Articles | Volume 16, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2683-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2683-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Jul 2022
Research article |
| 08 Jul 2022
| 08 Jul 2022
Modeling enhanced firn densification due to strain softening
Falk M. Oraschewski
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Physics of Ice, Climate, and Earth, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Aslak Grinsted
Physics of Ice, Climate, and Earth, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Short summary
Old snow (denoted as firn) accumulates in the interior of ice sheets and gets densified into glacial ice. Typically, this densification is assumed to only depend on temperature and accumulation rate. However, it has been observed that stretching of the firn by horizontal flow also enhances this process. Here, we show how to include this effect in classical firn models. With the model we confirm that softening of the firn controls firn densification in areas with strong horizontal stretching.
Old snow (denoted as firn) accumulates in the interior of ice sheets and gets densified into...
