Measurements and Model Development of Antarctic Snow Accumulation and Transport Dynamics

该奖项是为了支持一个为期三年的项目，继续研究南极冰盖积雪积累和运输动力学的时间依赖过程，使用最近开发的系统，每隔14天自动将彩色玻璃微球分散到雪表面。微球在雪剖面中既是时间标记又是示踪剂。目前，在自动气象站附近的罗斯冰架上部署了两个装置。在现有站点再运行一年之后，它们将被转移到一个受强垂直风影响的自动气象站站点和极地高原的一个自动地球物理观测设施，并在那里运行两年，那里的降水和风吹雪特征与沿海地区非常不同。本研究将结合实验和模拟方法，试图了解控制雪的积累和雪的风驱动运输的过程。

This award is for support for a three year project to continue an on-going study of time-dependent processes of Antarctic ice sheet snow accumulation and transport dynamics, using a recently developed system which automatically disperses colored glass microspheres onto the snow surface at 14 day intervals. The microspheres act as both a time marker and tracer within the snow profiles. Currently, two units are deployed on the Ross Ice Shelf near automatic weather stations. After another year of operation at the existing sites they will be moved and operated for two years at an automatic weather station site influenced by strong katabatic winds and an automatic geophysical observatory facility on the polar plateau, where precipitation and wind-blown snow characteristics are very different from coastal regions. This research will combine experimental and modeling approaches to try to understand the processes controlling snow accumulation and wind-driven transport of snow.