Constraining the greenland firn aquifer's ability to hydrofracture a crevasse to the bed of the ice sheet

Spanning 1.7 million km2 with glacial ice that exceeds 3,000 m thick in the interior, the Greenland ice sheet plays a large role in Earth's response to climate change. A recently discovered firn aquifer within the ice sheet has the potential to buffer or enhance sea level rise by retaining or outputting its contents into the ocean. This study examines englacial hydrology to determine if the subsurface firn aquifer can discharge water into the ocean via hydraulic fracturing of crevasses. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Operation Ice Bridge Accumulation Radar and Airborne Topographic Mapper data is used to map the top of the aquifer and ice surface elevation profiles by measuring water-table return signals. These profiles are input into a groundwater flow model (SEEP2D), based on Darcy's law, to determine the aquifer's potential water discharge into an existing crevasse at the lower elevation end of the aquifer profile. Next, conservation of mass equations are implem