Some numerical experiments on firn ventilation with heat transfer

Abstract

Preliminary estimates of the thermal signature of ventilation in polar firn are obtained from two-dimensional numerical calculations. The simulations show that spatially varying surface pressure can induce airflow velocities of 10−5m s−1at 1.5 m depth in uniform firn, and higher velocities closer to the surface. The two-dimensional heat-transfer results generally agree with our earlier one-dimensional conclusions that the thermal effects of ventilation tend to decrease the temperature gradient in the top portions of the pack. Field observations of ventilation through temperature measurements are most likely to be observed when the firn temperature at depths on the order of 10 m is close to the air temperature, since steep temperature gradients can mask the thermal effects of ventilation. Preliminary indications are that, as long as surface-pressure amplitude is sufficient to move the air about in the top tens of centimeters in the snow, the resulting temperature profile during ventilation is fairly insensitive to the frequency of the surface-pressure forcing for pressure frequencies in the range 0.1–10.0 Hz.