Spatio-temporal variations in seasonal ice tongue submarine melt rate at a tidewater glacier in southwest Greenland

ANM is supported by a University of Edinburgh Principal’s Career Development PhD Scholarship. We acknowledge NERC grants NE/K015249/1 (to PWN) and NE/K014609/1 (to AJS) and DLR projects XTI_GLAC0296 and LAN1534 (to NG). Time-lapse imagery was acquired under NSF grant PLR-0909552 (to MT and MF). PROM...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Moyer, A. N., Nienow, P. W., Gourmelen, N., Sole, A. J., Slater, D. A., Truffer, M., Fahnestock, M.
Other Authors: University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Glacier calving
Ice/ocean interactions
Remote sensing
Subglacial processes
GE Environmental Sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
NDAS
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
GE
Greenland
glacier
Journal of Glaciology
Tidewater
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10023/19652
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.27
Description
Summary:ANM is supported by a University of Edinburgh Principal’s Career Development PhD Scholarship. We acknowledge NERC grants NE/K015249/1 (to PWN) and NE/K014609/1 (to AJS) and DLR projects XTI_GLAC0296 and LAN1534 (to NG). Time-lapse imagery was acquired under NSF grant PLR-0909552 (to MT and MF). PROMICE and DMI data are available at http://www.promice.dk and http://www.dmi.dk, respectively. ArcticDEM was created from DigitalGlobe Inc. imagery, funded under NSF awards 1043681, 1559691, and 1542736. Submarine melting of tidewater glaciers is proposed as a trigger for their recent thinning, acceleration and retreat. We estimate spring submarine melt rates (SMRs) of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia in southwest Greenland, from 2012 to 2014, by examining changes in along-fjord freeboard and velocity of the seasonal floating ice tongue. Estimated SMRs vary spatially and temporally near the grounding line, with mean rates of 1.3 ± 0.6, 0.8 ± 0.3 and 1.0 ± 0.4 m d−1 across the tongue in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Higher melt rates correspond with locations of emerging subglacial plumes and terminus calving activity observed during the melt season using time-lapse camera imagery. Modelling of subglacial flow paths suggests a dynamic system capable of rapid re-routing of subglacial discharge both within and between melt seasons. Our results provide an empirically-derived link between the presence of subglacial discharge plumes and areas of high spring submarine melting and calving along glacier termini. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed

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