Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance
Marine-terminating outlet glaciers discharge most of the Greenland ice sheet’s mass through frontal ablation and meltwater runoff. While calving can be estimated by in situ and remote sensing observations, submarine melting and subglacial meltwater transport are more challenging to quantify. Here we...
Published in: | Annals of Glaciology |
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/456 https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 |
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ftdartmouthcoll:oai:digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu:facoa-1458 2023-07-16T03:58:34+02:00 Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance Schild, Kristin M Hawley, Robert L Morriss, Blaine F 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/456 https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 unknown Dartmouth Digital Commons https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/456 doi:10.1017/aog.2016.1 https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 Dartmouth Scholarship plume melt subglacial hydrology tidewater glacier MODIS Rink Isbræ Greenland Earth Sciences Glaciology Hydrology Physical Sciences and Mathematics text 2016 ftdartmouthcoll https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 2023-06-28T10:37:31Z Marine-terminating outlet glaciers discharge most of the Greenland ice sheet’s mass through frontal ablation and meltwater runoff. While calving can be estimated by in situ and remote sensing observations, submarine melting and subglacial meltwater transport are more challenging to quantify. Here we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Rink Isbræ, a fast-flowing West Greenland tidewater glacier, using time-lapse photography, modeled runoff estimates and daily satellite imagery from 2007 to 2011. We find that sediment plumes appear episodically at four distinct locations across the terminus, and last between 2 h and 17 d. This suggests short-term variability in discharge and the existence of persistent pathways. The seasonal onset of sediment plumes occurs before supraglacial lake drainages, shortly after the onset of runoff, and only after the wintertime ice mélange has begun disintegrating. Plumes were also visible after the cessation of runoff (23 ± 5 d), which is indicative of subglacial storage. The lack of either a seasonal velocity change or a correspondence between meltwater availability and plume occurrence sug- gests that the subglacial system persists in a state of inefficient drainage. Subglacial hydrology at tidewater glaciers is of critical importance in understanding dynamics at the ice front. Text glacier Greenland Tidewater Dartmouth Digital Commons (Dartmouth College) Greenland Rink Isbræ ENVELOPE(-51.333,-51.333,71.800,71.800) Annals of Glaciology 57 72 118 127 |
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Dartmouth Digital Commons (Dartmouth College) |
op_collection_id |
ftdartmouthcoll |
language |
unknown |
topic |
plume melt subglacial hydrology tidewater glacier MODIS Rink Isbræ Greenland Earth Sciences Glaciology Hydrology Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
spellingShingle |
plume melt subglacial hydrology tidewater glacier MODIS Rink Isbræ Greenland Earth Sciences Glaciology Hydrology Physical Sciences and Mathematics Schild, Kristin M Hawley, Robert L Morriss, Blaine F Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
topic_facet |
plume melt subglacial hydrology tidewater glacier MODIS Rink Isbræ Greenland Earth Sciences Glaciology Hydrology Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
description |
Marine-terminating outlet glaciers discharge most of the Greenland ice sheet’s mass through frontal ablation and meltwater runoff. While calving can be estimated by in situ and remote sensing observations, submarine melting and subglacial meltwater transport are more challenging to quantify. Here we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Rink Isbræ, a fast-flowing West Greenland tidewater glacier, using time-lapse photography, modeled runoff estimates and daily satellite imagery from 2007 to 2011. We find that sediment plumes appear episodically at four distinct locations across the terminus, and last between 2 h and 17 d. This suggests short-term variability in discharge and the existence of persistent pathways. The seasonal onset of sediment plumes occurs before supraglacial lake drainages, shortly after the onset of runoff, and only after the wintertime ice mélange has begun disintegrating. Plumes were also visible after the cessation of runoff (23 ± 5 d), which is indicative of subglacial storage. The lack of either a seasonal velocity change or a correspondence between meltwater availability and plume occurrence sug- gests that the subglacial system persists in a state of inefficient drainage. Subglacial hydrology at tidewater glaciers is of critical importance in understanding dynamics at the ice front. |
format |
Text |
author |
Schild, Kristin M Hawley, Robert L Morriss, Blaine F |
author_facet |
Schild, Kristin M Hawley, Robert L Morriss, Blaine F |
author_sort |
Schild, Kristin M |
title |
Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
title_short |
Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
title_full |
Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
title_fullStr |
Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
title_full_unstemmed |
Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
title_sort |
subglacial hydrology at rink isbræ, west greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance |
publisher |
Dartmouth Digital Commons |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/456 https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-51.333,-51.333,71.800,71.800) |
geographic |
Greenland Rink Isbræ |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Rink Isbræ |
genre |
glacier Greenland Tidewater |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Tidewater |
op_source |
Dartmouth Scholarship |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/456 doi:10.1017/aog.2016.1 https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.1 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_volume |
57 |
container_issue |
72 |
container_start_page |
118 |
op_container_end_page |
127 |
_version_ |
1771545719736369152 |