A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland
Basal sliding is a main control on glacier flow primarily driven by water pressure at the glacier base. The ongoing increase in surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet warrants an examination of its impact on basal water pressure and in turn on basal sliding. Here we examine the case of Russell G...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt0kb400zq 2023-06-18T03:40:43+02:00 A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland Fleurian, Basile Morlighem, Mathieu Seroussi, Helene Rignot, Eric Broeke, Michiel R Munneke, Peter Kuipers Mouginot, Jeremie Smeets, Paul CJP Tedstone, Andrew J 1834 - 1848 2016-10-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kb400zq unknown eScholarship, University of California qt0kb400zq https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kb400zq public Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface, vol 121, iss 10 Earth Sciences article 2016 ftcdlib 2023-06-05T18:00:57Z Basal sliding is a main control on glacier flow primarily driven by water pressure at the glacier base. The ongoing increase in surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet warrants an examination of its impact on basal water pressure and in turn on basal sliding. Here we examine the case of Russell Glacier, in West Greenland, where an extensive set of observations has been collected. These observations suggest that the recent increase in melt has had an equivocal impact on the annual velocity, with stable flow on the lower part of the drainage basin but accelerated flow above the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA). These distinct behaviors have been attributed to different evolutions of the subglacial draining system during and after the melt season. Here we use a high-resolution subglacial hydrological model forced by reconstructed surface runoff for the period 2008 to 2012 to investigate the cause of these distinct behaviors. We find that the increase in meltwater production at low elevation yields a more efficient drainage system compatible with the observed stagnation of the mean annual flow below the ELA. At higher elevation, the model indicates that the drainage system is mostly inefficient and is therefore strongly sensitive to an increase in meltwater availability, which is consistent with the observed increase in ice velocity. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet University of California: eScholarship Greenland Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Fleurian, Basile Morlighem, Mathieu Seroussi, Helene Rignot, Eric Broeke, Michiel R Munneke, Peter Kuipers Mouginot, Jeremie Smeets, Paul CJP Tedstone, Andrew J A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences |
description |
Basal sliding is a main control on glacier flow primarily driven by water pressure at the glacier base. The ongoing increase in surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet warrants an examination of its impact on basal water pressure and in turn on basal sliding. Here we examine the case of Russell Glacier, in West Greenland, where an extensive set of observations has been collected. These observations suggest that the recent increase in melt has had an equivocal impact on the annual velocity, with stable flow on the lower part of the drainage basin but accelerated flow above the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA). These distinct behaviors have been attributed to different evolutions of the subglacial draining system during and after the melt season. Here we use a high-resolution subglacial hydrological model forced by reconstructed surface runoff for the period 2008 to 2012 to investigate the cause of these distinct behaviors. We find that the increase in meltwater production at low elevation yields a more efficient drainage system compatible with the observed stagnation of the mean annual flow below the ELA. At higher elevation, the model indicates that the drainage system is mostly inefficient and is therefore strongly sensitive to an increase in meltwater availability, which is consistent with the observed increase in ice velocity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fleurian, Basile Morlighem, Mathieu Seroussi, Helene Rignot, Eric Broeke, Michiel R Munneke, Peter Kuipers Mouginot, Jeremie Smeets, Paul CJP Tedstone, Andrew J |
author_facet |
Fleurian, Basile Morlighem, Mathieu Seroussi, Helene Rignot, Eric Broeke, Michiel R Munneke, Peter Kuipers Mouginot, Jeremie Smeets, Paul CJP Tedstone, Andrew J |
author_sort |
Fleurian, Basile |
title |
A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland |
title_short |
A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland |
title_full |
A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland |
title_fullStr |
A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
A modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath Russell Glacier, West Greenland |
title_sort |
modeling study of the effect of runoff variability on the effective pressure beneath russell glacier, west greenland |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kb400zq |
op_coverage |
1834 - 1848 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Greenland Ela |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Ela |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface, vol 121, iss 10 |
op_relation |
qt0kb400zq https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0kb400zq |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1769005957434572800 |