ICE-HEAT INVERSION: Unveiling Antarctic Geothermal Heat Flow through Glaciological Observations

• Applicant: Michael Wolovick, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Geophysics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542009872

The goal of this project is to infer Geothermal Heat Flow (GHF) underneath the Antarctic ice sheet on the basis of glaciological observations. GHF is a key boundary condition governing ice sheet dynamics and thermal structure, but it is very difficult to observe directly. All existing large-scale estimates of GHF infer it from geophysical observations like seismic structure or magnetic anomalies, rather than glaciological observations that are directly related to the thermal structure of the ice sheet, such as subglacial lakes or refrozen basal meltwater. In this project, I will invert a 3D ice sheet thermal model in order to solve for the GHF field that best fits glaciological observations. The thermal model is coupled to a subglacial hydrology model, enabling it to predict the locations of melt, freeze-on, and water flux. I plan to assimilate all relevant glaciological observations, including measurements based on ice-penetrating radar, satellite remote sensing, and borehole temperature records. The best-fit GHF field will be associated with a best-fit thermal and hydrological model, enabling me to constrain ice rheology and the distribution of wet and dry basal conditions, which is important for understanding the sensitivity of the ice sheet to a changing climate. In addition, the best-fit GHF field should be able to constrain geodynamic models of Antarctic tectonic and lithospheric processes. Finally, the uncertainty of the best-fit GHF field and its sensitivity to the observations should show where new observational constraints would be most valuable in the future.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1158: Infrastructure area - Antarctic Research with Comparative Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas
• Co-Investigator: Professor Andreas Rademacher, Ph.D.