Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021
Abstract The marginal areas of the Greenland ice sheet develop streams and lakes each summer, documenting that surface runoff of meltwater is a major component of ice-sheet mass balance. Here we map the slush limit, a proxy for the extent of surface runoff, using daily MODIS data for the years 2000–...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214302200065X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2022.65 2024-05-19T07:41:14+00:00 Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 Machguth, Horst Tedstone, Andrew J. Mattea, Enrico H2020 European Research Council 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214302200065X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 69, issue 273, page 191-203 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 2022 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.65 2024-04-25T06:51:25Z Abstract The marginal areas of the Greenland ice sheet develop streams and lakes each summer, documenting that surface runoff of meltwater is a major component of ice-sheet mass balance. Here we map the slush limit, a proxy for the extent of surface runoff, using daily MODIS data for the years 2000–2021. We develop an automated algorithm capable of detecting daily slush limits, provided sufficient image quality. The algorithm is applied to the ice sheet's western flank (61.7 $^{\circ }$ N to 76.5 $^{\circ }$ N). We find significant increasing trends in maximum slush limits until the year 2012, but not thereafter. We show that the slush limit typically rises quickly early in the ablation season but stabilizes before melting ceases. The data provide evidence that upward migration of surface runoff in summer 2012 stopped early at the upper margin of the ice slabs. These thick and continuous ice layers are located close to the surface, in the firn, and impede percolation of melt into deeper pore space. Had the ice slabs extended higher, the summer 2012 provided sufficient energy to raise the slush limit by another $\sim$ 300 m in elevation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 1 13 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The marginal areas of the Greenland ice sheet develop streams and lakes each summer, documenting that surface runoff of meltwater is a major component of ice-sheet mass balance. Here we map the slush limit, a proxy for the extent of surface runoff, using daily MODIS data for the years 2000–2021. We develop an automated algorithm capable of detecting daily slush limits, provided sufficient image quality. The algorithm is applied to the ice sheet's western flank (61.7 $^{\circ }$ N to 76.5 $^{\circ }$ N). We find significant increasing trends in maximum slush limits until the year 2012, but not thereafter. We show that the slush limit typically rises quickly early in the ablation season but stabilizes before melting ceases. The data provide evidence that upward migration of surface runoff in summer 2012 stopped early at the upper margin of the ice slabs. These thick and continuous ice layers are located close to the surface, in the firn, and impede percolation of melt into deeper pore space. Had the ice slabs extended higher, the summer 2012 provided sufficient energy to raise the slush limit by another $\sim$ 300 m in elevation. |
author2 |
H2020 European Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Machguth, Horst Tedstone, Andrew J. Mattea, Enrico |
spellingShingle |
Machguth, Horst Tedstone, Andrew J. Mattea, Enrico Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
author_facet |
Machguth, Horst Tedstone, Andrew J. Mattea, Enrico |
author_sort |
Machguth, Horst |
title |
Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
title_short |
Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
title_full |
Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
title_fullStr |
Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Daily variations in Western Greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
title_sort |
daily variations in western greenland slush limits, 2000–2021 |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214302200065X |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 69, issue 273, page 191-203 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.65 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
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1 |
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13 |
_version_ |
1799480830806982656 |