The Greenland Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) Dataset, 2013-2019

Assessing changes in the density of snow and firn is vital to convert volume changes into mass changes on glaciers and ice sheets. Firn models simulate this process but typically rely upon steady-state assumptions and a geographically- and temporally-limited set of field measurements for validation. Given rapid changes recently observed in Greenland’s surface mass balance, a contemporary dataset measuring compaction in a range of climate zones from the Greenland ice sheet’s accumulation zone is significantly needed. To fill this need, the Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) dataset comprises daily firn-compaction measurements from 49 strainmeters installed in boreholes at 10 accumulation sites on the Greenland ice sheet between 2013 and 2019. Two-meter air temperature and snow depth at each station were also recorded and are included with the dataset. The majority of the FirnCover stations are installed in close proximity to automated weather stations that measure a wider suite of meteorological measurements, allowing the user access to auxiliary datasets for model validation studies using FirnCover data.

评估积雪与粒雪（firn）的密度变化，对于将冰川及冰盖的体积变化转换为质量变化至关重要。粒雪模型可模拟该过程，但通常依赖稳态假设，且用于验证的野外实测数据集在地理与时间覆盖范围上均存在局限。鉴于近期在格陵兰岛表面质量平衡（surface mass balance）中观测到的快速变化，亟需一套能够覆盖格陵兰冰盖积累区（accumulation zone）多个气候带、测量积雪压实情况的现代数据集。

为填补这一研究空白，粒雪压实验证与勘测（Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance，简称FirnCover）数据集包含2013年至2019年间，格陵兰冰盖10个积累区钻孔（boreholes）中安装的49台应变仪（strainmeters）所采集的每日粒雪压实测量数据。各站点还同步记录了2米高度气温与积雪深度数据，并随数据集一同提供。

FirnCover的多数站点紧邻可测量更全面气象参数的自动气象站（automated weather stations），使用者可借助配套的辅助数据集，结合FirnCover数据开展模型验证相关研究。