Hydraulic suppression of basal glacier melt in sill fjords

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: J. Nilsson, E. van Dongen, M. Jakobsson, M. O'Regan, C. Stranne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Greenland; Ryder; glacier; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2455-2023; https://doaj.org/article/8e33a0c481524df182684a01880ec916

Using a conceptual model, we examine how hydraulically controlled exchange flows in silled fjords affect the relationship between the basal glacier melt and the features of warm intermediate Atlantic Water (AW) outside the fjords. We show that an exchange flow can be forced to transit into the hydraulic regime if the AW interface height decreases, the AW temperature increases, or the production of glacially modified water is boosted by subglacial discharge. In the hydraulic regime, the heat transport across the sill becomes a rate-limiting factor for the basal melt, which is suppressed. An interplay between processes near the ice–ocean boundary and the hydraulically controlled exchange flow determines the melt dynamics, and the sensitivity of the basal melt to changes in the AW temperature is reduced. The model results are discussed in relation to observations from the Petermann, Ryder, and 79 ∘ N glaciers in northern Greenland.