气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Bulk meltwater flow and liquid water content of snowpacks mapped using the electrical self-potential (SP) method

CCPortal

DOI	10.5194/tc-10-433-2016
	Bulk meltwater flow and liquid water content of snowpacks mapped using the electrical self-potential (SP) method
	Thompson S.S.; Kulessa B.; Essery R.L.H.; Lüthi M.P.
发表日期	2016
ISSN	19940416
卷号	10 期号:1
英文摘要	Our ability to measure, quantify and assimilate hydrological properties and processes of snow in operational models is disproportionally poor compared to the significance of seasonal snowmelt as a global water resource and major risk factor in flood and avalanche forecasting. We show here that strong electrical self-potential fields are generated in melting in situ snowpacks at Rhone Glacier and Jungfraujoch Glacier, Switzerland. In agreement with theory, the diurnal evolution of self-potential magnitudes (∼60-250 mV) relates to those of bulk meltwater fluxes (0-1.2×10-6 m3 s-1) principally through the permeability and the content, electrical conductivity and pH of liquid water. Previous work revealed that when fresh snow melts, ions are eluted in sequence and electrical conductivity, pH and self-potential data change diagnostically. Our snowpacks had experienced earlier stages of melt, and complementary snow pit measurements revealed that electrical conductivity (∼1-5×10-6 Sm-1) and pH (∼6.5-6.7) as well as permeabilities (respectively ∼9.7×10-5 and ∼4.3×10-5 m2 at Rhone Glacier and Jungfraujoch Glacier) were invariant. This implies, first, that preferential elution of ions was complete and, second, that our self-potential measurements reflect daily changes in liquid water contents. These were calculated to increase within the pendular regime from ∼1 to 5 and ∼3 to 5.5% respectively at Rhone Glacier and Jungfraujoch Glacier, as confirmed by ground truth measurements. We conclude that the electrical self-potential method is a promising snow and firn hydrology sensor owing to its suitability for (1) sensing lateral and vertical liquid water flows directly and minimally invasively, (2) complementing established observational programs through multidimensional spatial mapping of meltwater fluxes or liquid water content and (3) monitoring autonomously at a low cost. Future work should focus on the development of self-potential sensor arrays compatible with existing weather and snow monitoring technology and observational programs, and the integration of self-potential data into analytical frameworks.
学科领域	electrical conductivity; flood forecasting; flux measurement; hydrological modeling; mapping; meltwater; monitoring system; self potential; sensor; snow avalanche; snowmelt; snowpack; water content; water flow; water resource; Antarctica; Bern [Switzerland]; East Antarctica; Jungfraujoch; Rhone Glacier [East Antarctica]; Switzerland
语种	英语
scopus关键词	electrical conductivity; flood forecasting; flux measurement; hydrological modeling; mapping; meltwater; monitoring system; self potential; sensor; snow avalanche; snowmelt; snowpack; water content; water flow; water resource; Antarctica; Bern [Switzerland]; East Antarctica; Jungfraujoch; Rhone Glacier [East Antarctica]; Switzerland
来源期刊	Cryosphere
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/119699
作者单位	Department of Arctic Geology, University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Svalbard, Norway; Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom; Institute of Global Change, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziology (VAW), ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Thompson S.S.,Kulessa B.,Essery R.L.H.,et al. Bulk meltwater flow and liquid water content of snowpacks mapped using the electrical self-potential (SP) method[J],2016,10(1).
APA	Thompson S.S.,Kulessa B.,Essery R.L.H.,&Lüthi M.P..(2016).Bulk meltwater flow and liquid water content of snowpacks mapped using the electrical self-potential (SP) method.Cryosphere,10(1).
MLA	Thompson S.S.,et al."Bulk meltwater flow and liquid water content of snowpacks mapped using the electrical self-potential (SP) method".Cryosphere 10.1(2016).