Combining traditional and novel techniques to increase our understanding of the lock-in depth of atmospheric gases in polar ice cores – results from the EastGRIP region - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue The Cryosphere Année : 2024

Combining traditional and novel techniques to increase our understanding of the lock-in depth of atmospheric gases in polar ice cores – results from the EastGRIP region

Julien Westhoff
Michael Dyonisius
Xavier Faïn
Thomas Blunier

Résumé

We investigate the lock-in zone (LIZ) of the East Greenland Ice Core Project (EastGRIP) region, northeastern Greenland, in detail. We present results from the firn airpumping campaign of the S6 borehole, forward modeling, and a novel technique for finding the lock-in depth (LID, the top of the LIZ) based on the visual stratigraphy of the EastGRIP ice core. The findings in this work help to deepen our knowledge of how atmospheric gases are trapped in ice cores. CO2 , δ$^{15}N, and CH4 data suggest that the LID lies around 58 to 61 m depth. With the pixel value intensity and bright-spot analysis based on visual stratigraphy, we can pinpoint a change in ice properties to exactly 58.3 m depth, which we define as the optical lock-in depth (OLID). This visual change in ice properties is caused by the formation of rounded and enclosed air bubbles that alter the measured refraction of the light pathways. The results for the LID and OLID agree accurately on the depth. We furthermore use the visual stratigraphy images to obtain information on the sharpness of the open-to closed-porosity transition. Combining traditional methods with the independent optical method presented here, we can now better constrain the bubble closure processes in polar firn.

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Dates et versions

hal-04711650 , version 1 (27-09-2024)

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Julien Westhoff, Johannes Freitag, Anaïs Orsi, Patricia Martinerie, Ilka Weikusat, et al.. Combining traditional and novel techniques to increase our understanding of the lock-in depth of atmospheric gases in polar ice cores – results from the EastGRIP region. The Cryosphere, 2024, 18 (9), pp.4379 - 4397. ⟨10.5194/tc-18-4379-2024⟩. ⟨hal-04711650⟩
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