An investigation of sediment-laden meltwater plumes using in-situ and remote sensing techniques, Kongsfjorden, Svalbard ...
The Arctic is warming at least two times faster than the rest of the Earth. Increased warming results in the melting and retreat of glaciers and ice caps, a reduction in sea ice extent and thickness, and changes to the region’s hydrological cycle, altering the balance of precipitation. In glaciated...
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Loughborough University
2023
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.26174/thesis.lboro.24680070 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/thesis/An_investigation_of_sediment-laden_meltwater_plumes_using_in-situ_and_remote_sensing_techniques_Kongsfjorden_Svalbard/24680070 |
| Summary: | The Arctic is warming at least two times faster than the rest of the Earth. Increased warming results in the melting and retreat of glaciers and ice caps, a reduction in sea ice extent and thickness, and changes to the region’s hydrological cycle, altering the balance of precipitation. In glaciated basins throughout the Arctic, increased atmospheric temperatures result in the production of greater volumes of meltwater. Meltwater can be delivered to fjords and coastal areas by marine-terminating glaciers at depth or via terrestrial glacier-fed rivers. These systems entrain and transport the products of glacial erosion, sediment, in suspension. When this entrained material reaches the fjord, a sediment-laden meltwater plume is formed, as the denser freshwater sits on the fjord surface. These plumes impact upon fjord circulation, biogeochemical cycling and glaciomarine sedimentation, and at marine-terminating systems can also increase iceberg calving and enhance melt. However, the spatial and temporal evolution ... |
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