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We date a recent ice-flow reorganization of an ice divide in the Weddell Sea Sector, West Antarctica, using a novel combination of inverse methods and ice-penetrating radars. We invert for two-dimensional ice flow within an ice divide from data collected with a phase-sensitive ice-penetrating radar while accounting for the effect of firn on radar propagation and ice flow. By comparing isochronal layers simulated using radar-derived flow velocities with internal layers observed with an impulse radar, we show that the divide's internal structure is not in a steady state but underwent a disturbance, potentially implying a regional ice-flow reorganization, 2.5 (1.8–2.9) kyr B.P. Our data are consistent with slow ice flow in this location before the reorganization and the ice divide subsequently remaining stationary. These findings increase our knowledge of the glacial history of a region that lacks dated constraints on late-Holocene ice-sheet retreat and provides a key target for models that reconstruct and predict ice-sheet behavior

Translating satellite measurements of ice sheet volume change into sea level contribution requires knowledge of the profile of density as a function of depth within the ice sheet, and how this profile changes over time. This paper describes an interferometric method of inverting ground-penetrating radar returns for the profile of firn density as a function of depth. The method is an interferometric implementation of the common-midpoint approach, performed using a stepped-frequency, phase-sensitive ground-penetrating radar. By recording the phase difference of returns with a range of antenna separations, the different path lengths through the firn allow recovery of a smoothed representation of the density profile. This density model is characterised by three parameters: surface density and two decay lengths for porosity, each operating over a different density range. Our results suggest that the stepped-frequency radar used here can accurately recover differences in two-way travel time and produce useful estimates of the density profile. In a test of the method performed at Summit station in Greenland, the recovered density-depth profile agreed with indepenent density measurements from an ice core and a neutron probe to within 6% root-mean-square error.

We describe in situ measurements of the compaction of Antarctic snow. At three different sites in Antarctica, the rate of compaction was measured hourly, over various depth intervals, for up to two years. These measurements show that compaction at each of the sites occurs through slow, viscous deformation of the snowpack, with no significant contribution from sudden collapse of weak layers. The measured rates of compaction at the coldest site exhibit a strong seasonality, consistent with a temperature-dependent sintering mechanism having activation energy of 70 kJ mol(-1). At the two warmer sites, activation energies of 80 and 120 kJ mol(-1) provide slightly better agreement with the observations. Published models of snow compaction underestimate the temperature sensitivity. A good match to our observations is provided by a semi-empirical model, based on rate equations for lattice-diffusion (Nabarro-Herring) creep of material around pores, combined with normal grain growth. This model also provides a theoretical basis for a widely used empirical model of snow compaction. The rate coefficient for lattice-diffusion inferred from our measurements is considerably higher than published values, however, and other creep mechanisms cannot be ruled out.

Different parts of Antarctica receive different amounts of snowfall each year. In this paper we map the variations of the mean annual snow accumulation across the ice sheet. We also quantify the uncertainty in our estimates more objectively than has been possible for earlier maps. The new map is produced using observations from satellites and ground-based measurements. After a logarithmic transformation, these are combined using the geostatistical method of continuous-part universal kriging to give an estimate of the snow accumulation within each cell of a rectangular grid covering Antarctica. We also derive spatial averages over the major drainage systems of the ice sheet, along with their confidence intervals. We obtain a value of 143 ± 4 kg m−2 a−1 for the average rate of snow accumulation upon the grounded ice sheet of Antarctica.