Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland
Meltwater delivered to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet is a driver of variable ice-motion through changes in effective pressure and enhanced basal lubrication. Ice surface velocities have been shown to respond rapidly both to meltwater production at the surface and to drainage of supraglacial lak...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c9957aa9fc7343808e82ca294277e963 2023-05-15T16:21:19+02:00 Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland C. C. Clason D. W. F. Mair P. W. Nienow I. D. Bartholomew A. Sole S. Palmer W. Schwanghart 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-123-2015 https://doaj.org/article/c9957aa9fc7343808e82ca294277e963 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/123/2015/tc-9-123-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-9-123-2015 https://doaj.org/article/c9957aa9fc7343808e82ca294277e963 The Cryosphere, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 123-138 (2015) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-123-2015 2022-12-31T04:45:22Z Meltwater delivered to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet is a driver of variable ice-motion through changes in effective pressure and enhanced basal lubrication. Ice surface velocities have been shown to respond rapidly both to meltwater production at the surface and to drainage of supraglacial lakes, suggesting efficient transfer of meltwater from the supraglacial to subglacial hydrological systems. Although considerable effort is currently being directed towards improved modelling of the controlling surface and basal processes, modelling the temporal and spatial evolution of the transfer of melt to the bed has received less attention. Here we present the results of spatially distributed modelling for prediction of moulins and lake drainages on the Leverett Glacier in Southwest Greenland. The model is run for the 2009 and 2010 ablation seasons, and for future increased melt scenarios. The temporal pattern of modelled lake drainages are qualitatively comparable with those documented from analyses of repeat satellite imagery. The modelled timings and locations of delivery of meltwater to the bed also match well with observed temporal and spatial patterns of ice surface speed-ups. This is particularly true for the lower catchment (<1000 m a.s.l.) where both the model and observations indicate that the development of moulins is the main mechanism for the transfer of surface meltwater to the bed. At higher elevations (e.g. 1250–1500 m a.s.l.) the development and drainage of supraglacial lakes becomes increasingly important. At these higher elevations, the delay between modelled melt generation and subsequent delivery of melt to the bed matches the observed delay between the peak air temperatures and subsequent velocity speed-ups, while the instantaneous transfer of melt to the bed in a control simulation does not. Although both moulins and lake drainages are predicted to increase in number for future warmer climate scenarios, the lake drainages play an increasingly important role in both expanding the area over ... Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Leverett Glacier The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Leverett Glacier ENVELOPE(-147.583,-147.583,-85.633,-85.633) The Cryosphere 9 1 123 138 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 C. C. Clason D. W. F. Mair P. W. Nienow I. D. Bartholomew A. Sole S. Palmer W. Schwanghart Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Meltwater delivered to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet is a driver of variable ice-motion through changes in effective pressure and enhanced basal lubrication. Ice surface velocities have been shown to respond rapidly both to meltwater production at the surface and to drainage of supraglacial lakes, suggesting efficient transfer of meltwater from the supraglacial to subglacial hydrological systems. Although considerable effort is currently being directed towards improved modelling of the controlling surface and basal processes, modelling the temporal and spatial evolution of the transfer of melt to the bed has received less attention. Here we present the results of spatially distributed modelling for prediction of moulins and lake drainages on the Leverett Glacier in Southwest Greenland. The model is run for the 2009 and 2010 ablation seasons, and for future increased melt scenarios. The temporal pattern of modelled lake drainages are qualitatively comparable with those documented from analyses of repeat satellite imagery. The modelled timings and locations of delivery of meltwater to the bed also match well with observed temporal and spatial patterns of ice surface speed-ups. This is particularly true for the lower catchment (<1000 m a.s.l.) where both the model and observations indicate that the development of moulins is the main mechanism for the transfer of surface meltwater to the bed. At higher elevations (e.g. 1250–1500 m a.s.l.) the development and drainage of supraglacial lakes becomes increasingly important. At these higher elevations, the delay between modelled melt generation and subsequent delivery of melt to the bed matches the observed delay between the peak air temperatures and subsequent velocity speed-ups, while the instantaneous transfer of melt to the bed in a control simulation does not. Although both moulins and lake drainages are predicted to increase in number for future warmer climate scenarios, the lake drainages play an increasingly important role in both expanding the area over ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
C. C. Clason D. W. F. Mair P. W. Nienow I. D. Bartholomew A. Sole S. Palmer W. Schwanghart |
author_facet |
C. C. Clason D. W. F. Mair P. W. Nienow I. D. Bartholomew A. Sole S. Palmer W. Schwanghart |
author_sort |
C. C. Clason |
title |
Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland |
title_short |
Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland |
title_full |
Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of Leverett Glacier, Southwest Greenland |
title_sort |
modelling the transfer of supraglacial meltwater to the bed of leverett glacier, southwest greenland |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-123-2015 https://doaj.org/article/c9957aa9fc7343808e82ca294277e963 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-147.583,-147.583,-85.633,-85.633) |
geographic |
Greenland Leverett Glacier |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Leverett Glacier |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Leverett Glacier The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Leverett Glacier The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 123-138 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/123/2015/tc-9-123-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-9-123-2015 https://doaj.org/article/c9957aa9fc7343808e82ca294277e963 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-123-2015 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
123 |
op_container_end_page |
138 |
_version_ |
1766009333587378176 |