Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier
Virkisjökull is a rapidly retreating outlet glacier draining the western flanks of Öræfajökull in SE Iceland. Since 2011 there have been continuous measurements of flow in the proglacial meltwater channel and regular campaigns to sample stable isotopes δ2H and δ18O from the river, ice, moraine sprin...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1f77f30922074aeaabb9cda9781da467 2023-05-15T13:29:35+02:00 Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier A. M. MacDonald A. R. Black B. É. Ó Dochartaigh J. Everest W. G. Darling V. Flett D. W. Peach 2016-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.22 https://doaj.org/article/1f77f30922074aeaabb9cda9781da467 EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305516000227/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0260-3055 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5644 doi:10.1017/aog.2016.22 0260-3055 1727-5644 https://doaj.org/article/1f77f30922074aeaabb9cda9781da467 Annals of Glaciology, Vol 57, Pp 151-158 (2016) climate change glacier hydrochemistry glacier hydrology glacier monitoring meltwater chemistry Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.22 2023-03-12T01:31:57Z Virkisjökull is a rapidly retreating outlet glacier draining the western flanks of Öræfajökull in SE Iceland. Since 2011 there have been continuous measurements of flow in the proglacial meltwater channel and regular campaigns to sample stable isotopes δ2H and δ18O from the river, ice, moraine springs and groundwater. The stable isotopes provide reliable end members for glacial ice and shallow groundwater. Analysis of data from 2011 to 2014 indicates that although ice and snowmelt dominate summer riverflow (mean 5.3–7.9 m3 s−1), significant flow is also observed in winter (mean 1.6–2.4 m3 s−1) due primarily to ongoing glacier icemelt. The stable isotope data demonstrate that the influence of groundwater discharge from moraines and the sandur aquifer increases during winter and forms a small (15–20%) consistent source of baseflow to the river. The similarity of hydrological response across seasons reflects a highly efficient glacial drainage system, which makes use of a series of permanent englacial channels within active and buried ice throughout the year. The study has shown that the development of an efficient year round drainage network within the lower part of the glacier has been coincident with the stagnation and subsequent rapid retreat of the glacier. Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology glacier Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Annals of Glaciology 57 72 151 158 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
climate change glacier hydrochemistry glacier hydrology glacier monitoring meltwater chemistry Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
climate change glacier hydrochemistry glacier hydrology glacier monitoring meltwater chemistry Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 A. M. MacDonald A. R. Black B. É. Ó Dochartaigh J. Everest W. G. Darling V. Flett D. W. Peach Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier |
topic_facet |
climate change glacier hydrochemistry glacier hydrology glacier monitoring meltwater chemistry Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Virkisjökull is a rapidly retreating outlet glacier draining the western flanks of Öræfajökull in SE Iceland. Since 2011 there have been continuous measurements of flow in the proglacial meltwater channel and regular campaigns to sample stable isotopes δ2H and δ18O from the river, ice, moraine springs and groundwater. The stable isotopes provide reliable end members for glacial ice and shallow groundwater. Analysis of data from 2011 to 2014 indicates that although ice and snowmelt dominate summer riverflow (mean 5.3–7.9 m3 s−1), significant flow is also observed in winter (mean 1.6–2.4 m3 s−1) due primarily to ongoing glacier icemelt. The stable isotope data demonstrate that the influence of groundwater discharge from moraines and the sandur aquifer increases during winter and forms a small (15–20%) consistent source of baseflow to the river. The similarity of hydrological response across seasons reflects a highly efficient glacial drainage system, which makes use of a series of permanent englacial channels within active and buried ice throughout the year. The study has shown that the development of an efficient year round drainage network within the lower part of the glacier has been coincident with the stagnation and subsequent rapid retreat of the glacier. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. M. MacDonald A. R. Black B. É. Ó Dochartaigh J. Everest W. G. Darling V. Flett D. W. Peach |
author_facet |
A. M. MacDonald A. R. Black B. É. Ó Dochartaigh J. Everest W. G. Darling V. Flett D. W. Peach |
author_sort |
A. M. MacDonald |
title |
Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier |
title_short |
Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier |
title_full |
Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier |
title_fullStr |
Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating Icelandic outlet glacier |
title_sort |
using stable isotopes and continuous meltwater river monitoring to investigate the hydrology of a rapidly retreating icelandic outlet glacier |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.22 https://doaj.org/article/1f77f30922074aeaabb9cda9781da467 |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology glacier Iceland |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology glacier Iceland |
op_source |
Annals of Glaciology, Vol 57, Pp 151-158 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305516000227/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0260-3055 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5644 doi:10.1017/aog.2016.22 0260-3055 1727-5644 https://doaj.org/article/1f77f30922074aeaabb9cda9781da467 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2016.22 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_volume |
57 |
container_issue |
72 |
container_start_page |
151 |
op_container_end_page |
158 |
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1766001353773023232 |