Spa$al

Distribu$on of Close-O Depth, Age and Porosity in the

Greenland Ice Sheet
Huong Vo, C. Max Stevens, Michael Yoon, Edwin D. Waddington
Department of Earth & Space Sciences University of Washington, SeaEle

Abstract

Ice cores from dry snow zones provide a record of Earths past climate
history and atmospheric composiFon for up to 800,000 years. In order to
interpret ice-core data accurately, scienFsts must know the dierence
between the age of the ice and the age of the air trapped within (delta
age). In addiFon, satellite-based measurements of ice-sheet elevaFon
changes must be accompanied by esFmates of the air content, or depth-
integrated porosity of the rn, in order to infer rates of mass gain or loss.
The rn physics group at University of Washington is developing an open
source Community Firn Model to simulate rn densicaFon and gas-
transport processes. Here, we have used to community model to
calculate the spaFal distribuFon of depth and age of the rn at pore
close-o, as well as the depth-integrated porosity, using gridded mean-
annual temperature and accumulaFon data for Greenland (Box et al.,
2013). Our results can contribute to a beEer understanding of past
climate changes and future predicFons.

Background

Ice sheets are formed in regions where there is a net annual

accumulaFon of snow. Fallen snow begins to compact and is called
rn. Firn conFnues to become denser unFl it becomes glacial ice
Firn is a porous material, and atmospheric gases diuse freely
through the pore space. As the rn approaches the density of ice, the
pathways connecFng the pores close o and trap bubbles of air

Densification
Firn compacts by grain
settling and packing

Physical Processes in Firn

Ice Surface

Gas Transport
Gas moves through
firn by convection
~5m

~ 550 kg/m3

Gas moves slowly by

diffusion

Firn compacts by sintering

~ 820 kg/m3

Firn has turned to ice. Firn

is 100s to 1000s years old.
The bubbly ice continues
to densify to 918 kg/m3.

~ 80 m

Bubbles of gas become

trapped in ice. Gas is ~10 100 years old.

The depth and age at

which the rn turns
into ice and bubbles
become trapped is
referred to as the
bubble close-o
depth and age.
The depth and age at
which the rn turns
into ice and bubbles
become trapped is
referred to as the
bubble close-o
depth and age

MoFvaFon

Air bubbles trapped in glacial ice provide a direct

measurement of atmospheric composiFon at the Fme

that the bubbles were formed
By analyzing bubbles in ice cores, we can study the
atmospheric histories of greenhouse gases and trace
gases
Knowing the spaFal distribuFon of bubble close-o depth
and age can help guide future ice-core site selecFons for
invesFgaFon of these gases
Knowing the depth-integrated porosity is essenFal for
accurately esFmaFng mass changes in the ice sheets and
predicFng sea level changes
AccumulaFon Rate

Close-O Depth

Age of Firn at Close-O

Methods

Monthly snow accumulaFon and temperature data for years

1840 2012 were collected (Box et al., 2013) and used to
nd mean accumulaFon rate and temperature for Greenland
on a 5-km grid.
We ran the Herron and Langway (1980) rn-densicaFon
model using the gridded temperature and accumulaFon-rate
data (surface density was 360 kg m-3). We used the model
output to calculate the bubble close-o depth and age and
depth-integrated porosity for Greenland on the 5-km grid.
-Bubble-close o density was calculated using the
MarFnerie et al. (1992) close-o criterion
The results were mapped using QGIS. The wet-snow zone
was masked out using melt extent data (AbdalaF, 2007)

Close-O Age

Depth-Integrated Porosity

Depth of Firn at Close-O

Temperature

Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Jason E. Box for providing the data for this project. This work
is supported by the NSF PIRE ICEICS grant as well as the NASA Space Grant
ConsorFum.
References
AbdalaF, Waleed. 2007. Greenland Ice Sheet Melt CharacterisFcs Derived from Passive Microwave Data, 1979 - 1987. Boulder, Colorado USA: NaFonal Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.
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MarFnerie, P., Raymaud, D., Etheridge, D. M., Barnola, J. M. & Mazaudier, D. 1992. Physical and climaFc parameters which inuence the air content in polar ice. Earth and planetary science leEers., 112, 1.
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