A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data.
The evolution of Greenland glaciers in a warming climate depends on their depth below sea level, flow speed, surface melt, and ocean-induced undercutting at the calving front. We present an innovative mapping of bed topography in the frontal regions of Sermeq Avannarleq and Kujalleq, two major glaci...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
eScholarship, University of California
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1551d4q2 |
id |
ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org/ark:/13030/qt1551d4q2 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org/ark:/13030/qt1551d4q2 2023-05-15T16:25:43+02:00 A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. An, L Rignot, E Mouginot, J Millan, R 3156 - 3163 2018-04-05 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1551d4q2 unknown eScholarship, University of California qt1551d4q2 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1551d4q2 public Geophysical research letters, vol 45, iss 7 Greenland bathymetry gravity mass balance remote sensing Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences article 2018 ftcdlib 2021-05-30T17:54:06Z The evolution of Greenland glaciers in a warming climate depends on their depth below sea level, flow speed, surface melt, and ocean-induced undercutting at the calving front. We present an innovative mapping of bed topography in the frontal regions of Sermeq Avannarleq and Kujalleq, two major glaciers flowing into the ice-choked Torssukatak Fjord, central west Greenland. The mapping combines a mass conservation algorithm inland, multibeam echo sounding data in the fjord, and high-resolution airborne gravity data at the ice-ocean transition where other approaches have traditionally failed. We obtain a reliable, precision (±40m) solution for bed topography across the ice-ocean boundary. The results reveal a 700m deep fjord that abruptly ends on a 100-300m deep sill along the calving fronts. The shallow sills explain the presence of stranded icebergs, the resilience of the glaciers to ocean-induced undercutting by warm Atlantic water, and their remarkable stability over the past century. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Kujalleq University of California: eScholarship Avannarleq ENVELOPE(-49.100,-49.100,62.133,62.133) Greenland Kujalleq ENVELOPE(-46.037,-46.037,60.719,60.719) Sermeq Avannarleq ENVELOPE(-50.833,-50.833,71.033,71.033) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Greenland bathymetry gravity mass balance remote sensing Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Greenland bathymetry gravity mass balance remote sensing Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences An, L Rignot, E Mouginot, J Millan, R A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. |
topic_facet |
Greenland bathymetry gravity mass balance remote sensing Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences |
description |
The evolution of Greenland glaciers in a warming climate depends on their depth below sea level, flow speed, surface melt, and ocean-induced undercutting at the calving front. We present an innovative mapping of bed topography in the frontal regions of Sermeq Avannarleq and Kujalleq, two major glaciers flowing into the ice-choked Torssukatak Fjord, central west Greenland. The mapping combines a mass conservation algorithm inland, multibeam echo sounding data in the fjord, and high-resolution airborne gravity data at the ice-ocean transition where other approaches have traditionally failed. We obtain a reliable, precision (±40m) solution for bed topography across the ice-ocean boundary. The results reveal a 700m deep fjord that abruptly ends on a 100-300m deep sill along the calving fronts. The shallow sills explain the presence of stranded icebergs, the resilience of the glaciers to ocean-induced undercutting by warm Atlantic water, and their remarkable stability over the past century. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
An, L Rignot, E Mouginot, J Millan, R |
author_facet |
An, L Rignot, E Mouginot, J Millan, R |
author_sort |
An, L |
title |
A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. |
title_short |
A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. |
title_full |
A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. |
title_fullStr |
A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Century of Stability of Avannarleq and Kujalleq Glaciers, West Greenland, Explained Using High-Resolution Airborne Gravity and Other Data. |
title_sort |
century of stability of avannarleq and kujalleq glaciers, west greenland, explained using high-resolution airborne gravity and other data. |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1551d4q2 |
op_coverage |
3156 - 3163 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-49.100,-49.100,62.133,62.133) ENVELOPE(-46.037,-46.037,60.719,60.719) ENVELOPE(-50.833,-50.833,71.033,71.033) |
geographic |
Avannarleq Greenland Kujalleq Sermeq Avannarleq |
geographic_facet |
Avannarleq Greenland Kujalleq Sermeq Avannarleq |
genre |
Greenland Kujalleq |
genre_facet |
Greenland Kujalleq |
op_source |
Geophysical research letters, vol 45, iss 7 |
op_relation |
qt1551d4q2 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1551d4q2 |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1766014534921748480 |