Constraints on snow accumulation and firn density in Greenland using GPS receivers

Data from three continuously operating GPS sites located in the interior of the Greenland
ice sheet are analyzed. Traditionally these kinds of GPS installations (where the GPS antenna is placed
on a pole deployed into the firn) are used to estimate the local horizontal speed and direction of the ice
sheet. However, these data are also sensitive to the vertical displacement of the pole as it moves
through the firn layer. A new method developed to measure snow depth variations with reflected GPS
signals is applied to these GPS data from Greenland. This method provides a constraint on the vertical
distance between the GPS antenna and the surface snow layer. The vertical positions and snow surface
heights are then used to assess output from surface accumulation and firn densification models,
showing agreement better than 10% at the sites with the longest records. Comparisons between the
GPS reflection method and in situ snow sensors at the Dye-2 site show good agreement, capturing the
dramatic changes observed in Greenland during the 2012 summer melt season. The geocentric
elevation of the snow surface can be inferred by subtracting the snow surface height estimates from the
vertical position measurements. It should be possible to use those surface elevation estimates to help
validate elevation results obtained from satellite altimetry.