Description: The onset and high upstream ice surface velocities of the North East Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) are not yet well reproducible in ice sheet models. A major uncertainty remains the understanding of basal sliding and a parameterization of basal conditions. In this study, we assess the slow-flowing part of the NEGIS in a systematic analysis of the basal conditions and investigate the increased ice flow. We analyze the spectral basal roughness in correlation with basal return power from an airborne radar survey with AWIs ultra-wideband radar system in 2018 and compare our results with current ice flow geometry and ice surface flow. We observe a roughness anisotropy where the ice stream widens, indicating a change from a smooth and soft bed to a harder bedrock as well as the evolution of elongated subglacial landforms. In addition, at the upstream part of the NEGIS we find a clear zoning of the bedrock return power, indicating an increased water content at the base of the ice stream. At the downstream part, we observe an increased bedrock return power throughout the entire width of the ice stream and outside its margins, indicating enhanced melting and the distribution of basal water beyond the shear zones.

Description: To resolve the mechanisms behind the major climate reorganisation which occurred between 0.9 and 1.2Ma, the recovery of a suitable 1.5 million-year-old ice core is fundamental. The quest for such an Oldest Ice core requires a number of key boundary conditions, of which the poorly known basal geothermal heat flux (GHF) is lacking. We use a transient thermodynamical 1D vertical model that solves for the rate of change of temperature in the vertical, with surface temperature and modelled GHF as boundary conditions. For each point on the ice sheet, the model is forced with variations in atmospheric conditions over the last 2Ma, and modelled ice-thickness variations. The process is repeated for a range of GHF values to determine the value of GHF that marks the limit between frozen and melting conditions over the whole ice sheet, taking into account 2Ma of climate history. These threshold values of GHF are statistically compared to existing GHF data sets. The new probabilistic GHF fields obtained for the ice sheet thus provide the missing boundary conditions in the search for Oldest Ice. High spatial resolution radar data are examined locally in the Dome Fuji and Dome C regions, as these represent the ice core community's primary drilling sites. GHF, bedrock variability, ice thickness and other essential criteria combined highlight a dozen major potential Oldest Ice sites in the vicinity of Dome Fuji and Dome C, where GHF allows for Oldest Ice.

Description: We investigate the propagation of seismic waves in anisotropic ice. Two effects are important: (i) sudden changes in crystal orientation fabric (COF) lead to englacial reflections; (ii) the anisotropic fabric induces an angle dependency on the seismic velocities and, thus, recorded travel times. Velocities calculated from the polycrystal elasticity tensor derived for the anisotropic fabric from measured COF eigenvalues of the EDML ice core, Antarctica, show good agreement with the velocity trend determined from vertical seismic profiling. The agreement of the absolute velocity values, however, depends on the choice of the monocrystal elasticity tensor used for the calculation of the polycrystal properties. We make use of abrupt changes in COF as a common reflection mechanism for seismic and radar data below the firn–ice transition to determine COF-induced reflections in either data set by joint comparison with ice-core data. Our results highlight the possibility to complement regional radar surveys with local, surface-based seismic experiments to separate isochrones in radar data from other mechanisms. This is important for the reconnaissance of future ice-core drill sites, where accurate isochrone (i.e. non-COF) layer integrity allows for synchronization with other cores, as well as studies of ice dynamics considering non-homogeneous ice viscosity from preferred crystal orientations.

Description: The widely used detailed SNOWPACK model has undergone constant development over the years. A notable recent extension is the introduction of a Richards equation (RE) solver as an alternative for the bucket-type approach for describing water transport in the snow and soil layers. In addition, continuous updates of snow settling and new snow density parameterizations have changed model behavior. This study presents a detailed evaluation of model performance against a comprehensive multiyear data set from Weissfluhjoch near Davos, Switzerland. The data set is collected by automatic meteorological and snowpack measurements and manual snow profiles. During the main winter season, snow height (RMSE: 〈 4.2 cm), snow water equivalent (SWE, RMSE: 〈 40 mm w.e.), snow temperature distributions (typical deviation with measurements: 〈 1.0 °C) and snow density (typical deviation with observations: 〈 50 kg m−3) as well as their temporal evolution are well simulated in the model and the influence of the two water transport schemes is small. The RE approach reproduces internal differences over capillary barriers but fails to predict enough grain growth since the growth routines have been calibrated using the bucket scheme in the original SNOWPACK model. However, the agreement in both density and grain size is sufficient to parameterize the hydraulic properties successfully. In the melt season, a pronounced underestimation of typically 200 mm w.e. in SWE is found. The discrepancies between the simulations and the field data are generally larger than the differences between the two water transport schemes. Nevertheless, the detailed comparison of the internal snowpack structure shows that the timing of internal temperature and water dynamics is adequately and better represented with the new RE approach when compared to the conventional bucket scheme. On the contrary, the progress of the meltwater front in the snowpack as detected by radar and the temporal evolution of the vertical distribution of melt forms in manually observed snow profiles do not support this conclusion. This discrepancy suggests that the implementation of RE partly mimics preferential flow effects.

Description: We investigate the propagation of seismic waves in anisotropic ice. Two effects are important: (i) sudden changes in crystal orientation fabric (COF) lead to englacial reflections; (ii) the anisotropic fabric induces an angle dependency on the seismic velocities and, thus, recorded traveltimes. Velocities calculated from the polycrystal elasticity tensor derived for the anisotropic fabric from measured COF eigenvalues of the EDML ice core, Antarctica, show good agreement with the velocity trend determined from a vertical seismic profiling. The agreement of the absolute velocity values, however, depends on the choice of the monocrystal elasticity tensor used for the calculation of the polycrystal properties. With this validation of seismic velocities we make use of abrupt changes in COF as common reflection mechanism for seismic and radar data below the firn–ice transition to investigate their occurrence by comparison with ice-core data. Our results highlight the possibility to complement regional radar surveys with local, surface-based seismic deployment to separate isochrones in radar data from other mechanisms. This is important for the reconnaissance of future ice-core drill sites, where accurate isochrone (i.e. non-COF) layer integrity allows for synchronization with other cores, as well as studies of ice dynamics considering non-homogeneous viscosity from preferred crystal orientations.

Description: A preferred orientation of the anisotropic ice crystals influences the viscosity of the ice bulk and the dynamic behaviour of glaciers and ice sheets. Knowledge about the distribution of crystal anisotropy, to understand its contribution to ice dynamics, is mainly provided by crystal orientation fabric (COF) data from ice cores. However, the developed anisotropic fabric does not only influence the flow behaviour of ice, but also the propagation of seismic waves. Two effects are important: (i) sudden changes in COF lead to englacial reflections and (ii) the anisotropic fabric induces an angle dependency on the seismic velocities and, thus, also recorded traveltimes. A framework is presented here to connect COF data with the elasticity tensor to determine seismic velocities and reflection coefficients for cone and girdle fabrics from ice-core data. We connect the microscopic anisotropy of the crystals with the macroscopic anisotropy of the ice mass, observable with seismic methods. Elasticity tensors for different fabrics are calculated and used to investigate the influence of the anisotropic ice fabric on seismic velocities and reflection coefficients, englacially as well as for the ice-bed contact. Our work, therefore, provides a contribution to remotely determine the state of bulk ice anisotropy.

Description: A preferred orientation of the anisotropic ice crystals influences the viscosity of the ice bulk and the dynamic behaviour of glaciers and ice sheets. Knowledge about the distribution of crystal anisotropy is mainly provided by crystal orientation fabric (COF) data from ice cores. However, the developed anisotropic fabric influences not only the flow behaviour of ice but also the propagation of seismic waves. Two effects are important: (i) sudden changes in COF lead to englacial reflections, and (ii) the anisotropic fabric induces an angle dependency on the seismic velocities and, thus, recorded travel times. A framework is presented here to connect COF data from ice cores with the elasticity tensor to determine seismic velocities and reflection coefficients for cone and girdle fabrics.We connect the microscopic anisotropy of the crystals with the macroscopic anisotropy of the ice mass, observable with seismic methods. Elasticity tensors for different fabrics are calculated and used to investigate the influence of the anisotropic ice fabric on seismic velocities and reflection coefficients, englacially as well as for the ice–bed contact. Hence, it is possible to remotely determine the bulk ice anisotropy.

Description: Over the past 70 years, many different components of the cryosphere have been imaged with a variety of radar systems using increasingly sophisticated processing techniques. These systems use various pulse lengths, signal frequencies and, in some cases, modulated signals. The increasing diversity of radar systems has created the potential for confusion due to the use of non-consistent terminology. Here we provide an overview of state-of-the-science radar technologies and suggest a simplified and unified terminology for use by the cryosphere community. We recommend a terminology that is target independent but specifies the characteristics of the signal. Following this recommendation, commercial impulse systems that penetrate the subsurface should be referred to as ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and pulse radars as radio-echo sounding (RES). Continuous-wave (CW) radar systems should be referred to as ground-penetrating CW radars. We further suggest any additional characterisation of the system be expressed using descriptors that specify the platform it is mounted on (e.g. airborne) or the frequency range (e.g. HF (high frequency)) or modulation (e.g. FM (frequency modulated)).

Description: The European Beyond EPICA project aims to extract a continuous ice core of up to 1.5 Ma, with a maximum age density of 20 kyr m-1 at Little Dome C (LDC). We present a 1D numerical model which calculates the age of the ice around Dome C. The model inverts for basal conditions and accounts either for melting or for a layer of stagnant ice above the bedrock. It is constrained by internal reflecting horizons traced in radargrams and dated using the EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core age profile. We used three different radar datasets ranging from a 10 000 km2 airborne survey down to 5 km long ground-based radar transects over LDC. We find that stagnant ice exists in many places, including above the LDC relief where the new Beyond EPICA drill site (BELDC) is located. The modelled thickness of this layer of stagnant ice roughly corresponds to the thickness of the basal unit observed in one of the radar surveys and in the autonomous phase-sensitive radio-echo sounder (ApRES) dataset. At BELDC, the modelled stagnant ice thickness is 198±44 m and the modelled oldest age of ice is 1.45±0.16 Ma at a depth of 2494±30 m. This is very similar to all sites situated on the LDC relief, including that of the Million Year Ice Core project being conducted by the Australian Antarctic Division. The model was also applied to radar data in the area 10-15 km north of EDC (North Patch), where we find either a thin layer of stagnant ice (generally 〈60 m) or a negligible melt rate (〈0.1 mm yr-1). The modelled maximum age at North Patch is over 2 Ma in most places, with ice at 1.5 Ma having a resolution of 9-12 kyr m-1, making it an exciting prospect for a future Oldest Ice drill site.

Description: In the text, the citation that reads "Felix and King, 2011"should read "Ng and King, 2011". Likewise, the reference that reads "Felix N and King EC (2011) Kinematic waves in polar firn stratigraphy. Journal of Glaciology 57(206), 1119–1134. doi: 10.3189/002214311798843340.” Should read “Ng F and King EC (2011) Kinematic waves in polar firn stratigraphy. Journal of Glaciology 57(206), 1119–1134. doi: 10.3189/002214311798843340".