Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability
Ice flow can transfer variations in basal topography and basal slipperiness to the ice surface. Recent developments in this theory have made it possible to conduct numerical experiments to predict mesoscale surface topographical undulations and surface relief on an ice sheet-scale. Focussing here on...
Published in: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:24644ab4de06461cb456b611389e0979 2023-05-15T16:27:23+02:00 Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability Ádám Ignéczi Andrew J. Sole Stephen J. Livingstone Felix S. L. Ng Kang Yang 2018-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00101 https://doaj.org/article/24644ab4de06461cb456b611389e0979 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00101/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2018.00101 https://doaj.org/article/24644ab4de06461cb456b611389e0979 Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 6 (2018) greenland ice sheet basal variability transfer surface relief surface drainage surface mass balance surface lakes Science Q article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00101 2022-12-31T09:57:24Z Ice flow can transfer variations in basal topography and basal slipperiness to the ice surface. Recent developments in this theory have made it possible to conduct numerical experiments to predict mesoscale surface topographical undulations and surface relief on an ice sheet-scale. Focussing here on the contemporary Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), we demonstrate that the theory can be used to predict the surface relief of the ice sheet from bed topography, ice thickness and basal slip ratio datasets. In certain regions of the GrIS our approach overestimates, while in others underestimates, the observed surface relief. The magnitude and spatial pattern of these mismatches correspond with the theory's limitations and known uncertainties in the bed topography and basal slip ratio datasets. Our prediction experiment establishes that the first-order control on GrIS surface relief is basal topography modulated by ice thickness, surface slope and basal slip ratio. Additional analyses show that the surface relief, which is controlled by the bed-to-surface transfer of basal topography, preconditions the large scale spatial structure of surface drainage, with other factors such as surface runoff modulating the actual drainage system through influencing the temporal evolution of meltwater features. It follows that the spatial structure of surface drainage depends strongly on the transfer of basal topography to the ice surface. These findings represent an important step toward investigating and understanding the net long-term (>102 years) effect of surface drainage on ice sheet mass balance and dynamics during deglaciation events. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Frontiers in Earth Science 6 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
greenland ice sheet basal variability transfer surface relief surface drainage surface mass balance surface lakes Science Q |
spellingShingle |
greenland ice sheet basal variability transfer surface relief surface drainage surface mass balance surface lakes Science Q Ádám Ignéczi Andrew J. Sole Stephen J. Livingstone Felix S. L. Ng Kang Yang Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability |
topic_facet |
greenland ice sheet basal variability transfer surface relief surface drainage surface mass balance surface lakes Science Q |
description |
Ice flow can transfer variations in basal topography and basal slipperiness to the ice surface. Recent developments in this theory have made it possible to conduct numerical experiments to predict mesoscale surface topographical undulations and surface relief on an ice sheet-scale. Focussing here on the contemporary Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), we demonstrate that the theory can be used to predict the surface relief of the ice sheet from bed topography, ice thickness and basal slip ratio datasets. In certain regions of the GrIS our approach overestimates, while in others underestimates, the observed surface relief. The magnitude and spatial pattern of these mismatches correspond with the theory's limitations and known uncertainties in the bed topography and basal slip ratio datasets. Our prediction experiment establishes that the first-order control on GrIS surface relief is basal topography modulated by ice thickness, surface slope and basal slip ratio. Additional analyses show that the surface relief, which is controlled by the bed-to-surface transfer of basal topography, preconditions the large scale spatial structure of surface drainage, with other factors such as surface runoff modulating the actual drainage system through influencing the temporal evolution of meltwater features. It follows that the spatial structure of surface drainage depends strongly on the transfer of basal topography to the ice surface. These findings represent an important step toward investigating and understanding the net long-term (>102 years) effect of surface drainage on ice sheet mass balance and dynamics during deglaciation events. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ádám Ignéczi Andrew J. Sole Stephen J. Livingstone Felix S. L. Ng Kang Yang |
author_facet |
Ádám Ignéczi Andrew J. Sole Stephen J. Livingstone Felix S. L. Ng Kang Yang |
author_sort |
Ádám Ignéczi |
title |
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability |
title_short |
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability |
title_full |
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability |
title_fullStr |
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Topography and Drainage Structure Controlled by the Transfer of Basal Variability |
title_sort |
greenland ice sheet surface topography and drainage structure controlled by the transfer of basal variability |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00101 https://doaj.org/article/24644ab4de06461cb456b611389e0979 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 6 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00101/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2018.00101 https://doaj.org/article/24644ab4de06461cb456b611389e0979 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00101 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
6 |
_version_ |
1766016536048304128 |