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Ice

Superimposed ice formation and degradation

Research areas:

Glacier mass balance, snowpack evolution, meltwater refreezing

Region:

Southwest Greenland

Start year:

2016

End year:

2018

Funding:

The Greenlandic Research Council

Partners:

GEUS

Sille Marie Myreng

Project leader

Meltwater refreezing in the snow pack or on the ice surface can be a crucial component in the annual mass balance of a glacier. This study seeks to improve knowledge of these processes, through thorough field studies combined with sophisticated models of surface energy balance and subsurface water- and temperature regimes.

The aims of the project is to (I) quantify superimposed ice formation and its relevance to surface mass balance for a Greenland glacier, (II) quantify the drivers of superimposed ice formation and (III) the atmospheric processes that lead to its degradation.