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One-year records from automatic snow stations in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2013

Onni Järvinen ,
Matti Leppäranta  and
Juho Vehviläinen
Onni Järvinen*
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, PO Box 48 (Erik Palménin aukio 1), FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Matti Leppäranta
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, PO Box 48 (Erik Palménin aukio 1), FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Juho Vehviläinen
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, PO Box 48 (Erik Palménin aukio 1), FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

Two automatic snow stations were deployed for one year (from December 2009–January 2011) in western Dronning Maud Land. The purposes of the experiment were: 1) to build a working snow station to measure the snow surface layer temperature, and 2) to use the data for snow heat and mass balance investigations. The data collection was successful and lasted about 400 days (9 December 2009–21 January 2011). The annual net snow accumulation at snow station 2 (continental ice sheet) was 86 cm (345 mm water equivalent) and at snow station 1 (ice shelf) more than 150 cm. The power spectra revealed daily cycle, synoptic scale variability, and variability in a low-frequency band of 60–120 days at a depth of 54 cm. The snow-air heat flux was estimated from the data, resulting in negative values (from snow to air) during autumn and winter and positive values (from air to snow) in spring and summer. The physical characterization of snow stratigraphy was done during installation and retrieval of the snow stations, including density, hardness (hand test), stratigraphy, and grain size and shape.

Keywords

heat budgetmass balancepower spectrasnow accumulationsnow physicsthermal conductivity
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 711 - 728
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

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