scholarly journals Inland advance of supraglacial lakes in north-west Greenland under recent climatic warming

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (76pt1) ◽  
pp. 66-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Gledhill ◽  
Andrew G. Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
North West ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
Hydrological System ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

ABSTRACTThe inland advance of supraglacial lakes (SGLs) towards the interior regions of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) may have implications for the water volumes reaching the subglacial drainage system, and could consequently affect long-term ice-sheet dynamics. Here, we investigate changes to the areas, volumes and elevation distributions of over 8000 manually delineated SGLs using 44 Landsat images of a 6200 km2 sector of north-west Greenland over three decades (1985–2016). Our results show that SGLs have advanced to higher maximum (+418 m) and mean (+299 m) elevations, and that there has been a near-doubling of total regional SGL areas and volumes over the study period, accelerating after 2000. These changes were primarily caused by an increased SGL area and volume at high (≥1200 m a.s.l.) elevations, where SGL coverage increased by over 2750% during the study period. Many of the observed changes, particularly the post-2000 accelerations, were driven by changes to regional surface-temperature anomalies. This study demonstrates the past and accelerating response of the GrIS's hydrological system due to climatic warming, indicating an urgent need to understand whether the increasingly inland SGLs will be capable of hydrofracture in the future, thus determining their potential implications for ice-sheet dynamics.

scholarly journals Ice flow dynamics and surface meltwater flux at a land-terminating sector of the Greenland ice sheet

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (216) ◽  
pp. 687-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A.W. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Alun Hubbard ◽  
Ian Joughin ◽  
Duncan J. Quincey ◽  
Dirk Van As ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Flow Dynamics ◽  
Meltwater Runoff ◽  
Seasonal Flow ◽  
Hydrological System ◽  
Net Flux ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

AbstractWe present satellite-derived velocity patterns for the two contrasting melt seasons of 2009–10 across Russell Glacier catchment, a western, land-terminating sector of the Greenland ice sheet which encompasses the K(angerlussuaq)-transect. Results highlight great spatial heterogeneity in flow, indicating that structural controls such as bedrock geometry govern ice discharge into individual outlet troughs. Results also reveal strong seasonal flow variability extending 57 km up-glacier to 1200 m elevation, with the largest acceleration (100% over 11 days) occurring within 10 km of the margin coincident with spring melt. By late July 2010, 2 weeks before peak melt and runoff, 48 % of the 2400 km2 catchment had slowed to less than the winter mean. This observation supports the hypothesis that the subglacial hydrological system evolves from an inefficient distributed to an efficient drainage system, regulating flow dynamics. Despite this, the cumulative surface flux over the record melt year of 2010 was still greater compared with the perturbation over the average melt year of 2009. This study supports the proposition that local surface meltwater runoff couples to basal hydrology driving ice-sheet dynamics, and although the effect is nonlinear, our observations indicate that greater meltwater runoff yields increased net flux over this sector of the ice sheet.

scholarly journals Increased Ablation at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet under a Greenhouse-Effect Climate

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 20-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger J. Braithwaite ◽  
Ole B. Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Greenhouse Effect ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Ablation Rate ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
West Greenland

Increased ablation under a greenhouse-effect climate is calculated by an energy-balance model for two sites at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet: Nordbogletscher, south Greenland, and Qamanârssûp sermia, West Greenland. The change in summer ablation is nearly linear with change in summer temperature, with gradients of 0.43 and 0.57 m water a−1 deg−1 for Nordbogletscher and Qamanârssûp sermia, respectively. However, the increase in ablation rate must be less in the higher parts of the ice sheet. A future climatic warming will therefore cause a rapid retreat of the ice-sheet margin and a steeper ice-sheet profile.

Simulating the formation and decay of supraglacial lakes in South-West Greenland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prateek Gantayat ◽  
Amber Leeson ◽  
James Lea ◽  
Noel Gourmelen ◽  
Xavier Fettweis
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Future Evolution ◽  
Linear Elastic ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
South West ◽  
The Future ◽  
Water Values

<p><strong>The dynamics of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is greatly affected by surface meltwater that is routed from the surface to the bed, for example when a supraglacial lake (SGL) drains. The South-West Greenland Ice Sheet (SWGrIS) has an abundance of such lakes that form and decay over every hydrological year. In case a crevasse is opened up underneath an SGL, the lake water is likely to drain via the crevasse into the ice-sheet’s bed. This in turn influences the ice sheet motion by increasing the lubrication at the ice-sheet’s base. SGLs may also either drain laterally via a supra-glacial meltwater channel or the water they contain can stay put throughout the hydrological year, refreezing in the winter. These processes may affect the ice rheology in addition to influencing ice flow. While simulating the future evolution of the GrIS, it is thus important to account for processes associated with the evolution of SGLs. Until now, however, none of the existing ice sheet models have fully accounted for these processes, in part because no hydrological model yet includes them all. Here we propose a new process-based hydrological model for the SWGrIS which fully accounts for the evolution of  SGLs. The model consists of four units. The first is a surface water routing unit where the daily-generated surface meltwater is routed assuming steepest decent into the surface depressions forming SGLs. The second unit uses principles of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) to deal with the scenario where an SGL drains into the bed through an underlying crevasse. The third deals with the SGL drainage event that occurs when a surface meltwater channel gets incised though the ice sheet’s surface due to erosion from the SGL’s overflowing meltwater i.e. channel incision. Finally, the fourth unit simulates the freezing/unfreezing of SGLs by calculating the energy balance at the SGL’s surface. Using this model forced by Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR) derived daily surface melt-water values we quantify a) the amount and location of surface meltwater injection to the ice-sheet’s bed via moulins or crevasses and ,b) the meltwater that is either  retained in SGL or drained overland via meltwater channels and stored elsewhere over the period 2011-2020, in the Leverett glacier catchment. In the future, we plan to integrate this hydrological model with the sophisticated state-of-the-art BISICLES ice sheet model.</strong></p>

scholarly journals Increased Ablation at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet under a Greenhouse-Effect Climate

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 20-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger J. Braithwaite ◽  
Ole B. Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Greenhouse Effect ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Ablation Rate ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
West Greenland

Increased ablation under a greenhouse-effect climate is calculated by an energy-balance model for two sites at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet: Nordbogletscher, south Greenland, and Qamanârssûp sermia, West Greenland. The change in summer ablation is nearly linear with change in summer temperature, with gradients of 0.43 and 0.57 m water a−1 deg−1 for Nordbogletscher and Qamanârssûp sermia, respectively. However, the increase in ablation rate must be less in the higher parts of the ice sheet. A future climatic warming will therefore cause a rapid retreat of the ice-sheet margin and a steeper ice-sheet profile.

Ice stream influence on West Greenland Ice Sheet dynamics during the Last Glacial Maximum

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 850-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Roberts ◽  
Antony J. Long ◽  
Bethan J. Davies ◽  
Matthew J. R. Simpson ◽  
Christoph Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Seasonally evolving hydraulic transmissivity beneath Greenland supraglacial lakes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Yao Lai ◽  
Laura Stevens ◽  
Danielle Chase ◽  
Timothy Creyts ◽  
Mark Behn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Dye Tracing ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
Drainage Networks ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Lake Drainage

Abstract Surface meltwater reaching the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet transits through drainage networks, modulating the flow of the ice sheet. Dye-tracing studies indicate that drainage efficiency evolves seasonally along the drainage pathway. However, the local evolution of drainage systems further inland, where ice thicknesses exceed 1000 m, remains largely unknown. Here, we develop a novel method to infer transmissivity of the drainage system based on surface uplift relaxation following rapid lake drainage events. Combining field observations of five lake drainage events with a mathematical model and laboratory experiments, we show that the surface uplift decreases exponentially with time, as the water in the blister formed beneath the drained lake permeates through the subglacial drainage system. This deflation obeys a universal relaxation law with a timescale that reveals hydraulic transmissivity and indicates a two-order-of-magnitude increase in subglacial transmissivity as the melt season progresses, suggesting significant changes in basal hydrology beneath the lakes.

scholarly journals Hydraulic transmissivity inferred from ice-sheet relaxation following Greenland supraglacial lake drainages

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Yao Lai ◽  
Laura A. Stevens ◽  
Danielle L. Chase ◽  
Timothy T. Creyts ◽  
Mark D. Behn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Drainage Networks ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Lake Drainage ◽  
Magnitude Increase

AbstractSurface meltwater reaching the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet transits through drainage networks, modulating the flow of the ice sheet. Dye and gas-tracing studies conducted in the western margin sector of the ice sheet have directly observed drainage efficiency to evolve seasonally along the drainage pathway. However, the local evolution of drainage systems further inland, where ice thicknesses exceed 1000 m, remains largely unknown. Here, we infer drainage system transmissivity based on surface uplift relaxation following rapid lake drainage events. Combining field observations of five lake drainage events with a mathematical model and laboratory experiments, we show that the surface uplift decreases exponentially with time, as the water in the blister formed beneath the drained lake permeates through the subglacial drainage system. This deflation obeys a universal relaxation law with a timescale that reveals hydraulic transmissivity and indicates a two-order-of-magnitude increase in subglacial transmissivity (from 0.8 ± 0.3 $${\rm{m}}{{\rm{m}}}^{3}$$ m m 3 to 215 ± 90.2 $${\rm{m}}{{\rm{m}}}^{3}$$ m m 3 ) as the melt season progresses, suggesting significant changes in basal hydrology beneath the lakes driven by seasonal meltwater input.

scholarly journals Seasonal variability in the dynamics of marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (198) ◽  
pp. 601-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Howat ◽  
Jason E. Box ◽  
Yushin Ahn ◽  
Adam Herrington ◽  
Ellyn M. McFadden
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Flow Speed ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Sea Ice Concentration ◽  
Seasonal Behavior ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Front Position

AbstractRecent studies indicate that the dynamics of fast-flowing, marine-terminating outlet glaciers of the Greenland ice sheet may be sensitive to climate and ocean forcing on sub-annual timescales. Observations of seasonal behavior of these glaciers at such high temporal resolution, however, are currently few. Here we present observations of front position, flow speed, near-surface air temperature and ocean conditions for six large marine-terminating glaciers in the Uummannaq region of West Greenland, to investigate controls on short-term glacier dynamics. As proposed by other studies, we find that seasonal front advance and retreat correlates with the formation and disappearance of an ice melange. Our data suggest that high sea-surface temperature, anomalously low sea-ice concentration and reduced melange formation in early 2003 have triggered multi-year retreat of several glaciers in the study area, which is consistent with other regions in Greenland. Of the stable glaciers, only Rink Isbræ exhibits a seasonal speed variation that correlates with variations in front position, with the others undergoing mid-summer deceleration that indicates the effects of subglacial meltwater discharge and drainage system evolution. Drainage of supraglacial lakes and water-filled crevasses results in substantial decreases in speed (40–60%) on fast-flowing glaciers. Our results demonstrate that attempts to model ice-sheet evolution must take into account short-timescale flow dynamics resulting from drainage events and oceanographic conditions.

Greenland land-terminating glaciers velocity trends during the last two decades

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Halas ◽  
Jeremie Mouginot ◽  
Basile de Fleurian ◽  
Petra Langebroek
Keyword(s):  
Water Pressure ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Surface Melting ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
Surface Melt ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
The Impact

<div> <p>Ice losses from the Greenland Ice Sheet have been increasing in the last two decades, leading to a larger contribution to the global sea level rise. Roughly 40% of the contribution comes from ice-sheet dynamics, mainly regulated by basal sliding. The sliding component of glaciers has been observed to be strongly related to surface melting, as water can eventually reach the bed and impact the subglacial water pressure, affecting the basal sliding.  </p> </div><div> <p>The link between ice velocities and surface melt on multi-annual time scale is still not totally understood even though it is of major importance with expected increasing surface melting. Several studies showed some correlation between an increase in surface melt and a slowdown in velocities, but there is no consensus on those trends. Moreover those investigations only presented results in a limited area over Southwest Greenland.  </p> </div><div> <p>Here we present the ice motion over many land-terminating glaciers on the Greenland Ice Sheet for the period 2000 - 2020. This type of glacier is ideal for studying processes at the interface between the bed and the ice since they are exempted from interactions with the sea while still being relevant for all glaciers since they share the same basal friction laws. The velocity data was obtained using optical Landsat 7 & 8 imagery and feature-tracking algorithm. We attached importance keeping the starting date of our image pairs similar, and avoided stacking pairs starting before and after melt seasons, resulting in multiple velocity products for each year.  </p> </div><div> <p>Our results show similar velocity trends for previously studied areas with a slowdown until 2012 followed by an acceleration. This trend however does not seem to be observed on the whole ice sheet and is probably specific to this region’s climate forcing. </p> </div><div> <p>Moreover comparison between ice velocities from different parts of Greenland allows us to observe the impact of different climatic trends on ice dynamics.</p> </div>

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