Near-Surface Processes Affecting Gas Exchange: West Antarctic Ice Sheet

该奖项支持一个项目，以研究影响空气中的热量，蒸汽和化学物质被纳入雪和极地积雪的方式的物理过程。 这些过程包括平流、扩散和太阳辐射穿透到雪中的影响。 对这些过程的理解是重要的，因为它们控制着大气中反应性和非反应性化学物质进入雪、积雪和极地冰的速率，从而影响对极地冰芯数据的解释。 目前，对极地冰芯数据的解释假设扩散控制着化学物质进入积雪的速度。 这个项目将确定通风，或平流的物种在积雪中的空气运动，和辐射穿透过程有显着的效果。 将在两个西南极冰盖深钻地点进行实地研究，以确定关键参数的空间和时间范围，以及模拟平流、传导和辐射传输/吸收过程所需的边界条件。 现有的多维数值模型正在扩大，以模拟的过程，并作为正在进行的和未来的工作的基础上，在运输和分布的反应性化学物种。

This award supports a project to examine the physical processes that affect the manner in which heat, vapor and chemical species in air are incorporated into snow and polar firn. The processes include advection, diffusion, and the effects of solar radiation penetration into the snow. An understanding of these processes is important because they control the rate at which reactive and non-reactive chemical species in the atmosphere become incorporated into the snow, firn, and polar ice, and thus will affect interpretation of polar ice core data. Currently, the interpretation of polar ice core data assumes that diffusion controls the rate at which chemical species are incorporated into firn. This project will determine whether ventilation, or advection of the species by air movement in the firn, and radiation penetration processes have a significant effect. Field studies at the two West Antarctic ice sheet deep drilling sites will be conducted to determine the spatial and temporal extent for key parameters, and boundary conditions needed to model the advection, conduction, and radiation transmission/absorption processes. An existing multidimensional numerical model is being expanded to simulate the processes and to serve as the basis for ongoing and future work in transport and distribution of reactive chemical species.