Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet
Rising sea levels and increased surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet have heightened the need for direct observations of meltwater release from the ice edge to ocean. Buoyant sediment plumes that develop in fjords downstream of outlet glaciers are controlled by numerous factors, including melt...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cb3665365c9a46c0a058087469972dbe 2023-05-15T16:26:16+02:00 Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet V. W. Chu L. C. Smith A. K. Rennermalm R. R. Forster J. E. Box 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1-2012 https://doaj.org/article/cb3665365c9a46c0a058087469972dbe EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1/2012/tc-6-1-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/cb3665365c9a46c0a058087469972dbe The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-19 (2012) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1-2012 2022-12-31T01:04:52Z Rising sea levels and increased surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet have heightened the need for direct observations of meltwater release from the ice edge to ocean. Buoyant sediment plumes that develop in fjords downstream of outlet glaciers are controlled by numerous factors, including meltwater runoff. Here, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery is used to average surface suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in fjords around ∼80% of Greenland from 2000–2009. Spatial and temporal patterns in SSC are compared with positive-degree-days (PDD), a proxy for surface melting, from the Polar MM5 regional climate model. Over this decade significant geographic covariance occurred between ice sheet PDD and fjord SSC, with outlet type (land- vs. marine-terminating glaciers) also important. In general, high SSC is associated with high PDD and/or a high proportion of land-terminating glaciers. Unlike previous site-specific studies of the Watson River plume at Kangerlussuaq, temporal covariance is low, suggesting that plume dimensions best capture interannual runoff dynamics whereas SSC allows assessment of meltwater signals across much broader fjord environments around the ice sheet. Remote sensing of both plume characteristics thus offers a viable approach for observing spatial and temporal patterns of meltwater release from the Greenland ice sheet to the global ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Kangerlussuaq ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) The Cryosphere 6 1 1 19 |
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 V. W. Chu L. C. Smith A. K. Rennermalm R. R. Forster J. E. Box Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Rising sea levels and increased surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet have heightened the need for direct observations of meltwater release from the ice edge to ocean. Buoyant sediment plumes that develop in fjords downstream of outlet glaciers are controlled by numerous factors, including meltwater runoff. Here, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery is used to average surface suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in fjords around ∼80% of Greenland from 2000–2009. Spatial and temporal patterns in SSC are compared with positive-degree-days (PDD), a proxy for surface melting, from the Polar MM5 regional climate model. Over this decade significant geographic covariance occurred between ice sheet PDD and fjord SSC, with outlet type (land- vs. marine-terminating glaciers) also important. In general, high SSC is associated with high PDD and/or a high proportion of land-terminating glaciers. Unlike previous site-specific studies of the Watson River plume at Kangerlussuaq, temporal covariance is low, suggesting that plume dimensions best capture interannual runoff dynamics whereas SSC allows assessment of meltwater signals across much broader fjord environments around the ice sheet. Remote sensing of both plume characteristics thus offers a viable approach for observing spatial and temporal patterns of meltwater release from the Greenland ice sheet to the global ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
V. W. Chu L. C. Smith A. K. Rennermalm R. R. Forster J. E. Box |
author_facet |
V. W. Chu L. C. Smith A. K. Rennermalm R. R. Forster J. E. Box |
author_sort |
V. W. Chu |
title |
Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_short |
Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full |
Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_fullStr |
Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_sort |
hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the greenland ice sheet |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1-2012 https://doaj.org/article/cb3665365c9a46c0a058087469972dbe |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) |
geographic |
Greenland Kangerlussuaq |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Kangerlussuaq |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-19 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1/2012/tc-6-1-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/cb3665365c9a46c0a058087469972dbe |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1-2012 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
19 |
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1766015174383239168 |