Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties
Funding: This research has been supported by the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society and the University of St Andrews (PhD studentship). The rate of ocean-driven retreat of Greenland's tidewater glaciers remains highly uncertain in predictions of future sea level rise, in...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25161 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 |
id |
ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/25161 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/25161 2023-07-02T03:32:37+02:00 Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties Davison, Benjamin Cowton, Tom Sole, Andrew Cottier, Finlo Nienow, Pete University of St Andrews. Environmental Change Research Group University of St Andrews. Bell-Edwards Geographic Data Institute University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development 2022-04-08T15:30:58Z application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25161 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 eng eng The Cryosphere Davison , B , Cowton , T , Sole , A , Cottier , F & Nienow , P 2022 , ' Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 16 , no. 4 , pp. 1181–1196 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 1994-0416 PURE: 278789223 PURE UUID: d5ac0db4-d41c-45fb-82c7-8abfcb549d2a ORCID: /0000-0003-1668-7372/work/111210290 ORCID: /0000-0001-9483-2956/work/111210307 WOS: 000778880200001 Scopus: 85128302281 http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25161 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 Copyright © Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology DAS GE QE Journal article 2022 ftstandrewserep https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 2023-06-13T18:26:56Z Funding: This research has been supported by the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society and the University of St Andrews (PhD studentship). The rate of ocean-driven retreat of Greenland's tidewater glaciers remains highly uncertain in predictions of future sea level rise, in part due to poorly constrained glacier-adjacent water properties. Icebergs and their meltwater contributions are likely important modifiers of fjord water properties, yet their effect is poorly understood. Here, we use a 3-D ocean circulation model, coupled to a submarine iceberg melt module, to investigate the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties in a range of idealised settings. Submarine iceberg melting can modify glacier-adjacent water properties in three principal ways: (1) substantial cooling and modest freshening in the upper ∼50 m of the water column; (2) warming of Polar Water at intermediate depths due to iceberg melt-induced upwelling of warm Atlantic Water and; (3) warming of the deeper Atlantic Water layer when vertical temperature gradients through this layer are steep (due to vertical mixing of warm water at depth) but cooling of the Atlantic Water layer when vertical temperature gradients are shallow. The overall effect of iceberg melt is to make glacier-adjacent water properties more uniform with depth. When icebergs extend to, or below, the depth of a sill at the fjord mouth, they can cause cooling throughout the entire water column. All of these effects are more pronounced in fjords with higher iceberg concentrations and deeper iceberg keel depths. These iceberg melt-induced changes to glacier-adjacent water properties will reduce rates of glacier submarine melting near the surface, increase them in the Polar Water layer, and cause typically modest impacts in the Atlantic Water layer. These results characterise the important role of submarine iceberg melting in modifying ice sheet-ocean interaction and highlight the need to improve representations of fjord processes ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet The Cryosphere Tidewater University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository The Cryosphere 16 4 1181 1196 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftstandrewserep |
language |
English |
topic |
GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology DAS GE QE |
spellingShingle |
GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology DAS GE QE Davison, Benjamin Cowton, Tom Sole, Andrew Cottier, Finlo Nienow, Pete Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
topic_facet |
GE Environmental Sciences QE Geology DAS GE QE |
description |
Funding: This research has been supported by the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society and the University of St Andrews (PhD studentship). The rate of ocean-driven retreat of Greenland's tidewater glaciers remains highly uncertain in predictions of future sea level rise, in part due to poorly constrained glacier-adjacent water properties. Icebergs and their meltwater contributions are likely important modifiers of fjord water properties, yet their effect is poorly understood. Here, we use a 3-D ocean circulation model, coupled to a submarine iceberg melt module, to investigate the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties in a range of idealised settings. Submarine iceberg melting can modify glacier-adjacent water properties in three principal ways: (1) substantial cooling and modest freshening in the upper ∼50 m of the water column; (2) warming of Polar Water at intermediate depths due to iceberg melt-induced upwelling of warm Atlantic Water and; (3) warming of the deeper Atlantic Water layer when vertical temperature gradients through this layer are steep (due to vertical mixing of warm water at depth) but cooling of the Atlantic Water layer when vertical temperature gradients are shallow. The overall effect of iceberg melt is to make glacier-adjacent water properties more uniform with depth. When icebergs extend to, or below, the depth of a sill at the fjord mouth, they can cause cooling throughout the entire water column. All of these effects are more pronounced in fjords with higher iceberg concentrations and deeper iceberg keel depths. These iceberg melt-induced changes to glacier-adjacent water properties will reduce rates of glacier submarine melting near the surface, increase them in the Polar Water layer, and cause typically modest impacts in the Atlantic Water layer. These results characterise the important role of submarine iceberg melting in modifying ice sheet-ocean interaction and highlight the need to improve representations of fjord processes ... |
author2 |
University of St Andrews. Environmental Change Research Group University of St Andrews. Bell-Edwards Geographic Data Institute University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Davison, Benjamin Cowton, Tom Sole, Andrew Cottier, Finlo Nienow, Pete |
author_facet |
Davison, Benjamin Cowton, Tom Sole, Andrew Cottier, Finlo Nienow, Pete |
author_sort |
Davison, Benjamin |
title |
Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
title_short |
Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
title_full |
Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
title_fullStr |
Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
title_sort |
modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25161 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 |
genre |
Ice Sheet The Cryosphere Tidewater |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet The Cryosphere Tidewater |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere Davison , B , Cowton , T , Sole , A , Cottier , F & Nienow , P 2022 , ' Modelling the effect of submarine iceberg melting on glacier-adjacent water properties ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 16 , no. 4 , pp. 1181–1196 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 1994-0416 PURE: 278789223 PURE UUID: d5ac0db4-d41c-45fb-82c7-8abfcb549d2a ORCID: /0000-0003-1668-7372/work/111210290 ORCID: /0000-0001-9483-2956/work/111210307 WOS: 000778880200001 Scopus: 85128302281 http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25161 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 |
op_rights |
Copyright © Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1181-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1181 |
op_container_end_page |
1196 |
_version_ |
1770272232399962112 |