Brief communication: Evaluation of multiple empirical, density-dependent snow conductivity relationships at East Antarctica

Abstract. Nine density-dependent empirical thermal conductivity relationships for firn were compared against data from three Automatic Weather Stations at climatically-different East Antarctica sites (Dome A, Eagle and LGB69). The empirical relationships were validated using a vertical, one-dimensional thermal diffusion model and a phase-change based firn diffusivity estimation method. The best relationships for these East Antarctica sites were identified by comparing the modeled and observed firn temperature at the depth of 1 m and 3 m, and from the mean heat conductivities over two depth intervals (1–3 m and 3–10 m). Among the nine relationships, that proposed by Calonne et al. (2011) appears to have the best performance. This study provides useful reference for firn thermal conductivity parameterizations in land modeling or snow-air interaction studies on the Antarctica Ice Sheet.