Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes
Abstract Mountain glaciers and ice sheets often host marginal and subglacial lakes that are hydraulically connected through subglacial drainage systems. These lakes exhibit complex dynamics that have been the subject of models for decades. Here we introduce and analyze a model for the evolution of g...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.46 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143019000467 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2019.46 2024-09-15T17:46:22+00:00 Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes Stubblefield, Aaron G. Creyts, Timothy T. Kingslake, Jonathan Spiegelman, Marc 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.46 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143019000467 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 65, issue 253, page 745-758 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 2019 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.46 2024-09-04T04:03:59Z Abstract Mountain glaciers and ice sheets often host marginal and subglacial lakes that are hydraulically connected through subglacial drainage systems. These lakes exhibit complex dynamics that have been the subject of models for decades. Here we introduce and analyze a model for the evolution of glacial lakes connected by subglacial channels. Subglacial channel equations are supplied with effective pressure boundary conditions that are determined by a simple lake model. While the model can describe an arbitrary number of lakes, we solve it numerically with a finite element method for the case of two connected lakes. We examine the effect of relative lake size and spacing on the oscillations. Complex oscillations in the downstream lake are driven by discharge out of the upstream lake. These include multi-peaked and anti-phase filling–draining events. Similar filling–draining cycles have been observed on the Kennicott Glacier in Alaska and at the confluence of the Whillans and Mercer ice streams in West Antarctica. We further construct a simplified ordinary differential equation model that displays the same qualitative behavior as the full, spatially-dependent model. We analyze this model using dynamical systems theory to explain the appearance of filling–draining cycles as the meltwater supply varies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica glacier glaciers Journal of Glaciology West Antarctica Alaska Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 65 253 745 758 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Mountain glaciers and ice sheets often host marginal and subglacial lakes that are hydraulically connected through subglacial drainage systems. These lakes exhibit complex dynamics that have been the subject of models for decades. Here we introduce and analyze a model for the evolution of glacial lakes connected by subglacial channels. Subglacial channel equations are supplied with effective pressure boundary conditions that are determined by a simple lake model. While the model can describe an arbitrary number of lakes, we solve it numerically with a finite element method for the case of two connected lakes. We examine the effect of relative lake size and spacing on the oscillations. Complex oscillations in the downstream lake are driven by discharge out of the upstream lake. These include multi-peaked and anti-phase filling–draining events. Similar filling–draining cycles have been observed on the Kennicott Glacier in Alaska and at the confluence of the Whillans and Mercer ice streams in West Antarctica. We further construct a simplified ordinary differential equation model that displays the same qualitative behavior as the full, spatially-dependent model. We analyze this model using dynamical systems theory to explain the appearance of filling–draining cycles as the meltwater supply varies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stubblefield, Aaron G. Creyts, Timothy T. Kingslake, Jonathan Spiegelman, Marc |
spellingShingle |
Stubblefield, Aaron G. Creyts, Timothy T. Kingslake, Jonathan Spiegelman, Marc Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
author_facet |
Stubblefield, Aaron G. Creyts, Timothy T. Kingslake, Jonathan Spiegelman, Marc |
author_sort |
Stubblefield, Aaron G. |
title |
Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
title_short |
Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
title_full |
Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
title_fullStr |
Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
title_sort |
modeling oscillations in connected glacial lakes |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.46 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143019000467 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica glacier glaciers Journal of Glaciology West Antarctica Alaska |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica glacier glaciers Journal of Glaciology West Antarctica Alaska |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 65, issue 253, page 745-758 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.46 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
65 |
container_issue |
253 |
container_start_page |
745 |
op_container_end_page |
758 |
_version_ |
1810494446596259840 |