Brief communication : subglacial lake drainage beneath Isunguata Sermia, west Greenland : geomorphic and ice dynamic effects
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 in August 2014 and Aug...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
European Geosciences Union
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/152739/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/152739/1/Livingstone_etal_2019_TC.pdf |
Summary: | 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 in August 2014 and August 2015. The 2015 drainage caused a ∼ 1-month down-glacier slowdown in ice flow and flooded the foreland, aggrading the proglacial channel by 8 m. The proglacial flooding confirms the ice-surface elevation anomalies as subglacial water bodies and demonstrates how their drainage can significantly modify proglacial environments. These subglacial lakes offer accessible targets for geophysical investigations and exploration. |
---|