Articles | Volume 12, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-955-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-955-2018
Research article
 | 
21 Mar 2018
Research article |  | 21 Mar 2018

Meltwater storage in low-density near-surface bare ice in the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone

Matthew G. Cooper, Laurence C. Smith, Asa K. Rennermalm, Clément Miège, Lincoln H. Pitcher, Jonathan C. Ryan, Kang Yang, and Sarah W. Cooley

Data sets

Direct measurements of ice density at 1m depth in the Greenland Ice Sheet ablation zone during July 2016 from shallow ice cores Matthew G. Cooper, Laurence C. Smith, Asa K. Rennermalm, Clément Miège, Lincoln H. Pitcher, Johnny C. Ryan, Kang Yang, and Sarah Cooley https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.886744

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Short summary
We present measurements of ice density that show the melting bare-ice surface of the Greenland ice sheet study site is porous and saturated with meltwater. The data suggest up to 18 cm of meltwater is temporarily stored within porous, low-density ice. The findings imply meltwater drainage off the ice sheet surface is delayed and that the surface mass balance of the ice sheet during summer cannot be estimated solely from ice surface elevation change measurements.