Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland
A realistic numerical model was constructed to simulate the oceanic conditions and circulation in a large southeast Greenland fjord (Kangerdlugssuaq) and the adjacent shelf sea region during winter 2007–2008. The major outlet glaciers in this region recently destabilized, contributing to sea level r...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/c84a27c7-13ea-4b81-9a33-01412161c0d8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/8187249/Kanger2.pdf https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018JC014435 |
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ftuhipublicatio:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/c84a27c7-13ea-4b81-9a33-01412161c0d8 2024-06-23T07:53:02+00:00 Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland Fraser, Neil J. Inall, Mark E. Magaldi, Marcello G. Haine, Thomas W. N. Jones, Sam C. 2018-12-15 application/pdf https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/c84a27c7-13ea-4b81-9a33-01412161c0d8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/8187249/Kanger2.pdf https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018JC014435 eng eng https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/c84a27c7-13ea-4b81-9a33-01412161c0d8 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Fraser , N J , Inall , M E , Magaldi , M G , Haine , T W N & Jones , S C 2018 , ' Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland ' , Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans . https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 fjords numerical modelling ocean warming MITgcm internal waves coastal trapped waves article 2018 ftuhipublicatio https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 2024-06-10T23:47:56Z A realistic numerical model was constructed to simulate the oceanic conditions and circulation in a large southeast Greenland fjord (Kangerdlugssuaq) and the adjacent shelf sea region during winter 2007–2008. The major outlet glaciers in this region recently destabilized, contributing to sea level rise and ocean freshening, with increased oceanic heating a probable trigger. It is not apparent a priori whether the fjord dynamics will be influenced by rotational effects, as the fjord width is comparable to the internal Rossby radius. The modeled currents, however, describe a highly three‐dimensional system, where rotational effects are of order‐one importance. Along‐shelf wind events drive a rapid baroclinic exchange, mediated by coastally trapped waves, which propagate from the shelf to the glacier terminus along the right‐hand boundary of the fjord. The terminus was regularly exposed to around 0.5 TW of heating over the winter season. Wave energy dissipation provoked vertical mixing, generating a buoyancy flux which strengthened overturning. The coastally trapped waves also acted to strengthen the cyclonic mean flow via Stokes' drift. Although the outgoing wave was less energetic and located at the opposite sidewall, the fjord did exhibit a resonant response, suggesting that fjords of this scale can also exhibit two‐dimensional dynamics. Long periods of moderate wind stress greatly enhanced the cross‐shelf delivery of heat toward the fjord, in comparison to stronger events over short intervals. This suggests that the timescale over which the shelf wind field varies is a key parameter in dictating wintertime heat delivery from the ocean to the ice sheet. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI Greenland Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 123 12 9156 9177 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI |
op_collection_id |
ftuhipublicatio |
language |
English |
topic |
fjords numerical modelling ocean warming MITgcm internal waves coastal trapped waves |
spellingShingle |
fjords numerical modelling ocean warming MITgcm internal waves coastal trapped waves Fraser, Neil J. Inall, Mark E. Magaldi, Marcello G. Haine, Thomas W. N. Jones, Sam C. Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland |
topic_facet |
fjords numerical modelling ocean warming MITgcm internal waves coastal trapped waves |
description |
A realistic numerical model was constructed to simulate the oceanic conditions and circulation in a large southeast Greenland fjord (Kangerdlugssuaq) and the adjacent shelf sea region during winter 2007–2008. The major outlet glaciers in this region recently destabilized, contributing to sea level rise and ocean freshening, with increased oceanic heating a probable trigger. It is not apparent a priori whether the fjord dynamics will be influenced by rotational effects, as the fjord width is comparable to the internal Rossby radius. The modeled currents, however, describe a highly three‐dimensional system, where rotational effects are of order‐one importance. Along‐shelf wind events drive a rapid baroclinic exchange, mediated by coastally trapped waves, which propagate from the shelf to the glacier terminus along the right‐hand boundary of the fjord. The terminus was regularly exposed to around 0.5 TW of heating over the winter season. Wave energy dissipation provoked vertical mixing, generating a buoyancy flux which strengthened overturning. The coastally trapped waves also acted to strengthen the cyclonic mean flow via Stokes' drift. Although the outgoing wave was less energetic and located at the opposite sidewall, the fjord did exhibit a resonant response, suggesting that fjords of this scale can also exhibit two‐dimensional dynamics. Long periods of moderate wind stress greatly enhanced the cross‐shelf delivery of heat toward the fjord, in comparison to stronger events over short intervals. This suggests that the timescale over which the shelf wind field varies is a key parameter in dictating wintertime heat delivery from the ocean to the ice sheet. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fraser, Neil J. Inall, Mark E. Magaldi, Marcello G. Haine, Thomas W. N. Jones, Sam C. |
author_facet |
Fraser, Neil J. Inall, Mark E. Magaldi, Marcello G. Haine, Thomas W. N. Jones, Sam C. |
author_sort |
Fraser, Neil J. |
title |
Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland |
title_short |
Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland |
title_full |
Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland |
title_sort |
wintertime fjord‐shelf interaction and ice sheet melting in southeast greenland |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/c84a27c7-13ea-4b81-9a33-01412161c0d8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/8187249/Kanger2.pdf https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018JC014435 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Fraser , N J , Inall , M E , Magaldi , M G , Haine , T W N & Jones , S C 2018 , ' Wintertime Fjord‐Shelf Interaction and Ice Sheet Melting in Southeast Greenland ' , Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans . https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 |
op_relation |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/c84a27c7-13ea-4b81-9a33-01412161c0d8 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014435 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
123 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
9156 |
op_container_end_page |
9177 |
_version_ |
1802644513907277824 |