scholarly journals Proglacial river stage, discharge, and temperature datasets from the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua River northern tributary, Southwest Greenland, 2008–2011

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Rennermalm ◽  
L. C. Smith ◽  
V. W. Chu ◽  
R. R. Forster ◽  
J. E. Box ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Bedload Transport ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
River Stage ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
High Turbulence ◽  
Lake Stage ◽  
Southwest Greenland

Abstract. Pressing scientific questions concerning the Greenland ice sheet's climatic sensitivity, hydrology, and contributions to current and future sea level rise require hydrological datasets to resolve. While direct observations of ice sheet meltwater losses can be obtained in terrestrial rivers draining the ice sheet and from lake levels, few such datasets exist. We present a new hydrologic dataset from previously unmonitored sites in the vicinity of Kangerlussuaq, Southwest Greenland. This dataset contains measurements of river stage and discharge for three sites along the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua (Watson) River's northern tributary, with 30 min temporal resolution between June 2008 and July 2011. Additional data of water temperature, air pressure, and lake stage are also provided. Flow velocity and depth measurements were collected at sites with incised bedrock or structurally reinforced channels to maximize data quality. However, like most proglacial rivers, high turbulence and bedload transport introduce considerable uncertainty to the derived discharge estimates. Eleven propagating error sources were quantified, and reveal that largest uncertainties are associated with flow depth observations. Mean discharge uncertainties (approximately the 68% confidence interval) are two to four times larger (±19% to ±43%) than previously published estimates for Greenland rivers. Despite these uncertainties, this dataset offers a rare collection of direct measurements of ice sheet runoff to the global ocean and is freely available for scientific use at http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.762818.

scholarly journals Proglacial river dataset from the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua River northern tributary, Southwest Greenland, 2008–2010

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Rennermalm ◽  
L. C. Smith ◽  
V. W. Chu ◽  
R. R. Forster ◽  
J. E. Box ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
High Water ◽  
Stream Channels ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Lake Water Level ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Added Uncertainty ◽  
Southwest Greenland

Abstract. Pressing scientific questions concerning the Greenland ice sheet's climatic sensitivity, hydrology, and contributions to current and future sea level rise require hydrological datasets to resolve. While direct observations of ice sheet meltwater losses can be obtained in terrestrial rivers draining the ice sheet and from lake levels, few such datasets exist. We present a new dataset of meltwater river discharge for the vicinity of Kangerlussuaq, Southwest Greenland. The dataset contains measurements of river water level and discharge for three sites along the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua (Watson) River's northern tributary, with 30 min temporal resolution between June 2008 and August 2010. Additional data of water temperature, air pressure, and lake water level and temperature are also provided. Discharge data were measured at sites with near-ideal properties for such data collection. Regardless, high water bedload and turbulent flow introduce considerable uncertainty. These were constrained and quantified using statistical techniques, which revealed that the greatest discharge data uncertainties are associated with streambed elevation change and measurements. Large portions of stream channels deepened according to statistical tests, but poor precision of streambed depth measurements also added uncertainty. Data will periodically be extended, and are available in Open Access at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.762818.

scholarly journals Response to Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf cavity warming in a coupled ocean–ice sheet model. Part I: The ocean perspective

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Timmermann ◽  
Sebastian Goeller
Keyword(s):  
World Ocean ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Freezing Temperature ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Marginal Seas ◽  
Grounding Line

Abstract. A Regional Antarctic and Global Ocean (RAnGO) model has been developed to study the interaction between the world ocean and the Antarctic ice sheet. The coupled model is based on a global implementation of the Finite Element Sea-ice Ocean Model (FESOM) with a mesh refinement in the Southern Ocean, particularly in its marginal seas and in the sub-ice shelf cavities. The cryosphere is represented by a regional setup of the ice flow model RIMBAY comprising the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the grounded ice in its catchment area up to the ice divides. At the base of the RIMBAY ice shelf, melt rates from FESOM's ice-shelf component are supplied. RIMBAY returns ice thickness and the position of the grounding line. The ocean model uses a pre-computed mesh to allow for an easy adjustment of the model domain to a varying cavity geometry. RAnGO simulations with a 20th-century climate forcing yield realistic basal melt rates and a quasi-stable grounding line position close to the presently observed state. In a centennial-scale warm-water-inflow scenario, the model suggests a substantial thinning of the ice shelf and a local retreat of the grounding line. The potentially negative feedback from ice-shelf thinning through a rising in-situ freezing temperature is more than outweighed by the increasing water column thickness in the deepest parts of the cavity. Compared to a control simulation with fixed ice-shelf geometry, the coupled model thus yields a slightly stronger increase of ice-shelf basal melt rates.

scholarly journals Antarctic ice sheet fertilises the Southern Ocean

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2635-2643 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Death ◽  
J. L. Wadham ◽  
F. Monteiro ◽  
A. M. Le Brocq ◽  
M. Tranter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Coastal Sediments ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Iron Cycling ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Significant Control ◽  
Subglacial Meltwater ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Southern Ocean (SO) marine primary productivity (PP) is strongly influenced by the availability of iron in surface waters, which is thought to exert a significant control upon atmospheric CO2 concentrations on glacial/interglacial timescales. The zone bordering the Antarctic Ice Sheet exhibits high PP and seasonal plankton blooms in response to light and variations in iron availability. The sources of iron stimulating elevated SO PP are in debate. Established contributors include dust, coastal sediments/upwelling, icebergs and sea ice. Subglacial meltwater exported at the ice margin is a more recent suggestion, arising from intense iron cycling beneath the ice sheet. Icebergs and subglacial meltwater may supply a large amount of bioavailable iron to the SO, estimated in this study at 0.07–0.2 Tg yr−1. Here we apply the MIT global ocean model (Follows et al., 2007) to determine the potential impact of this level of iron export from the ice sheet upon SO PP. The export of iron from the ice sheet raises modelled SO PP by up to 40%, and provides one plausible explanation for seasonally very high in situ measurements of PP in the near-coastal zone. The impact on SO PP is greatest in coastal regions, which are also areas of high measured marine PP. These results suggest that the export of Antarctic runoff and icebergs may have an important impact on SO PP and should be included in future biogeochemical modelling.

scholarly journals Viscosity and elasticity: a model intercomparison of ice-shelf bending in an Antarctic grounding zone

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (240) ◽  
pp. 573-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN T. WILD ◽  
OLIVER J. MARSH ◽  
WOLFGANG RACK
Keyword(s):  
Young’S Modulus ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Young's Modulus ◽  
Viscoelastic Model ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Elastic Model ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Bending Stresses ◽  
Global Ocean Circulation

ABSTRACTGrounding zones are vital to ice-sheet mass balance and its coupling to the global ocean circulation. Processes here determine the mass discharge from the grounded ice sheet, to the floating ice shelves. The response of this transition zone to tidal forcing has been described by both elastic and viscoelastic models. Here we examine the validity of these models for grounding zone flexure over tidal timescales using field data from the Southern McMurdo Ice Shelf (78° 15′S, 167° 7′E). Observations of tidal movement were carried out by simultaneous tiltmeter and GPS measurements along a profile across the grounding zone. Finite-element simulations covering a 64 d period reveal that the viscoelastic model fits best the observations using a Young's modulus of 1.6 GPa and a viscosity of 1013.7 Pa s (≈ 50.1 TPa s). We conclude that the elastic model is only well-constrained for tidal displacements >35% of the spring-tidal amplitude using a Young's modulus of 1.62 ± 0.69 GPa, but that a viscoelastic model is necessary to adequately capture tidal bending at amplitudes below this threshold. In grounding zones where bending stresses are greater than at the Southern McMurdo Ice Shelf or ice viscosity is lower, the threshold would be even higher.

scholarly journals Antarctic Ice Sheet fertilises the Southern Ocean

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 12551-12570 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Death ◽  
J. L. Wadham ◽  
F. Monteiro ◽  
A. M. Le Brocq ◽  
M. Tranter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Coastal Sediments ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Iron Cycling ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Significant Control ◽  
Subglacial Meltwater ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Southern Ocean (SO) marine primary productivity (PP) is strongly influenced by the availability of iron in surface waters, which is thought to exert a significant control upon atmospheric CO2 concentrations on glacial/interglacial timescales. The zone bordering the Antarctic Ice Sheet exhibits high PP and seasonal plankton blooms in response to light and variations in iron availability. The sources of iron stimulating elevated SO PP are in debate. Established contributors include dust, coastal sediments/upwelling, icebergs and sea ice. Subglacial meltwater exported at the ice margin is a more recent suggestion, arising from intense iron cycling beneath the ice sheet. Icebergs and subglacial meltwater may supply a large amount of bioavailable iron to the SO, estimated in this study at 0.07–1.0 Tg yr−1. Here we apply the MIT global ocean model (Follows et al., 2007) to determine the potential impact of this level of iron export from the ice sheet upon SO PP. The export of iron from the ice sheet raises modelled SO PP by up to 40%, and provides one plausible explanation for very high seasonally observed PP in the near-coastal zone. The impact on SO PP is greatest in coastal regions, which are also areas of high observed marine PP. These results suggest that the export of Antarctic runoff and icebergs may have an important impact on SO PP and should be included in future biogeochemical modelling.

scholarly journals A global high-resolution data set of ice sheet topography, cavity geometry and ocean bathymetry

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janin Schaffer ◽  
Ralph Timmermann ◽  
Jan Erik Arndt ◽  
Steen Savstrup Kristensen ◽  
Christoph Mayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Surface Topographies ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The ocean plays an important role in modulating the mass balance of the polar ice sheets by interacting with the ice shelves in Antarctica and with the marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland. Given that the flux of warm water onto the continental shelf and into the sub-ice cavities is steered by complex bathymetry, a detailed topography data set is an essential ingredient for models that address ice-ocean interaction. We followed the spirit of the global RTopo-1 data set and compiled consistent maps of global ocean bathymetry, upper and lower ice surface topographies and global surface height on a spherical grid with now 30-arc seconds resolution. We used the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO_2014) as the backbone and added the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean version 3 (IBCAOv3) and the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) version 1. While RTopo-1 primarily aimed at a good and consistent representation of the Antarctic ice sheet, ice shelves and sub-ice cavities, RTopo-2 now also contains ice topographies of the Greenland ice sheet and outlet glaciers. In particular, we aimed at a good representation of the fjord and shelf bathymetry surrounding the Greenland continent. We corrected data from earlier gridded products in the areas of Petermann Glacier, Hagen Bræ and Sermilik Fjord assuming that sub-ice and fjord bathymetries roughly follow plausible Last Glacial Maximum ice flow patterns. For the continental shelf off northeast Greenland and the floating ice tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier at about 79° N, we incorporated a high-resolution digital bathymetry model considering original multibeam survey data for the region. Radar data for surface topographies of the floating ice tongues of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier and Zachariæ Isstrøm have been obtained from the data centers of Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Operation Icebridge (NASA/NSF) and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). For the Antarctic ice sheet/ice shelves, RTopo-2 largely relies on the Bedmap-2 product but applies corrections for the geometry of Getz, Abbot and Fimbul ice shelf cavities. The data set is available in full and in regional subsets in NetCDF format from the PANGAEA database at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.856844.

First results from coupling the Parallel Ice Sheet Model with the Modular Ocean Model via an Antarctic ice-shelf cavity module

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Kreuzer ◽  
Ronja Reese ◽  
Willem Huiskamp ◽  
Stefan Petri ◽  
Torsten Albrecht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
First Results ◽  
The Antarctic

<p>The past and future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is largely controlled by interactions between the ocean and floating ice shelves. To investigate these interactions, coupled ocean and ice sheet model configurations are required. Previous modelling studies have mostly relied on high resolution configurations, limiting these studies to individual glaciers or regions over short time scales of decades to a few centuries. To study global and long term interactions, we developed a framework to couple the dynamic ice sheet model PISM with the global ocean general circulation model MOM5 via the ice-shelf cavity module PICO. Since ice-shelf cavities are not resolved by MOM5, but parameterized with the box model PICO, the framework allows the ice sheet and ocean model to be run at resolution of 16 km and 3 degrees, respectively. We present first results from our coupled setup and discuss stability, feedbacks, and interactions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the global ocean system on millennial time scales.</p>

scholarly journals Arctic Mediterranean Exchanges: A consistent volume budget and trends in transports from two decades of observations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svein Østerhus ◽  
Rebecca Woodgate ◽  
Héðinn Valdimarsson ◽  
Bill Turrell ◽  
Laura de Steur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Bering Strait ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Denmark Strait

Abstract. The Arctic Mediterranean (AM) is the collective name for the Arctic Ocean, the Nordic Seas, and their adjacent shelf seas. Into this region, water enters through the Bering Strait (Pacific inflow) and through the passages across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (Atlantic inflow) and then modified within the AM. The modified waters leave the AM in several flow branches, which are grouped into two different categories: (1) overflow of dense water through the deep passages across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, and (2) outflow of light water – here termed surface outflow – on both sides of Greenland. These exchanges transport heat, salt, and other substances into and out of the AM and are important for conditions in the AM. They are also part of the global ocean circulation and climate system. Attempts to quantify the transports by various methods have been made for many years, but only recently, has the observational coverage become sufficiently complete to allow an integrated assessment of the AM-exchanges based solely on observations. In this study, we focus on the transport of water and have collected data on volume transport for as many AM-exchange branches as possible between 1993–2015. The total AM-import (oceanic inflows plus freshwater) is found to be 9.1 ± 0.7 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1) and has a seasonal variation of amplitude close to 1 Sv and maximum import in October. Roughly one third of the imported water leaves the AM as surface outflow with the remaining two thirds leaving as overflow. The overflow is mainly produced from modified Atlantic inflow and around 70 % of the total Atlantic inflow is converted into overflow, indicating a strong coupling between these two exchanges. The surface outflow is fed from the Pacific inflow and freshwater, but is still ~ 2/3rds from modified Atlantic water. For the inflow branches and the two main overflow branches (Denmark Strait and Faroe Bank Channel), systematic monitoring of volume transport has been established since the mid-1990s and this allows us to estimate trends for the AM-exchanges as a whole. At the 95 % level, only the inflow of Pacific water through the Bering Strait showed a statistically significant trend, which was positive. Both the total AM-inflow and the combined transport of the two main overflow branches also showed trends consistent with strengthening, but they were not statistically significant. They do suggest, however, that any significant weakening of these flows during the last two decades is unlikely and the overall message is that the AM-exchanges remained remarkably stable in the period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s. The overflows are the densest source water for the deep limb of the North Atlantic part of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and this conclusion argues that the reported weakening of the AMOC was not due to overflow weakening or reduced overturning in the AM. Although the combined data set has made it possible to establish a consistent budget for the AM-exchanges, the observational coverage for some of the branches is limited, which introduces considerable uncertainty. This lack of coverage is especially extreme for the surface outflows through the Denmark Strait, the overflow across the Iceland-Faroe Ridge, and the inflow over the Scottish shelf. We recommend that more effort is put into observing these flows as well as maintaining the monitoring systems established for the other exchange branches.

scholarly journals Response to Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf cavity warming in a coupled ocean–ice sheet model – Part 1: The ocean perspective

Ocean Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 765-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Timmermann ◽  
Sebastian Goeller
Keyword(s):  
World Ocean ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Freezing Temperature ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Marginal Seas ◽  
Grounding Line

Abstract. The Regional Antarctic ice and Global Ocean (RAnGO) model has been developed to study the interaction between the world ocean and the Antarctic ice sheet. The coupled model is based on a global implementation of the Finite Element Sea-ice Ocean Model (FESOM) with a mesh refinement in the Southern Ocean, particularly in its marginal seas and in the sub-ice-shelf cavities. The cryosphere is represented by a regional setup of the ice flow model RIMBAY comprising the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf and the grounded ice in its catchment area up to the ice divides. At the base of the RIMBAY ice shelf, melt rates from FESOM's ice-shelf component are supplied. RIMBAY returns ice thickness and the position of the grounding line. The ocean model uses a pre-computed mesh to allow for an easy adjustment of the model domain to a varying cavity geometry. RAnGO simulations with a 20th-century climate forcing yield realistic basal melt rates and a quasi-stable grounding line position close to the presently observed state. In a centennial-scale warm-water-inflow scenario, the model suggests a substantial thinning of the ice shelf and a local retreat of the grounding line. The potentially negative feedback from ice-shelf thinning through a rising in situ freezing temperature is more than outweighed by the increasing water column thickness in the deepest parts of the cavity. Compared to a control simulation with fixed ice-shelf geometry, the coupled model thus yields a slightly stronger increase in ice-shelf basal melt rates.

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