Spatial variability of density stratigraphy and melt features for two polar snowpacks in Greenland and East Antarctica

As a result, there is growing interest in quantifying and understanding the stratigraphy of the snowpack and its spatial variability. Melting and refreezing significantly impact the density layering.

Melt frequencies observed in polar ice cores are commonly used as markers for extreme summer temperatures. Moreover, the evolution of a seasonal cycle in density with depth is not well-understood as all of these aspects require extensive field data. To provide a larger sample size, we analyzed snow cores up to 5 m depth from two sampling sites on the Greenlandic and East Antarctic plateaus and determined the spatial distribution of melt features along two orthogonal trench walls of 60 m length and 4 m depth for the Greenland site.