The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords
Meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet often drains subglacially into fjords, driving upwelling plumes at glacier termini. Ocean models and observations of submarine termini suggest that plumes enhance melt and undercutting, leading to calving and potential glacier destabilization. Here we systemati...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2016
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/103825051/D41955C4_7B8F_40FE_8D9D_75DB16ABBBB8.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84990200031&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c 2024-04-28T08:19:46+00:00 The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords Carroll, D. Sutherland, D. A. Hudson, B. Moon, T. Catania, G. A. Shroyer, E. L. Nash, J. D. Bartholomaus, T. C. Felikson, D. Stearns, L. A. Noël, B. P Y van den Broeke, M. R. 2016-10-15 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1983/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/103825051/D41955C4_7B8F_40FE_8D9D_75DB16ABBBB8.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84990200031&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Carroll , D , Sutherland , D A , Hudson , B , Moon , T , Catania , G A , Shroyer , E L , Nash , J D , Bartholomaus , T C , Felikson , D , Stearns , L A , Noël , B P Y & van den Broeke , M R 2016 , ' The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords ' , Geophysical Research Letters , vol. 43 , no. 18 , pp. 9739-9748 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 Fjord Greenland Ice Sheet Modeling Outlet glacier Physical oceanography Submarine melt article 2016 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 2024-04-03T15:37:05Z Meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet often drains subglacially into fjords, driving upwelling plumes at glacier termini. Ocean models and observations of submarine termini suggest that plumes enhance melt and undercutting, leading to calving and potential glacier destabilization. Here we systematically evaluate how simulated plume structure and submarine melt during summer months depends on realistic ranges of subglacial discharge, glacier depth, and ocean stratification from 12 Greenland fjords. Our results show that grounding line depth is a strong control on plume-induced submarine melt: deep glaciers produce warm, salty subsurface plumes that undercut termini, and shallow glaciers produce cold, fresh surface-trapped plumes that can overcut termini. Due to sustained upwelling velocities, plumes in cold, shallow fjords can induce equivalent depth-averaged melt rates compared to warm, deep fjords. These results detail a direct ocean-ice feedback that can affect the Greenland Ice Sheet. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet University of Bristol: Bristol Research Geophysical Research Letters 43 18 9739 9748 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
op_collection_id |
ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Fjord Greenland Ice Sheet Modeling Outlet glacier Physical oceanography Submarine melt |
spellingShingle |
Fjord Greenland Ice Sheet Modeling Outlet glacier Physical oceanography Submarine melt Carroll, D. Sutherland, D. A. Hudson, B. Moon, T. Catania, G. A. Shroyer, E. L. Nash, J. D. Bartholomaus, T. C. Felikson, D. Stearns, L. A. Noël, B. P Y van den Broeke, M. R. The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords |
topic_facet |
Fjord Greenland Ice Sheet Modeling Outlet glacier Physical oceanography Submarine melt |
description |
Meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet often drains subglacially into fjords, driving upwelling plumes at glacier termini. Ocean models and observations of submarine termini suggest that plumes enhance melt and undercutting, leading to calving and potential glacier destabilization. Here we systematically evaluate how simulated plume structure and submarine melt during summer months depends on realistic ranges of subglacial discharge, glacier depth, and ocean stratification from 12 Greenland fjords. Our results show that grounding line depth is a strong control on plume-induced submarine melt: deep glaciers produce warm, salty subsurface plumes that undercut termini, and shallow glaciers produce cold, fresh surface-trapped plumes that can overcut termini. Due to sustained upwelling velocities, plumes in cold, shallow fjords can induce equivalent depth-averaged melt rates compared to warm, deep fjords. These results detail a direct ocean-ice feedback that can affect the Greenland Ice Sheet. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Carroll, D. Sutherland, D. A. Hudson, B. Moon, T. Catania, G. A. Shroyer, E. L. Nash, J. D. Bartholomaus, T. C. Felikson, D. Stearns, L. A. Noël, B. P Y van den Broeke, M. R. |
author_facet |
Carroll, D. Sutherland, D. A. Hudson, B. Moon, T. Catania, G. A. Shroyer, E. L. Nash, J. D. Bartholomaus, T. C. Felikson, D. Stearns, L. A. Noël, B. P Y van den Broeke, M. R. |
author_sort |
Carroll, D. |
title |
The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords |
title_short |
The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords |
title_full |
The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords |
title_fullStr |
The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords |
title_full_unstemmed |
The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords |
title_sort |
impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in greenland fjords |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/103825051/D41955C4_7B8F_40FE_8D9D_75DB16ABBBB8.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84990200031&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Carroll , D , Sutherland , D A , Hudson , B , Moon , T , Catania , G A , Shroyer , E L , Nash , J D , Bartholomaus , T C , Felikson , D , Stearns , L A , Noël , B P Y & van den Broeke , M R 2016 , ' The impact of glacier geometry on meltwater plume structure and submarine melt in Greenland fjords ' , Geophysical Research Letters , vol. 43 , no. 18 , pp. 9739-9748 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 |
op_relation |
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/9466233e-93ab-41c6-88ea-6389b7703e9c |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070170 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
18 |
container_start_page |
9739 |
op_container_end_page |
9748 |
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1797583090693963776 |