.2-m-long ice core in the accumulation area (5860 m a.s.l.) of Trambau Glacier in the Rolwaling region during October–November 2019. The drilling operation was conducted with a lightweight electro-mechanical drill system after two reconnaissance fieldworks in 2017 and 2018, during which two shallow firn cores were drilled with a hand auger. The drill system and ice core samples were transported by helicopters at a high elevation of 6000 m a.s.l. A further challenging issue was the ice core transportation between Nepal and Japan, as no regular commercial flight was available for the frozen samples. The addition of dry ice imported from India immediately prior to leaving Nepal allowed the ice core samples to be successfully transported to a cold room in Japan, and remain in a frozen state. Stratigraphic observations during the drilling operation suggest the drill site has been affected by melting and refreezing.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41867227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. Jiskoot, D. Dahl-Jensen, Nicolas Eckert, F. Pattyn, R. Greve, T. Popp, S. B. Hansen, P. Talalay, O. Alemany, K. Kawamura, Keith Makinson, H. Motoyama, K. Nielsen, J. Schwander, Kristina R. Slawny, F. Wilhelms, G. Flowers, C. Hulbe, J. Stroeve, A. Leeson
{"title":"AOG volume 62 issue 85-86 Cover and Front matter","authors":"H. Jiskoot, D. Dahl-Jensen, Nicolas Eckert, F. Pattyn, R. Greve, T. Popp, S. B. Hansen, P. Talalay, O. Alemany, K. Kawamura, Keith Makinson, H. Motoyama, K. Nielsen, J. Schwander, Kristina R. Slawny, F. Wilhelms, G. Flowers, C. Hulbe, J. Stroeve, A. Leeson","doi":"10.1017/aog.2021.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2021.19","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45890769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joseph M. Souney, M. Twickler, M. Aydin, E. Steig, T. J. Fudge, L. V. Street, M. R. Nicewonger, Emma C. Kahle, Jay A. Johnson, Tanner W. Kuhl, K. Casey, J. Fegyveresi, R. M. Nunn, Geoffrey M. Hargreaves
An intermediate-depth (1751 m) ice core was drilled at the South Pole between 2014 and 2016 using the newly designed US Intermediate Depth Drill. The South Pole ice core is the highestresolution interior East Antarctic ice core record that extends into the glacial period. The methods used at the South Pole to handle and log the drilled ice, the procedures used to safely retrograde the ice back to the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), and the methods used to process and sample the ice at the NSF-ICF are described. The South Pole ice core exhibited minimal brittle ice, which was likely due to site characteristics and, to a lesser extent, to drill technology and core handling procedures.
{"title":"Core handling, transportation and processing for the South Pole ice core (SPICEcore) project — ERRATUM","authors":"Joseph M. Souney, M. Twickler, M. Aydin, E. Steig, T. J. Fudge, L. V. Street, M. R. Nicewonger, Emma C. Kahle, Jay A. Johnson, Tanner W. Kuhl, K. Casey, J. Fegyveresi, R. M. Nunn, Geoffrey M. Hargreaves","doi":"10.1017/aog.2021.18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2021.18","url":null,"abstract":"An intermediate-depth (1751 m) ice core was drilled at the South Pole between 2014 and 2016 using the newly designed US Intermediate Depth Drill. The South Pole ice core is the highestresolution interior East Antarctic ice core record that extends into the glacial period. The methods used at the South Pole to handle and log the drilled ice, the procedures used to safely retrograde the ice back to the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), and the methods used to process and sample the ice at the NSF-ICF are described. The South Pole ice core exhibited minimal brittle ice, which was likely due to site characteristics and, to a lesser extent, to drill technology and core handling procedures.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44906364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yazhou Li, P. Talalay, Xiaopeng Fan, Bing Li, Jialin Hong
Abstract Hot-point drills have been widely used for drilling boreholes in glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets. A hot-point drill melts ice through the thermal head at its bottom end. Penetration occurs through a close-contact melting (CCM) process, in which the ice is melted, and the meltwater is squeezed out by the exerted force applied on the thermal head. During the drilling, a thin water film is formed to separate the thermal head from the surrounding ice. For the hot-point drill, the rate of penetration (ROP) is influenced by several variables, such as thermal head shape, buoyancy corrected force (BCF), thermal head power (or temperature) and ice temperature. In this study, we developed a model to describe the CCM process, where a constant power or temperature on the working surface of a thermal head is assumed. The model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3a software to evaluate the effects of different variables on the CCM process. It was discovered that the effect of thermal head shape and the cone angle of conical thermal head on ROP is less significant, whereas the increase in the BCF and the power (or temperature) of the thermal head can continuously enhance the ROP.
{"title":"Modeling of hot-point drilling in ice","authors":"Yazhou Li, P. Talalay, Xiaopeng Fan, Bing Li, Jialin Hong","doi":"10.1017/aog.2021.16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2021.16","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Hot-point drills have been widely used for drilling boreholes in glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets. A hot-point drill melts ice through the thermal head at its bottom end. Penetration occurs through a close-contact melting (CCM) process, in which the ice is melted, and the meltwater is squeezed out by the exerted force applied on the thermal head. During the drilling, a thin water film is formed to separate the thermal head from the surrounding ice. For the hot-point drill, the rate of penetration (ROP) is influenced by several variables, such as thermal head shape, buoyancy corrected force (BCF), thermal head power (or temperature) and ice temperature. In this study, we developed a model to describe the CCM process, where a constant power or temperature on the working surface of a thermal head is assumed. The model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3a software to evaluate the effects of different variables on the CCM process. It was discovered that the effect of thermal head shape and the cone angle of conical thermal head on ROP is less significant, whereas the increase in the BCF and the power (or temperature) of the thermal head can continuously enhance the ROP.","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45980936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"AOG volume 62 issue 85-86 Cover and Back matter","authors":"","doi":"10.1017/aog.2021.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2021.20","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8211,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Glaciology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41274418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}