Brief Communication: Outburst floods triggered by periodic drainage of subglacial lakes, Isunguata Sermia, West Greenland

• Main Authors: Livingstone, S.J., Sole, A.J., Storrar, R.D., Harrison, D., Ross, N., Bowling, J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: European Geosciences Union 2019
• Subjects: Greenland; The Cryosphere; The Cryosphere Discussions
• Online Access: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/149200/; https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/149200/1/tc-2019-137.pdf

We report three active subglacial lakes within 2 km of the lateral margin of Isunguata Sermia, West Greenland, identified by differencing time-stamped ArcticDEM strips. Each lake underwent one drainage-refill event between 2009 and 2017, with two lakes draining in < 1 month during August 2014 and August 2015, and all three characterised by 2–3-year refill periods. The 2015 drainage flooded the foreland aggrading 8 m of the proglacial channel, confirming the ice-surface elevation anomalies as subglacial water bodies and demonstrating how subglacial lake drainages can significantly modify proglacial environments. These subglacial lakes offer accessible targets for future geophysical investigations and exploration.