(Title of the Thesis)*
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FIRN PACK CHANGES ON WHITE GLACIER, AXEL HEIBERG ISLAND, NUNAVUT by Dana Stephenson A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Planning in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (August, 2020) Copyright ©Dana Stephenson, 2020 Abstract The near-surface processes and variability within the firn pack of Arctic glaciers are a significant source of uncertainty in estimating future glacier responses to climate warming. This study provides the first characterization of the firn pack of White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, and an analysis of recent firn pack changes (2013-2019). Utilizing ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys the firn pack thickness, extent, and associated topographic controls on firn distribution were determined. Two methods of GPR analysis were tested in this study. The first followed the traditional approach of conducting visual interpretation of radargrams to identify zones of backscatter associated with firn. The second is a proposed new methodology that uses average backscatter values from each radar return as a proxy indicator of firn presence in the subsurface. The results of these two approaches showed that the firn pack on White Glacier has reduced in extent, and reductions in average backscatter values suggest that the density of the firn has increased in the near surface. Overall, the long-term firn area decreased in extent by 3.96 km2 (10% of the total glacier area) between 2013 and 2018. Rates of surface lowering were determined using dual-frequency GPS surveys. For spring 2018 to spring 2019 the rate was -0.165 ± 0.29 m a-1 in the accumulation area, likely driven by the near surface densification. The potential for average backscatter values to provide information about near surface snow water equivalence is also explored. ii Co-Authorship Chapter 3 “Firn pack characterization and recent changes on White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut” was co-authored by D. Stephenson, L. Thomson, and L. Copland, and is intended to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. I am the primary author for the writing of the manuscripts, data analysis, and figure production. L. Thomson and L. Copland provided supervision and guidance for the project and provided valuable edits to all written components, tables, and figures. Field data was collected collaboratively with L. Thomson, C. Omelon, and M. Ecclestone in the 2018 and 2019 field season, and with the addition of L. Copland in the 2019 season. Additional field data from 2013 to 2017 was collected by the aforementioned personnel, as well as various other researchers. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors Laura Thomson and Luke Copland. Without their support and mentorship this thesis would not have been possible. Thank you for the guidance and many lessons learned in the lab and in the field. This project would also not have been possible without funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), The Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP), Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP), ArcticNet, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and the Government of Ontario. Thank you to the 2018 and 2019 field season team Christopher Omelon, Miles Ecclestone, Luke Copland, and Laura Thomson for the great memories of science, adventure, and cooking in the high Arctic at the McGill Arctic Research Station. I would like to thank my incoming cohort for all the support and encouragement throughout the thesis process. Special thanks to my classmates in AG-340 at UNIS for the incredible learning environment and opportunities to explore Svalbard. Thank you to my lab mates Evan, Jeremiah, Braden, and Maddie for the positive encouragement and virtual coffee breaks throughout the pandemic lockdown. Finally, I would like to thank my family for supporting me throughout this process and my roommates and climbing friends for the ever-important extracurricular activities. iv Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Co-Authorship.............................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research context and rationale ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research objectives ............................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Thesis format ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Glacier response to climate change ..................................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 Pan-Arctic glacier response to climate change ............................................................................ 5 2.2.2 Arctic Canada glacier response to climate change ....................................................................... 6 2.2.3 White Glacier response to climate change ................................................................................... 7 2.3 Accumulation area changes ................................................................................................................ 8 2.3.1 Regional accumulation area changes ........................................................................................... 8 2.3.2 Firn pack processes and implications ......................................................................................... 10 2.4 Monitoring and modelling techniques .............................................................................................. 12 2.4.1 Ground Penetrating Radar .......................................................................................................... 12 2.4.2 GPR Parameters ......................................................................................................................... 14 2.4.3 Coring ........................................................................................................................................ 16 2.4.4 GPS Monitoring ......................................................................................................................... 18 2.4.5 Remote sensing .......................................................................................................................... 19 2.4.6 Modelling ................................................................................................................................... 21 2.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 3 Firn pack characterization and recent changes on White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut. .................................................................................................................................................................... 29 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Study Site .......................................................................................................................................... 31 3.3 Methods............................................................................................................................................. 32 v 3.3.1 Ground Penetrating Radar .......................................................................................................... 33 3.3.2 Firn Coring ................................................................................................................................. 36 3.3.3 Topographic Analysis ................................................................................................................ 36 3.3.4 Snow Thickness ......................................................................................................................... 38 3.3.5 Surface elevation analysis .......................................................................................................... 39 3.4 Results 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