Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard
Abstract Understanding glacier drainage system behaviour and its response to increased meltwater production faces several challenges in the High Arctic because many glaciers are transitioning from polythermal to almost entirely cold thermal structures. We, therefore, used ground-penetrating radar da...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.125 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001258 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2021.125 2024-03-03T08:41:30+00:00 Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard Karušs, Jānis Lamsters, Kristaps Sobota, Ireneusz Ješkins, Jurijs Džeriņš, Pēteris Hodson, Andrew Latvijas Zinātnes Padome 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.125 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001258 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 68, issue 269, page 591-604 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.125 2024-02-08T08:34:49Z Abstract Understanding glacier drainage system behaviour and its response to increased meltwater production faces several challenges in the High Arctic because many glaciers are transitioning from polythermal to almost entirely cold thermal structures. We, therefore, used ground-penetrating radar data to investigate the thermal structure and drainage system of Waldemarbreen in Svalbard: a small High Arctic glacier believed to be undergoing thermal change. We found that Waldemarbreen retains up to 80 m of temperate ice in its upper reaches, but this thickness most likely is a relict from the Little Ice Age when greater ice volumes were insulated from winter cooling and caused greater driving stresses. Since then, negative mass balance and firn loss have prevented latent heat release and allowed near-surface ice temperatures to cool in winter, thus reducing the thickness of the temperate ice. Numerous reflectors that can be traced up-glacier are interpreted as englacial channels formed by hydrofracturing in the crevassed upper region of the glacier. The alternative cut and closure mechanism of conduit initiation only forms conduits in parts of the lower ablation area. Consequently, Waldemarbreen provides evidence that hydrofracturing at higher elevations can play a major role in englacial water drainage through cold ice. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic glacier Journal of Glaciology Svalbard Cambridge University Press Arctic Svalbard Waldemarbreen ENVELOPE(12.104,12.104,78.677,78.677) Journal of Glaciology 1 14 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Karušs, Jānis Lamsters, Kristaps Sobota, Ireneusz Ješkins, Jurijs Džeriņš, Pēteris Hodson, Andrew Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract Understanding glacier drainage system behaviour and its response to increased meltwater production faces several challenges in the High Arctic because many glaciers are transitioning from polythermal to almost entirely cold thermal structures. We, therefore, used ground-penetrating radar data to investigate the thermal structure and drainage system of Waldemarbreen in Svalbard: a small High Arctic glacier believed to be undergoing thermal change. We found that Waldemarbreen retains up to 80 m of temperate ice in its upper reaches, but this thickness most likely is a relict from the Little Ice Age when greater ice volumes were insulated from winter cooling and caused greater driving stresses. Since then, negative mass balance and firn loss have prevented latent heat release and allowed near-surface ice temperatures to cool in winter, thus reducing the thickness of the temperate ice. Numerous reflectors that can be traced up-glacier are interpreted as englacial channels formed by hydrofracturing in the crevassed upper region of the glacier. The alternative cut and closure mechanism of conduit initiation only forms conduits in parts of the lower ablation area. Consequently, Waldemarbreen provides evidence that hydrofracturing at higher elevations can play a major role in englacial water drainage through cold ice. |
author2 |
Latvijas Zinātnes Padome |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Karušs, Jānis Lamsters, Kristaps Sobota, Ireneusz Ješkins, Jurijs Džeriņš, Pēteris Hodson, Andrew |
author_facet |
Karušs, Jānis Lamsters, Kristaps Sobota, Ireneusz Ješkins, Jurijs Džeriņš, Pēteris Hodson, Andrew |
author_sort |
Karušs, Jānis |
title |
Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard |
title_short |
Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard |
title_full |
Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Drainage system and thermal structure of a High Arctic polythermal glacier: Waldemarbreen, western Svalbard |
title_sort |
drainage system and thermal structure of a high arctic polythermal glacier: waldemarbreen, western svalbard |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.125 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001258 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(12.104,12.104,78.677,78.677) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Waldemarbreen |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Waldemarbreen |
genre |
Arctic glacier Journal of Glaciology Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Journal of Glaciology Svalbard |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 68, issue 269, page 591-604 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.125 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
14 |
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1792497216666992640 |