Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf
The presence of meltwater influences Antarctic ice shelf dynamics in a way that is poorly understood. In addition to surface meltwater, subsurface meltwater lakes have been discovered close to the ice shelf grounding line. Drainage and collapse of these subsurface lakes may induce hydrofracturing an...
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fttudelft:oai:tudelft.nl:uuid:87df0520-4e38-455e-91e7-3221cda97b81 2024-02-11T09:56:37+01:00 Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf Dunmire, Devon R. (author) Lhermitte, S.L.M. (author) Drews, Reinhard (author) Lenaerts, Jan (author) Mangel, Adam R. (author) 2018 http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:87df0520-4e38-455e-91e7-3221cda97b81 en eng AGU Fall Meeting 2018--c2aba520-0881-4d72-93d2-f309d13fd520 http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:87df0520-4e38-455e-91e7-3221cda97b81 © 2018 Devon R. Dunmire, S.L.M. Lhermitte, Reinhard Drews, Jan Lenaerts, Adam R. Mangel abstract 2018 fttudelft 2024-01-24T23:28:59Z The presence of meltwater influences Antarctic ice shelf dynamics in a way that is poorly understood. In addition to surface meltwater, subsurface meltwater lakes have been discovered close to the ice shelf grounding line. Drainage and collapse of these subsurface lakes may induce hydrofracturing and poses a potential threat to ice shelf stability. Here, we present direct observations of the near-surface firn and ice shelf structure before and after the collapse of a subsurface meltwater lake near the grounding line of the Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf (RBIS). In February 2016, ground penetrating radar (GPR) data were collected of the subsurface lake, highlighting its depth and extent. Surprisingly, when the field team returned to the site in December 2017 to repeat the GPR surveying, they found that the lake had collapsed. These unique GPR and GPS observations highlight the heterogeneity of the lake structure after collapse and allow us to see structural differences before and after collapse. Continued geophysical monitoring and analysis could provide important information to estimate the volume and hydrodynamics of the interglacial lake (e.g. horizontal vs. vertical drainage). In addition to field data, we use a regional climate model and remote sensing observations to provide an analysis of the climate forcing that may have contributed to the lake collapse. We show that anomalously high surface melting in the summer season of 2016-2017 likely contributed to the collapse. Our results shed light on the impact of subsurface lake collapse on the ice shelf structure, dynamics, and surface height changes, which is essential to understand the impact of meltwater drainage on ice shelf stability. Abstract C41A-02 presented at 2018 Fall Meeting, AGU, Washington, D.C., 10-14 Dec. Session: C41A Advances in Subglacial, Englacial, and Supraglacial Hydrology I Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelf Delft University of Technology: Institutional Repository Antarctic Roi Baudouin ENVELOPE(24.461,24.461,-70.438,-70.438) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Delft University of Technology: Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
fttudelft |
language |
English |
description |
The presence of meltwater influences Antarctic ice shelf dynamics in a way that is poorly understood. In addition to surface meltwater, subsurface meltwater lakes have been discovered close to the ice shelf grounding line. Drainage and collapse of these subsurface lakes may induce hydrofracturing and poses a potential threat to ice shelf stability. Here, we present direct observations of the near-surface firn and ice shelf structure before and after the collapse of a subsurface meltwater lake near the grounding line of the Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf (RBIS). In February 2016, ground penetrating radar (GPR) data were collected of the subsurface lake, highlighting its depth and extent. Surprisingly, when the field team returned to the site in December 2017 to repeat the GPR surveying, they found that the lake had collapsed. These unique GPR and GPS observations highlight the heterogeneity of the lake structure after collapse and allow us to see structural differences before and after collapse. Continued geophysical monitoring and analysis could provide important information to estimate the volume and hydrodynamics of the interglacial lake (e.g. horizontal vs. vertical drainage). In addition to field data, we use a regional climate model and remote sensing observations to provide an analysis of the climate forcing that may have contributed to the lake collapse. We show that anomalously high surface melting in the summer season of 2016-2017 likely contributed to the collapse. Our results shed light on the impact of subsurface lake collapse on the ice shelf structure, dynamics, and surface height changes, which is essential to understand the impact of meltwater drainage on ice shelf stability. Abstract C41A-02 presented at 2018 Fall Meeting, AGU, Washington, D.C., 10-14 Dec. Session: C41A Advances in Subglacial, Englacial, and Supraglacial Hydrology I Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dunmire, Devon R. (author) Lhermitte, S.L.M. (author) Drews, Reinhard (author) Lenaerts, Jan (author) Mangel, Adam R. (author) |
spellingShingle |
Dunmire, Devon R. (author) Lhermitte, S.L.M. (author) Drews, Reinhard (author) Lenaerts, Jan (author) Mangel, Adam R. (author) Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf |
author_facet |
Dunmire, Devon R. (author) Lhermitte, S.L.M. (author) Drews, Reinhard (author) Lenaerts, Jan (author) Mangel, Adam R. (author) |
author_sort |
Dunmire, Devon R. (author) |
title |
Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf |
title_short |
Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf |
title_full |
Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf |
title_fullStr |
Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations of Subsurface Meltwater Lake Collapse on an East Antarctic Ice Shelf |
title_sort |
observations of subsurface meltwater lake collapse on an east antarctic ice shelf |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:87df0520-4e38-455e-91e7-3221cda97b81 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(24.461,24.461,-70.438,-70.438) |
geographic |
Antarctic Roi Baudouin |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Roi Baudouin |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelf |
op_relation |
AGU Fall Meeting 2018--c2aba520-0881-4d72-93d2-f309d13fd520 http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:87df0520-4e38-455e-91e7-3221cda97b81 |
op_rights |
© 2018 Devon R. Dunmire, S.L.M. Lhermitte, Reinhard Drews, Jan Lenaerts, Adam R. Mangel |
_version_ |
1790604632604540928 |