Stratigraphic analysis of firn cores from the Müller Ice Shelf

In recent decades, several large ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula region have experienced significant ice loss, likely driven by a combination of oceanic, atmospheric and hydrological processes. Of these three, the role of liquid water on and in ice shelves is the lesser defined variable, largely due to the paucity of field measurements. Even though the hydrological system is largely unknown, several authors have proposed the existence of firn aquifers on Antarctic ice shelves, however little is known about their distribution, formation, extension and role in ice shelf mechanics. In this study we present the discovery of saturated firn at three drill sites distributed across the Müller ice shelf (67º 14’S; 66º52’W) (one near the front and two in the central region of the ice shelf), which leads us to the conclusion of at least one large firn aquifer or disconnected smaller firn aquifers on this ice shelf. From the stratigraphic analysis of three short firn cores extracted during February 2019 we describe a new classification system to identify the structures and morphological signatures of refrozen meltwater, identify evidence of superficial meltwater percolation, and use this information to propose a conceptual model of firn aquifer development on the Müller ice shelf. The detailed stratigraphic analysis of the sampled cores will provide an invaluable baseline for modelling studies.