scholarly journals Buoyancy-driven lacustrine calving, Glaciar Nef, Chilean Patagonia

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (156) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Warren ◽  
Doug Benn ◽  
Vanessa Winchester ◽  
Stephan Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Glacier Tongue ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Chilean Patagonia ◽  
Flow Speeds ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Calving Rate ◽  
Data Yield ◽  
Ubiquitous Presence ◽  
Term Data

AbstractGlaciar Nef, a 164 km2 eastern outlet of Hielo Patagónico Norte (the northern Patagonia icefield), terminates in a proglacial lake that has formed in conjunction with 20th-century glacier retreat. The terminus is inferred to be transiently afloat. A hinge-calving mechanism is proposed in which buoyant forces impose a torque on the glacier tongue, resulting in the release of coherent sections of the glacier tongue as “tabular” icebergs. A simple model shows how torque and tensile stress reach a maximum at the up-glacier limit of the buoyant zone, and that glacier thinning causes this point to migrate up-glacier. Empirical evidence supporting this model includes elevated thermo-erosional notches ≤6.5 m above lake level, and the ubiquitous presence since 1975 of “tabular” icebergs with surface areas ≤0.3 km2. Flow speeds of 1.2–1.3 m d−1 were measured near the terminus in February 1998. Extrapolations from these short-term data yield a calving rate of 785–835 m a−1 and a calving flux of 232 × 106 m3 a−1 or 0.2 km3 a−1. The calculated mean water depth at the terminus is 190 m. This calving rate is higher than at grounded temperate glaciers calving in fresh water, but is nevertheless almost an order of magnitude less than calving rates at both grounded and floating tidewater glaciers.

scholarly journals Discharge of debris from ice at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet

2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (161) ◽  
pp. 192-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Knight ◽  
Richard I. Waller ◽  
Carrie J. Patterson ◽  
Alison P. Jones ◽  
Zoe P. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Outlet Glacier ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Sediment Production ◽  
Basal Ice ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Sediment Transfer ◽  
A Minor

AbstractSediment production at a terrestrial section of the ice-sheet margin in West Greenland is dominated by debris released through the basal ice layer. The debris flux through the basal ice at the margin is estimated to be 12–45 m3 m−1 a−1. This is three orders of magnitude higher than that previously reported for East Antarctica, an order of magnitude higher than sites reported from in Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, but an order of magnitude lower than values previously reported from tidewater glaciers in Alaska and other high-rate environments such as surging glaciers. At our site, only negligible amounts of debris are released through englacial, supraglacial or subglacial sediment transfer. Glaciofluvial sediment production is highly localized, and long sections of the ice-sheet margin receive no sediment from glaciofluvial sources. These findings differ from those of studies at more temperate glacial settings where glaciofluvial routes are dominant and basal ice contributes only a minor percentage of the debris released at the margin. These data on debris flux through the terrestrial margin of an outlet glacier contribute to our limited knowledge of debris production from the Greenland ice sheet.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Three-Dimensional Turbulent Wall Plumes and Implications for Estimates of Submarine Glacier Melting

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1941-1950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Ezhova ◽  
Claudia Cenedese ◽  
Luca Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Characteristic Parameters ◽  
Buoyant Plumes ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Glacier Melting ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Layer Flow ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Turbulent Wall ◽  
Wall Plume

AbstractSubglacial discharges have been observed to generate buoyant plumes along the ice face of Greenland tidewater glaciers. These plumes have been traditionally modeled using classical plume theory, and their characteristic parameters (e.g., velocity) are employed in the widely used three-equation melt parameterization. However, the applicability of plume theory for three-dimensional turbulent wall plumes is questionable because of the complex near-wall plume dynamics. In this study, corrections to the classical plume theory are introduced to account for the presence of a wall. In particular, the drag and entrainment coefficients are quantified for a three-dimensional turbulent wall plume using data from direct numerical simulations. The drag coefficient is found to be an order of magnitude larger than that for a boundary layer flow over a flat plate at a similar Reynolds number. This result suggests a significant increase in the melting estimates by the current parameterization. However, the volume flux in a wall plume is found to be one-half that of a conical plume that has 2 times the buoyancy flux. This finding suggests that the total entrainment (per unit area) of ambient water is the same and that the plume scalar characteristics (i.e., temperature and salinity) can be predicted reasonably well using classical plume theory.

scholarly journals Relationship between tidewater glacier calving velocity and water depth at the calving front

1991 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 115-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauri S. Pelto ◽  
Charles R. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Water Depth ◽  
Reasonable Accuracy ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Tidewater Glacier ◽  
Iceberg Calving ◽  
Calving Rate ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Water Depths

An analysis of the relationship between iceberg calving rates and water depth has been completed for 22 tidewater glaciers. A linear relationship provides reasonable accuracy, with a correlation coefficient of 0.85, for all tidewater glaciers examined, whether they be polar or temperate. The polar glaciers have a slightly lower calving rate for a given water depth. This relationship indicates a lower calving rate for water depths over 50 m than determined by Brown and others (1982). It is based only on glaciers or ice streams and cannot be applied to ice shelves.

Modelling Jakobshavn Isbrae from 2009 to 2018

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Trevers ◽  
Tony Payne ◽  
Steph Cornford ◽  
Anna Hogg
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
The Past ◽  
Flow Speeds ◽  
Calving Rate

<p>Jakobshavn Isbrae has dramatically accelerated, thinned and retreated since the late 1990s in several stages of retreat and stagnation. Studies have indicated that the loss of buttressing due to retreat of the calving front following the disintegration of its floating ice tongue was the trigger of acceleration and thinning of the terminus, however uncertainty remains over the mechanisms controlling the timing and magnitude of the retreat.</p><p>The maximum retreat of the calving front was reached between 2013 and 2015 following the peaking of ice flow speeds in excess of 18 km yr<sup>-1</sup>. Since 2016, ice flow speeds have decelerated from this peak and the terminus has experienced a modest readvance and thickening. We calculated a calving rate for the period 2009 to 2018 which shows that terminus flow speeds and calving are closely related. Until 2009 a transient loosely bonded ice tongue formed but this feature appears not to have formed from 2010 onwards.</p><p>We aim to demonstrate that the signal of thinning and retreat can be reproduced by driving the glacier with the calculated calving rate. We used the BISICLES ice sheet model to simulate the evolution of Jakobshavn Isbrae over the past decade, with the calving front driven by the calculated 2009 – 2018 calving rate. The results of these simulations show that the response of the glacier to the applied calving rate is in line with its observed evolution over this period. We also present the results of further experiments designed to examine the mechanisms and controls on the calving retreat.</p>

scholarly journals Relationship between tidewater glacier calving velocity and water depth at the calving front

1991 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 115-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauri S. Pelto ◽  
Charles R. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Water Depth ◽  
Reasonable Accuracy ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Tidewater Glacier ◽  
Iceberg Calving ◽  
Calving Rate ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Water Depths

An analysis of the relationship between iceberg calving rates and water depth has been completed for 22 tidewater glaciers. A linear relationship provides reasonable accuracy, with a correlation coefficient of 0.85, for all tidewater glaciers examined, whether they be polar or temperate. The polar glaciers have a slightly lower calving rate for a given water depth. This relationship indicates a lower calving rate for water depths over 50 m than determined by Brown and others (1982). It is based only on glaciers or ice streams and cannot be applied to ice shelves.

scholarly journals The retreat of a tidewater glacier: observations and model calculations on Hansbreen, Spitsbergen

2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (163) ◽  
pp. 592-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Vieli ◽  
Jacek Jania ◽  
Lezek Kolondra
Keyword(s):  
Direct Response ◽  
Critical Height ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Water Line ◽  
Glacier Terminus ◽  
Front Position ◽  
Tidewater Glacier ◽  
Calving Rate

AbstractBased on observations and model calculations, the retreat over the last two decades of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard, is investigated. The observations of the calving-front position between 1982 and 1998 show an abrupt retreat in 1990, which is suggested to be related to a depression in the glacier bed. The observed seasonal variations of the front position are mainly due to variations of the calving rate. The observations of Hansbreen further indicate that during periods of slow front-position changes, melting at the water-line may play an important role in triggering the process of calving. The evolution of Hansbreen between 1982 and 1998 is simulated with a numerical model for the dynamics of tidewater glaciers. Using a flotation criterion for calving in which for each time-step the part of the glacier terminus which is below a critical height above buoyancy is removed, we are able to reproduce the observed rapid retreat of Hansbreen through the depression in the glacier bed. From the observations and model calculations, we conclude that the rapid retreat is mainly an effect of basal topography in the terminus region and not a direct response to a change in mass balance.

scholarly journals Little ice age advance and retreat of Glaciar Jorge Montt, Chilean Patagonia, recorded in maps, air photographs and dendrochronology

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 3131-3164 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rivera ◽  
M. Koppes ◽  
C. Bravo ◽  
J. C. Aravena
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Dynamic Responses ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Present Position ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chilean Patagonia ◽  
Southern Patagonia ◽  
Induced Changes

Abstract. Glaciar Jorge Montt (48°20' S/73°30' W), one of the main tidewater glaciers of the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI), has experienced the fastest frontal retreat observed in Patagonia during the past century, with a recession of 19.5 km between 1898 and 2011. This record retreat uncovered trees overridden during the Little Ice Age (LIA) advance of the glacier. Samples of these trees were dated using radiocarbon methods, yielding burial ages between 460 and 250 cal yr BP. The dendrochronology and maps indicate that Glaciar Jorge Montt was at its present position before the beginning of the LIA, in concert with several other glaciers in Southern Patagonia, and reached its maximum advance position between 1650 and 1750 AD. The post-LIA retreat is most likely triggered by climatically induced changes during the 20th century, however, Glaciar Jorge Montt has responded more dramatically than its neighbours. The retreat of Jorge Montt opened a new fjord 19.5 km long, and up to 391 m deep, with a varied bathymetry well correlated with glacier retreat rates, suggesting that dynamic responses of the glacier are at least partially connected to near buoyancy conditions at the ice front, resulting in high calving fluxes, accelerating thinning rates and rapid ice velocities.

scholarly journals Flow and mixing around a glacier tongue

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1439-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Stevens ◽  
C. L. Stewart ◽  
N. J. Robinson ◽  
M. J. M. Williams ◽  
T. G. Haskell
Keyword(s):  
Tidal Flow ◽  
Side Wall ◽  
Maximum Flow ◽  
Turbulent Energy ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Velocity Shear ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Glacier Tongue ◽  
Flow Speeds ◽  
Local Background

Abstract. A glacier tongue floating in the coastal ocean presents a significant obstacle to the local flow and influences oceanic mixing and transport processes. Here ocean shear microstructure observations at a glacier tongue side-wall show tidally-induced flow pulses and vortices as well as concomitant mixing. Flow speeds within the pulses reached around three times that of the ambient tidal flow amplitude and generated vertical velocity shear as large as 3×10−3 s−1. During the maximum flow period turbulent energy dissipation rates reached a maximum of 10−5 m2 s−3, around three decades greater than local background levels. This is in keeping with estimates of the gradient Richardson Number which dropped to around unity. Associated vertical diffusivities are higher that expected from parameterization, possibly reflecting the proximity of the cryotopography.

scholarly journals Aerodynamic roughness length of crevassed tidewater glaciers from UAV mapping

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armin Dachauer ◽  
Richard Hann ◽  
Andrew J. Hodson
Keyword(s):  
Wind Direction ◽  
Roughness Length ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Aerodynamic Roughness Length ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Aerodynamic Roughness

Abstract. The aerodynamic roughness length (z0) is an important parameter in the bulk approach for calculating turbulent fluxes and their contribution to ice melt. However, for heavily crevassed tidewater glaciers z0 estimations are rare or only generalized. This study used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to map inaccessible tidewater glacier front areas. The high-resolution images were used in a structure-from-motion photogrammetry approach to build digital elevation models (DEMs). These DEMs were applied to five different models (split across transect and raster methods) to estimate z0 values of the mapped area. The results point out that the range of z0 values across a glacier is large, with up to three (locally even four) orders of magnitude. The division of the mapped area into sub-grids (50 m x 50 m), each producing one z0 value, best accounts for the high spatial variability of z0 across the glacier. The z0 estimations from the transect method are in general higher (up to one order of magnitude) than the raster method estimations. Furthermore, wind direction (values parallel to the ice flow direction are larger than perpendicular) and the chosen sub-grid size turned out to have a large impact on the z0 values, again presenting a range of up to one order of magnitude each. On average, z0 values between 0.08 m and 0.88 m for a down-glacier wind direction were found. The UAV approach proved to be an ideal tool to provide distributed z0 estimations of crevassed glaciers, which can be incorporated by models to improve the prediction of turbulent heat fluxes and ice melt rates.

scholarly journals Nanocracks upon Fracture of Oligoclase

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 894-899
Author(s):  
V. I. Vettegren ◽  
A. V. Ponomarev ◽  
R. I. Mamalimov ◽  
I. P. Shcherbakov
Keyword(s):  
Free Radicals ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Electron Traps ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Electronically Excited ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
20 Nm

Abstract—The spectrum of fractoluminescence (FL) upon fracture of the surface of oligoclase is obtained. The analysis of the spectrum has shown that fracture of crystals leads to the formation of electronically excited free radicals ≡Si−O• and Fe3• ions as well as electron traps. FL consisted of a set of the signals with the intensities varying by an order of magnitude. The duration of the signals was ~50 ns and the time interval between them varied from ~0.1 to 1 μs. Each signal contained four maxima associated with the destruction of barriers preventing the motion of dislocations along the sliding planes. These breakthroughs cause the formation of the smallest (“primary”) cracks. All other, larger cracks are formed by the coalescence of the “primary” cracks. The sizes of “primary” cracks range from ~10 to 20 nm and the time of their formation is 16 ns. The distribution of cracks by size (surface areas of crack walls) is power law with the exponent –1.9.

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