The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
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Articles | Volume 15, issue 2
Articles | Volume 15, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-695-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-695-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 15, issue 2
Research article
 | 
15 Feb 2021
Research article |  | 15 Feb 2021

An exploratory modelling study of perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula for the period 1979–2016

J. Melchior van Wessem, Christian R. Steger, Nander Wever, and Michiel R. van den Broeke

Data sets

PFA data Utrecht University https://www.projects.science.uu.nl/iceclimate/publications/data/2021/index.php

Surface Mass Balance and Snow Depth on Sea Ice Working Group (SUMup) snow density subdataset, Greenland and Antartica, 1950-2018 L. Koenig and L. Montgomery https://doi.org/10.18739/A26D5PB2S

Borehole density profiles reconstructed from calibrated optical televiewer (OPTV) logs from the northern sector of Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica B. Hubbard and D. Ashmore https://doi.org/10.5285/c5fa84fb-f6e3-4780-8517-de0f78b62ea3

Model code and software

snowpack-model/snowpack: c1e5cd7 (Version c1e5cd7) SNOWPACK team https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3891846

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Short summary
This study presents the first modelled estimates of perennial firn aquifers (PFAs) in Antarctica. PFAs are subsurface meltwater bodies that do not refreeze in winter due to the isolating effects of the snow they are buried underneath. They were first identified in Greenland, but conditions for their existence are also present in the Antarctic Peninsula. These PFAs can have important effects on meltwater retention, ice shelf stability, and, consequently, sea level rise.
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