Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling
Understanding calving processes and their controls is of importance for reducing uncertainty in sea level rise estimates. The impact of tidal fluctuations and frontal melt on calving patterns has been researched through both modelling and observational studies but remains uncertain and may vary from...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc105329 2023-06-11T04:11:58+02:00 Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling Holmes, Felicity A. Dongen, Eef Noormets, Riko Pętlicki, Michał Kirchner, Nina 2023-05-05 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/1853/2023/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/1853/2023/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2023 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023 2023-05-08T16:23:11Z Understanding calving processes and their controls is of importance for reducing uncertainty in sea level rise estimates. The impact of tidal fluctuations and frontal melt on calving patterns has been researched through both modelling and observational studies but remains uncertain and may vary from glacier to glacier. In this study, we isolate various different impacts of tidal fluctuations on a glacier terminus to understand their influence on the timing of calving events in a model of Kronebreen, Svalbard, for the duration of 1 month. In addition, we impose a simplified frontal melt parameterisation onto the calving front in order to allow for an undercut to develop over the course of the simulations. We find that calving events show a tidal signal when there is a small or no undercut, but, after a critical point, undercut-driven calving becomes dominant and drowns out the tidal signal. However, the relationship is complex, and large calving events show a tidal signal even with a large modelled undercut. The modelled undercut sizes are then compared to observational profiles, showing that undercuts of up to ca. 25 m are plausible but with a more complex geometry being evident in observations than that captured in the model. These findings highlight the complex interactions occurring at the calving front of Kronebreen and suggest further observational data and modelling work is needed to fully understand the hierarchy of controls on calving. Text glacier Svalbard Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Svalbard Kronebreen ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) The Cryosphere 17 5 1853 1872 |
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Open Polar |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
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English |
description |
Understanding calving processes and their controls is of importance for reducing uncertainty in sea level rise estimates. The impact of tidal fluctuations and frontal melt on calving patterns has been researched through both modelling and observational studies but remains uncertain and may vary from glacier to glacier. In this study, we isolate various different impacts of tidal fluctuations on a glacier terminus to understand their influence on the timing of calving events in a model of Kronebreen, Svalbard, for the duration of 1 month. In addition, we impose a simplified frontal melt parameterisation onto the calving front in order to allow for an undercut to develop over the course of the simulations. We find that calving events show a tidal signal when there is a small or no undercut, but, after a critical point, undercut-driven calving becomes dominant and drowns out the tidal signal. However, the relationship is complex, and large calving events show a tidal signal even with a large modelled undercut. The modelled undercut sizes are then compared to observational profiles, showing that undercuts of up to ca. 25 m are plausible but with a more complex geometry being evident in observations than that captured in the model. These findings highlight the complex interactions occurring at the calving front of Kronebreen and suggest further observational data and modelling work is needed to fully understand the hierarchy of controls on calving. |
format |
Text |
author |
Holmes, Felicity A. Dongen, Eef Noormets, Riko Pętlicki, Michał Kirchner, Nina |
spellingShingle |
Holmes, Felicity A. Dongen, Eef Noormets, Riko Pętlicki, Michał Kirchner, Nina Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
author_facet |
Holmes, Felicity A. Dongen, Eef Noormets, Riko Pętlicki, Michał Kirchner, Nina |
author_sort |
Holmes, Felicity A. |
title |
Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
title_short |
Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
title_full |
Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
title_fullStr |
Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
title_sort |
impact of tides on calving patterns at kronebreen, svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/1853/2023/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) |
geographic |
Svalbard Kronebreen |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Kronebreen |
genre |
glacier Svalbard |
genre_facet |
glacier Svalbard |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/1853/2023/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1853 |
op_container_end_page |
1872 |
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1768387450068008960 |