Greenland ice-sheet wide glacier classification based on two distinct seasonal ice velocity behaviors
Abstract Greenland glaciers exhibit variable seasonal velocity signals that may reflect differences in subglacial hydrology. Here, we conduct a first GrIS-wide glacier classification based on seasonal velocity patterns derived from 2017 Sentinel-1 radar data. Our classification focuses on two distin...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.89 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021000897 |
| Summary: | Abstract Greenland glaciers exhibit variable seasonal velocity signals that may reflect differences in subglacial hydrology. Here, we conduct a first GrIS-wide glacier classification based on seasonal velocity patterns derived from 2017 Sentinel-1 radar data. Our classification focuses on two distinct seasonal ice velocity patterns, with the first (type-2 from Moon and others, 2014) showing periods of both speedup and slowdown during the melt season, and the second (type-3) instead showing a longer period of slowdown from elevated velocities in the winter and spring. We analyze 221 glaciers in 2017 and show that 48 exhibit type-2 behavior, and 72 exhibit type-3 behavior. We extend the classification to 2018 and 2019 and find that while the glaciers meeting each criterion vary year to year, type-2 is consistently more common in the northern regions and type-3 is more common in the south. Our results highlight the varied impact of meltwater on subglacial drainage systems and glacier flow in Greenland. |
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