Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities
This work was funded by the Conoco Phillips-Lundin Northern Area Program through the CRIOS project (Calving Rates and Impact On Sea level, http://www.researchinsvalbard.no/project/7037). Penelope How is supported by a NERC PhD studentship. Subglacial hydrological processes at tidewater glaciers rema...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10023/12222 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
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ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/12222 2024-04-28T08:20:15+00:00 Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities How, P. Benn, D. I. Hulton, N. R. J. Hubbard, B. Luckman, A. Sevestre, H. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lindbäck, K. Kohler, J. Boot, W. University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development University of St Andrews. Bell-Edwards Geographic Data Institute 2017-12-01T15:30:10Z 20 10244848 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10023/12222 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 eng eng The Cryosphere 251678933 88d10041-f51d-4302-be3a-5a9d963a523d 85035069558 000415829000003 How , P , Benn , D I , Hulton , N R J , Hubbard , B , Luckman , A , Sevestre , H , van Pelt , W J J , Lindbäck , K , Kohler , J & Boot , W 2017 , ' Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 11 , no. 6 , pp. 2691-2710 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 1994-0416 Bibtex: urn:dbb26e57a8317092d9f2d0dbef4c322c ORCID: /0000-0002-3604-0886/work/64697386 https://hdl.handle.net/10023/12222 doi:10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology 3rd-DAS SDG 14 - Life Below Water GE QE Journal article 2017 ftstandrewserep https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 2024-04-09T23:33:08Z This work was funded by the Conoco Phillips-Lundin Northern Area Program through the CRIOS project (Calving Rates and Impact On Sea level, http://www.researchinsvalbard.no/project/7037). Penelope How is supported by a NERC PhD studentship. Subglacial hydrological processes at tidewater glaciers remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in obtaining direct measurements and lack of empirical verification for modelling approaches. Here, we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Kronebreen, a fast-flowing tidewater glacier in Svalbard during the 2014 melt season. We combine observations of borehole water pressure, supraglacial lake drainage, surface velocities and plume activity with modelled run-off and water routing to develop a conceptual model that thoroughly encapsulates subglacial drainage at a tidewater glacier. Simultaneous measurements suggest that an early-season episode of subglacial flushing took place during our observation period, and a stable efficient drainage system effectively transported subglacial water through the northern region of the glacier tongue. Drainage pathways through the central and southern regions of the glacier tongue were disrupted throughout the following melt season. Periodic plume activity at the terminus appears to be a signal for modulated subglacial pulsing, i.e. an internally driven storage and release of subglacial meltwater that operates independently of marine influences. This storage is a key control on ice flow in the 2014 melt season. Evidence from this work and previous studies strongly suggests that long-term changes in ice flow at Kronebreen are controlled by the location of efficient/inefficient drainage and the position of regions where water is stored and released. Peer reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Svalbard The Cryosphere Tidewater University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository The Cryosphere 11 6 2691 2710 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftstandrewserep |
language |
English |
topic |
GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology 3rd-DAS SDG 14 - Life Below Water GE QE |
spellingShingle |
GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology 3rd-DAS SDG 14 - Life Below Water GE QE How, P. Benn, D. I. Hulton, N. R. J. Hubbard, B. Luckman, A. Sevestre, H. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lindbäck, K. Kohler, J. Boot, W. Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
topic_facet |
GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology 3rd-DAS SDG 14 - Life Below Water GE QE |
description |
This work was funded by the Conoco Phillips-Lundin Northern Area Program through the CRIOS project (Calving Rates and Impact On Sea level, http://www.researchinsvalbard.no/project/7037). Penelope How is supported by a NERC PhD studentship. Subglacial hydrological processes at tidewater glaciers remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in obtaining direct measurements and lack of empirical verification for modelling approaches. Here, we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Kronebreen, a fast-flowing tidewater glacier in Svalbard during the 2014 melt season. We combine observations of borehole water pressure, supraglacial lake drainage, surface velocities and plume activity with modelled run-off and water routing to develop a conceptual model that thoroughly encapsulates subglacial drainage at a tidewater glacier. Simultaneous measurements suggest that an early-season episode of subglacial flushing took place during our observation period, and a stable efficient drainage system effectively transported subglacial water through the northern region of the glacier tongue. Drainage pathways through the central and southern regions of the glacier tongue were disrupted throughout the following melt season. Periodic plume activity at the terminus appears to be a signal for modulated subglacial pulsing, i.e. an internally driven storage and release of subglacial meltwater that operates independently of marine influences. This storage is a key control on ice flow in the 2014 melt season. Evidence from this work and previous studies strongly suggests that long-term changes in ice flow at Kronebreen are controlled by the location of efficient/inefficient drainage and the position of regions where water is stored and released. Peer reviewed |
author2 |
University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development University of St Andrews. Bell-Edwards Geographic Data Institute |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
How, P. Benn, D. I. Hulton, N. R. J. Hubbard, B. Luckman, A. Sevestre, H. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lindbäck, K. Kohler, J. Boot, W. |
author_facet |
How, P. Benn, D. I. Hulton, N. R. J. Hubbard, B. Luckman, A. Sevestre, H. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lindbäck, K. Kohler, J. Boot, W. |
author_sort |
How, P. |
title |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_short |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_full |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_fullStr |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_sort |
rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/12222 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
genre |
glacier Svalbard The Cryosphere Tidewater |
genre_facet |
glacier Svalbard The Cryosphere Tidewater |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere 251678933 88d10041-f51d-4302-be3a-5a9d963a523d 85035069558 000415829000003 How , P , Benn , D I , Hulton , N R J , Hubbard , B , Luckman , A , Sevestre , H , van Pelt , W J J , Lindbäck , K , Kohler , J & Boot , W 2017 , ' Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 11 , no. 6 , pp. 2691-2710 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 1994-0416 Bibtex: urn:dbb26e57a8317092d9f2d0dbef4c322c ORCID: /0000-0002-3604-0886/work/64697386 https://hdl.handle.net/10023/12222 doi:10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
6 |
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2691 |
op_container_end_page |
2710 |
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