scholarly journals A decade of variability on Jakobshavn Isbræ: ocean temperatures pace speed through influence on mélange rigidity

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Joughin ◽  
David E. Shean ◽  
Benjamin E. Smith ◽  
Dana Floricioiu
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Brittle Failure ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Relative Timing ◽  
Elevation Data ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Dominant Influence

Abstract. The speed of Greenland's fastest glacier, Jakobshavn Isbræ, has varied substantially since its speed-up in the late 1990s. Here we present observations of surface velocity, mélange rigidity, and surface elevation to examine its behaviour over the last decade. Consistent with earlier results, we find a pronounced cycle of summer speed-up and thinning followed by winter slowdown and thickening. There were extended periods of rigid mélange in the winters of 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, concurrent with terminus advances ∼6 km farther than in the several winters prior. These terminus advances to shallower depths caused slowdowns, leading to substantial thickening, as has been noted elsewhere. The extended periods of rigid mélange coincide well with a period of cooler waters in Disko Bay. Thus, along with the relative timing of the seasonal slowdown, our results suggest that the ocean's dominant influence on Jakobshavn Isbræ is through its effect on winter mélange rigidity, rather than summer submarine melting. The elevation time series also reveals that in summers when the area upstream of the terminus approaches flotation, large surface depressions can form, which eventually become the detachment points for major calving events. It appears that as elevations approach flotation, basal crevasses can form, which initiates a necking process that forms the depressions. The elevation data also show that steep cliffs often evolve into short floating extensions, rather than collapsing catastrophically due to brittle failure. Finally, summer 2019 speeds were slightly faster than the prior two summers, leaving it unclear whether the slowdown is ending.

scholarly journals A Decade of Variability on Jakobshavn Isbrae: Ocean Temperatures Pace Speed Through Influence on Mélange Rigidity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Joughin ◽  
David E. Shean ◽  
Benjamin E. Smith ◽  
Dana Floricioiu
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Brittle Failure ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Relative Timing ◽  
Elevation Data ◽  
Dominant Influence

Abstract. The speed of Greenland’s fastest glacier, Jakobshavn Isbrae, has varied substantially since its speedup in the late 1990s. Here we present observations of surface velocity, mélange rigidity, and surface elevation to examine its behaviour over the last decade. Consistent with earlier results, we find a pronounced cycle of summer speedup and thinning followed by winter slowdown and thickening. There were extended periods of rigid mélange in the winters of 2016–17 and 2017–18, concurrent with terminus advances ~ 6 km farther than in the several winters prior. These terminus advances to shallower depths caused slowdowns, leading to substantial thickening, as has been noted elsewhere. The extended periods of rigid mélange coincide well with a period of cooler waters in Disko Bay. Thus, along with the relative timing of the seasonal slowdown, our results suggest that the ocean’s dominant influence on Jakobshavn Isbrae is through its effect on winter mélange rigidity, rather than summer submarine melting. The elevation time series also reveals that in summers when the area upstream of the terminus approaches flotation, large surface depressions can form, which eventually become the detachment points for major calving events. It appears that as elevations near flotation, basal crevasses can form, which initiates a necking process that forms the depressions. The elevation data also show that steep cliffs often evolve into short floating extensions, rather than collapsing catastrophically due to brittle failure. Finally, summer 2019 speeds are slightly faster than the prior two summers, leaving it unclear whether the slowdown is ending.

Surface velocity variations of glaciers on Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, 2014-2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruitang Yang ◽  
Regine Hock ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Donghui Shangguan ◽  
Wanqin Guo
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Velocity Fields ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variations ◽  
Outburst Flood ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Kenai Peninsula ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Offset Tracking

<p>We characterize the spatiotemporal variations surface velocity of glaciers on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, using intensity offset tracking on a set of repeat-pass Sentinel-1 data and TerraSAR-X data. We derived 92 velocity fields and generated time-averaged annual and seasonal surface velocity maps for the period October 2014 to December 2019, as well as time series surface velocity profiles along centerlines for individual glaciers. We find considerable spatial and seasonal variations in surface velocity in the study area, especially a pronounced average spring speedup of 50% averagely compared to annual mean velocity. Ice velocities varied systematically between glaciers with different terminus types. Generally, the pixel-averaged velocity of tidewater and lake-terminating glaciers are up to 2 and 1.5 times greater than those of the land-terminating glaciers, respectively. For Bear glacier, with the analysis of surface velocity profile and the terminus change, we state this glacier retreat and accelerate. While the time-series result shows the velocity speed-up of the Bear glacier synchronizes well with the ice-damaged lake outburst flood (GLOF) events.</p>

High-Frequency Radar Mapping of Surface Currents Using WERA

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn K. Shay ◽  
Jorge Martinez-Pedraja ◽  
Thomas M. Cook ◽  
Brian K. Haus ◽  
Robert H. Weisberg
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Tidal Currents ◽  
Tropical Storm ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Surface Currents ◽  
West Florida Shelf ◽  
The West ◽  
Florida Shelf ◽  
East West

Abstract A dual-station high-frequency Wellen Radar (WERA), transmitting at 16.045 MHz, was deployed along the west Florida shelf in phased array mode during the summer of 2003. A 33-day, continuous time series of radial and vector surface current fields was acquired starting on 23 August ending 25 September 2003. Over a 30-min sample interval, WERA mapped coastal ocean currents over an ≈40 km × 80 km footprint with a 1.2-km horizontal resolution. A total of 1628 snapshots of the vector surface currents was acquired, with only 70 samples (4.3%) missing from the vector time series. Comparisons to subsurface measurements from two moored acoustic Doppler current profilers revealed RMS differences of 1 to 5 cm s−1 for both radial and Cartesian current components. Regression analyses indicated slopes close to unity with small biases between surface and subsurface measurements at 4-m depth in the east–west (u) and north–south (υ) components, respectively. Vector correlation coefficients were 0.9 with complex phases of −3° and 5° at EC4 (20-m isobath) and NA2 (25-m isobath) moorings, respectively. Complex surface circulation patterns were observed that included tidal and wind-driven currents over the west Florida shelf. Tidal current amplitudes were 4 to 5 cm s−1 for the diurnal and semidiurnal constituents. Vertical structure of these tidal currents indicated that the semidiurnal components were predominantly barotropic whereas diurnal tidal currents had more of a baroclinic component. Tidal currents were removed from the observed current time series and were compared to the 10-m adjusted winds at a surface mooring. Based on these time series comparisons, regression slopes were 0.02 to 0.03 in the east–west and north–south directions, respectively. During Tropical Storm Henri’s passage on 5 September 2003, cyclonically rotating surface winds forced surface velocities of more than 35 cm s−1 as Henri made landfall north of Tampa Bay, Florida. These results suggest that the WERA measured the surface velocity well under weak to tropical storm wind conditions.

Streamflow Properties from Time Series of Surface Velocity and Stage

2005 ◽  
Vol 131 (8) ◽  
pp. 657-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Plant ◽  
William C. Keller ◽  
Kenneth Hayes ◽  
Kurt Spicer
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Surface Velocity

scholarly journals Variations in the surface velocity of an alpine cirque glacier

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (248) ◽  
pp. 969-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. SANDERS ◽  
K. M. CUFFEY ◽  
K. R. MACGREGOR ◽  
J. L. KAVANAUGH ◽  
C. F. DOW
Keyword(s):  
Water System ◽  
Heavy Rain ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Channel Network ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Water Volumes ◽  
One Year

ABSTRACTFollowing pioneering work in Norway, cirque glaciers have widely been viewed as rigidly rotating bodies. This model is incorrect for basin-filling cirque glaciers, as we have demonstrated at West Washmawapta Glacier, a small glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Here we report observations at the same glacier that assess whether complex temporal variations of flow also occur. For parts of three summers, we measured daily displacements of the glacier surface. In one year, four short-duration speed-up events were recorded. Three of the events occurred during the intervals of warmest weather, when melt was most rapid; the fourth event occurred immediately following heavy rain. We interpret the speed-up events as manifestations of enhanced water inputs to the glacier bed and associated slip lubrication by increased water volumes and pressures. No further speed-ups occurred in the final month of the melt season, despite warm temperatures and several rainstorms; the dominant subglacial water system likely transformed from one of poorly connected cavities to one with an efficient channel network. The seasonal evolution of hydrology and flow resembles behaviors documented at other, larger temperate glaciers and indicates that analyses of cirque erosion cannot rely on simple assumptions about ice dynamics.

An Efficient Pruning and Filtering Strategy to Mine Partial Periodic Patterns from a Sequence of Event Sets

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kung-Jiuan Yang ◽  
Tzung-Pei Hong ◽  
Yuh-Min Chen ◽  
Guo-Cheng Lan
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Real World ◽  
Oil Price ◽  
Time Stamp ◽  
Single Event ◽  
Periodic Patterns ◽  
Event Time ◽  
The Past ◽  
Real World Applications ◽  
Speed Up

Partial periodic patterns are commonly seen in real-world applications. The major problem of mining partial periodic patterns is the efficiency problem due to a huge set of partial periodic candidates. Although some efficient algorithms have been developed to tackle the problem, the performance of the algorithms significantly drops when the mining parameters are set low. In the past, the authors have adopted the projection-based approach to discover the partial periodic patterns from single-event time series. In this paper, the authors extend it to mine partial periodic patterns from a sequence of event sets which multiple events concurrently occur at the same time stamp. Besides, an efficient pruning and filtering strategy is also proposed to speed up the mining process. Finally, the experimental results on a synthetic dataset and real oil price dataset show the good performance of the proposed approach.

scholarly journals Controls on short-term variations in Greenland glacier dynamics

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (217) ◽  
pp. 883-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.V. Sundal ◽  
A. Shepherd ◽  
M. van den Broeke ◽  
J. Van Angelen ◽  
N. Gourmelen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Synthetic Aperture Radar Data ◽  
Velocity Fluctuations ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Front Advance ◽  
Enhanced Surface ◽  
Front Dynamics

AbstractShort-term ice-dynamical processes at Greenland’s Jakobshavn and Kangerdlugssuaq glaciers were studied using a 3 day time series of synthetic aperture radar data acquired during the 2011 European Remote-sensing Satellite-2 (ERS-2) 3 day repeat campaign together with modelled meteorological parameters. The time series spans the period March–July 2011 and captures the first ∼30% of the summer melting season. In both study areas, we observe velocity fluctuations at the lower ∼10 km of the glacier. At Jakobshavn Isbræ, where our dataset covers the first part of the seasonal calving-front retreat, we identify ten calving episodes, with a mean calving-front area loss of 1.29 ± 0.4 km2. Significant glacier speed-up was observed in the near-terminus area following all calving episodes. We identify changes in calving-front geometry as the dominant control on velocity fluctuations on both glaciers, apart from a <15% early-summer speed-up at Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier during a period of calving-front advance, which we attribute to enhanced surface melt-induced basal lubrication. Our 3 day velocity maps show new spatial characteristics of the ice melange flow variability in the Jakobshavn and Kangerdlugssuaq fjord systems, which are primarily controlled by calving-front dynamics and fjord geometry.

scholarly journals Bayesian estimation of basal conditions on Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica, from surface data

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (202) ◽  
pp. 315-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Raymond Pralong ◽  
G. Hilmar Gudmundsson
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Surface Topography ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Surface Geometry ◽  
Inference Problem ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Surface Data

AbstractThe determination of basal properties on ice streams from surface data is formulated as a Bayesian statistical inference problem. The theory is applied to a flowline on Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica. Estimates of bed topography and basal slipperiness are updated using measurements of surface topography and the horizontal and vertical components of the surface velocity. The surface topography is allowed to vary within measurement errors. We calculate the transient evolution of the surface until rates of surface elevation change are within limits given by measurements. For our final estimation of basal properties, modelled rates of elevation change are in full agreement with estimates of surface elevation changes. Results are discarded from a section of the flowline where the distribution of surface residuals is not consistent with error estimates. Apart from a general increase in basal slipperiness toward the grounding line, we find no evidence for any spatial variations in basal slipperiness. In particular, we find that short-scale variability (<10 × ice thickness) in surface topography and surface velocities can be reproduced by the model by variations in basal topography only. Assuming steady-state conditions, an almost perfect agreement is found between modelled and measured surface geometry, suggesting that Rutford Ice Stream is currently close to a steady state.

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