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From Permeameter Design to Permeability Upscaling

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From Permeameter Design to Permeability Upscaling PERMEABILITY OF LAKE ICE IN THE TAYLOR VALLEY, ANTARCTICA: FROM PERMEAMETER DESIGN TO PERMEABILITY UPSCALING A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kelly Patrick Carroll, B.S. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Master’s Examination Committee: Dr. Anne E. Carey, Advisor Approved by Dr. W. Berry Lyons _______________________ Advisor Dr. Garry D. McKenzie Graduate Program in Geological Science ABSTRACT Research on lake ice permeability in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica required the design and construction of a novel multi-support, field based, gas permeameter. The permeameter’s simple design allows rapid, precise, and non-destructive permeability measurements in a harsh polar environment. The research goals using the multi-support gas permeameter (MSGP) are to (1) determine lake ice physical hydrology through the investigation of primary permeability, (2) how permeability affects the mechanics and physics of fluid and gas transport through lake ice, (3) describe any variable nature of lake ice permeability, (4) scale up permeability to different sections of the lakes, and (5) document the change in permeability during the austral spring. The multi-support gas permeameter is of original design, however, a tip seal system utilizing the developments of a laboratory-based permeameter by Tidwell and Wilson (1997) was incorporated. The tip seal design has five interchangeable components, with inner seal radii of 0.15cm, 0.31cm, 0.63cm, 1.27cm, and 2.54cm, and outer radii twice the inner, which allows multiple gas diffusion depths, thus permitting permeability measurements over a wide variety of ice thickness and formation. The system delivers a positive pressure of 0– 100kPa of compressed laboratory grade nitrogen (N2) gas into the tip seal interface that is in direct contact with the ice being tested. The volumetric flow rate, absolute injection ii pressure, barometric pressure, and temperature of the N2 gas penetrating the ice are recorded manually from a digital readout. The permeability is then calculated using a modified version of Darcy’s Law. Spot primary permeability measurements were used to scale permeability readings up to the entire lakes’ surface areas. The two lakes are influenced by different environmental conditions including source of wind (continental or marine influence), amount of sunlight (ablation rate), and ice conditions (annual and perennial ice lasting approximately 7–10 years). Measurements were made at locations around the lakes with different environmental conditions. Measurements were made on a small scale (nine sample points per 81cm2 area) and were repeated weekly over a four-week period from early to late austral spring. By understanding the heterogeneity in smallest of scales at the different sampling sites (and through any temporal changes), the lakes' permeability heterogeneity could be factored out and scaled up to reflect the primary permeability of the entire lake as a single, homogenous system. Data analysis revealed little difference in surficial primary permeability over a large spatial area, regardless of ice type sampled or the environmental conditions encountered. Although slight trends of permeability variability were noticed, the ice is intrinsically semi-permeable on the primary level. Average primary permeability of void spaces between ice crystals was at approximately 10-13 to 10-14 m2 for all in situ measurements. Observation revealed that although there was little difference in primary permeability of lake ice in general, it is very permeable iii due to secondary structures (fractures, bubbles, and lenses) contained within the ice column. This study dealt exclusively with the primary permeability and could not quantitatively constrain the secondary, and therefore, the overall permeability of the lakes. Laboratory determinations of ice core permeability from selected sampling locations confirmed the surficial permeability values, analyzed the primary permeability throughout the ice column, and attempted to characterize the secondary permeability, which seems to control the lakes’ overall permeability. This research provides material property data about ice as a porous medium, thereby defining and constraining the mechanics and physics of fluid and gas transport through ice, and enhances understanding of the mechanics and the physics of lake ice cover. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor Dr. Anne Carey for her suggestion of and support throughout every aspect of this research project. I sincerely thank Dr. W. Berry Lyons and Kathy Welch of The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research Program for facilitating many aspects of my research and the extensive knowledge given to me of working in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica. I thank Dr. Vincent Tidwell of the Sandia National Laboratory for his assistance on the multi-support gas permeameter and use of his laboratory based system tip seals. I wish to sincerely thank Dr. Polly Penhale of National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs for enabling my inclusion on the 2006 McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Program’s field deployment team. I thank the assistance of Dr. Ed Adams and Steven Jeppsen of the Civil Engineering Department at the Montana State University in testing the multi-support gas permeameter. I thank Brent Johnson, Lonnie Thompson and Ellen Mosley-Thompson, and Victor Zagorodnov for assistance in ice core permeability testing at The Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center. I would also like to acknowledge the Antarctic field assistance of Becky Pierce and Mary Holozubeic of Raytheon Polar Services. I would also like to acknowledge the years of support from Dr. Seth Rose of Georgia State University and for cementing my interest in hydrogeology. v This project could not have been accomplished without Jennifer Fisher and Amy Szabo and their continued encouragement, assistance, and friendship during all phases of this research project. vi VITA November 4, 1969……....……….….Born – Los Angeles, California 2004……………….……………..…..B.S. Geology (Environmental Concentration), Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. 2003 –2006……………………….…Hydrological Technician, United States Geological Survey, Georgia Division 2005 – present…….....................……Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Geological Science vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………....ii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………v Vita………………………………………………………………………………………vii List of Figures……………………………………………………………...……………...x List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………….xii List of Equations……………………………………………………………………...…xiii Chapters: 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..1 1.1 Permeability Ranges in Ice….……………….………………………………..9 2. Field Area Description………………………………………………………..….10 2.1 Lake Description…………….………………….……………………………12 2.2 Solar Radiation Input……….…………………….………………………….13 2.3 2006 Seasonal Weather…….……….………………………………………..14 2.4 Lake Ice Characteristics.…….…………………………………………….....22 3. Methods…………………………………………………………………………..26 3.1 Permeameter Design………………..……………………………………..…25 3.2 Permeameter Calibration…………..………………………………...………33 3.3 Permeability Sampling Domains…………..…………………………...……35 3.4 Permeability Calculation…………………………………………..…………41 4. Results……………………………………………………………………………44 4.1 Lake Hoare Permeability……………..……………………………………...44 4.2 Lake Fryxell Permeability………..………………………………………….49 4.3 Lake Fryxell Crash Site Permeability………………………………..………51 4.4 Laboratory Ice Core Permeability……..……………………....……………..52 viii 5. Discussion………………………………………………………………………..54 5.1 Formation and Development of Secondary Structures that Affect Permeability…………………………...………………………..……55 5.2 Interpretation of Permeability Graphs………………………………...……..58 5.3 Lake Hoare and Lake Fryxell Spatial Permeability Variability………..….....59 5.4 Permeability Variability within Ice Types…………………...…..………….61 5.5 Variability of Permeability due to Solar Radiation Input…...…..………..…63 5.6 Permeability Variability through Temporal Domain...………………..…….67 5.7 Lake Fryxell Crash Site Permeability…..…………………………………....72 5.8 Laboratory Investigation of Primary Permeability………………….....…….74 5.9 Permeability Upscaling………………………………………….…….……..76 5.10 Limitations of the Multi-Support Gas Permeameter….………….…....……79 5.11 Recommendations for Future Work…...…...………………………….…...81 5.12 Conclusions………………………………………………………………....82 Appendix: A Primary Permeability Measurements…………...………...….……………..…84 B GPS Coordinates ……………………………………………………………...93 C Sampling Location Descriptions….…………………………..……………….95 List of References…………………………………………………………………….101 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Wreckage of NSF Bell 212 Helicopter on Lake Fryxell…………..…………...….3 1.2 81cm2 spatial sampling grid………………………………………………........….7 1.3 Permeability Ranges in Ice………………………………………………..………9 2.1 Map of Lake Hoare and Lake Fryxell…………………………………………....11 2.2 Plot of Lake Hoare incoming shortwave radiation (2006)…………………….…15 2.3 Plot of Lake Hoare incoming shortwave radiation (sampling period)……….…..16 2.4 Plot of Lake Fryxell incoming shortwave radiation (2006)………………….…..18 2.5 Plot of Lake Fryxell incoming shortwave radiation (sampling period)…….……19 2.6 Plot of air temperature at Lake Hoare (sampling period)………………….…….20 2.7 Plot of air temperature at Lake Fryxell (sampling period)……………......…….21 2.8 Map of predominate wind directions
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