Pore morphology of polar firn around closure revealed by X-ray tomography

Abstract. Understanding the slow densification process of polar firn into ice is essential in order to constrain the age difference between the ice matrix and entrapped gases. The progressive microstructure evolution of the firn column with depth leads to pore closure and gas entrapment. Air transport models in the firn usually include a closed porosity profile based on available data. Pycnometry or melting-refreezing techniques have been used to obtain the ratio of closed to total porosity and air content in closed pores, respectively. X-ray computed tomography is complementary to these methods, as it enables to obtain the full pore network in 3D. This study takes advantage of this non-destructive technique to discuss the morphological evolution of pores on four different Antarctic sites. The computation of refined geometrical parameters for the very cold polar sites Dome C and Lock In (the two Antarctic plateau sites studied here) provides new information that could be used in further studies. The comparison of these two sites shows a more tortuous pore network at Lock In than at Dome C which should result in older gas ages in deep firn. A comprehensive estimation of the different errors related to X-ray tomography and to the sample variability has been performed. The procedure described here may be used as a guideline for further experimental characterization on firn samples. We show that the closed to total porosity ratio, which is classically used for the detection of pore closure, is strongly affected by the sample size, the image reconstruction and by spatial heterogeneities. In this work, we introduce an alternative parameter, the connectivity index, which is practically independent on sample size and image acquisition conditions, and that accurately predicts the close-off depth and density. Its strength also lies in its simple computation, without any assumption on the pore status (open or close). The close-off prediction is obtained for Dome C and Lock In, without any further numerical simulations on images (e.g. by permeability or diffusivity calculations).