Separating Net Accumulation into Precipitation and Sublimation in Firn

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0087439 WaddingtonThis award supports a project to develop the techniques for separating net accumulation into precipitation and sublimation in polar firn. The project will use existing models for firn ventilation and models for the transfer of chemical species to firn to create an integrated model of vapor and chemical species transport in firn for suites of species that respond differently to water mass loss. This forward model will predict the dependence of geochemistry on water vapor loss. The knowledge gained from these forward models will then be used to solve an inverse problem to predict the amount of water vapor sublimation and redeposition based on profiles of geochemistry in firn. This project is a necessary first step toward inferring precipitation and evaporation in ancient environments, such as are recorded in ice cores. This project will serve as the basis for a Ph.D. dissertation for a student under the direction of the P.I. Determining how to best extract climate information from firn and ultimately ice cores is the major goal of this project.