Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland
The floating ice shelf of Petermann glacier interacts directly with the ocean and is thought to lose at least 80% of its mass through basal melting. Based on three opportunistic ocean surveys in Petermann Fjord we describe the basic oceanography: the circulation at the fjord mouth, the hydrographic...
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American Geophysical Union
2016
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ab4a2b15-ad44-4f01-b149-2f8f2d5fa6d1 |
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ftuloxford:oai:ora.ox.ac.uk:uuid:ab4a2b15-ad44-4f01-b149-2f8f2d5fa6d1 2023-05-15T15:10:01+02:00 Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland Johnson, H Münchow, A Falkner, K Melling, H 2016-07-29 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ab4a2b15-ad44-4f01-b149-2f8f2d5fa6d1 eng eng American Geophysical Union doi:10.1029/2010JC006519 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ab4a2b15-ad44-4f01-b149-2f8f2d5fa6d1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess Earth sciences Journal article 2016 ftuloxford https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 2022-06-28T20:20:53Z The floating ice shelf of Petermann glacier interacts directly with the ocean and is thought to lose at least 80% of its mass through basal melting. Based on three opportunistic ocean surveys in Petermann Fjord we describe the basic oceanography: the circulation at the fjord mouth, the hydrographic structure beneath the ice shelf, the oceanic heat delivered to the under-ice cavity, and the fate of the resulting melt water. The 1100 m deep fjord is separated from neighboring Hall Basin by a sill between 350 and 450 m deep. Fjord bottom waters are renewed by episodic spillover at the sill of Atlantic water from the Arctic. Glacial melt water appears on the northeast side of the fjord at depths between 200 m and that of the glacier's grounding line (about 500 m). The fjord circulation is fundamentally three-dimensional; satellite imagery and geostrophic calculations suggest a cyclonic gyre within the fjord mouth, with outflow on the northeast side. Tidal flows are similar in magnitude to the geostrophic flow. The oceanic heat flux into the fjord appears more that sufficient to account for the observed rate of basal melting. Cold, low-salinity water originating in the surface layer of Nares Strait in winter intrudes far under the ice. This may limit basal melting to the inland half of the shelf. The melt rate and long-term stability of Petermann ice shelf may depend on regional sea ice cover and fjord geometry, in addition to the supply of oceanic heat entering the fjord. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic glacier Greenland Hall Basin Ice Shelf Nares strait Petermann Fjord Petermann glacier Sea ice ORA - Oxford University Research Archive Arctic Greenland Hall Basin ENVELOPE(-62.992,-62.992,81.502,81.502) Nares ENVELOPE(158.167,158.167,-81.450,-81.450) Petermann Fjord ENVELOPE(-61.500,-61.500,81.167,81.167) Journal of Geophysical Research 116 C1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
ORA - Oxford University Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftuloxford |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth sciences |
spellingShingle |
Earth sciences Johnson, H Münchow, A Falkner, K Melling, H Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland |
topic_facet |
Earth sciences |
description |
The floating ice shelf of Petermann glacier interacts directly with the ocean and is thought to lose at least 80% of its mass through basal melting. Based on three opportunistic ocean surveys in Petermann Fjord we describe the basic oceanography: the circulation at the fjord mouth, the hydrographic structure beneath the ice shelf, the oceanic heat delivered to the under-ice cavity, and the fate of the resulting melt water. The 1100 m deep fjord is separated from neighboring Hall Basin by a sill between 350 and 450 m deep. Fjord bottom waters are renewed by episodic spillover at the sill of Atlantic water from the Arctic. Glacial melt water appears on the northeast side of the fjord at depths between 200 m and that of the glacier's grounding line (about 500 m). The fjord circulation is fundamentally three-dimensional; satellite imagery and geostrophic calculations suggest a cyclonic gyre within the fjord mouth, with outflow on the northeast side. Tidal flows are similar in magnitude to the geostrophic flow. The oceanic heat flux into the fjord appears more that sufficient to account for the observed rate of basal melting. Cold, low-salinity water originating in the surface layer of Nares Strait in winter intrudes far under the ice. This may limit basal melting to the inland half of the shelf. The melt rate and long-term stability of Petermann ice shelf may depend on regional sea ice cover and fjord geometry, in addition to the supply of oceanic heat entering the fjord. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Johnson, H Münchow, A Falkner, K Melling, H |
author_facet |
Johnson, H Münchow, A Falkner, K Melling, H |
author_sort |
Johnson, H |
title |
Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland |
title_short |
Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland |
title_full |
Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland |
title_sort |
ocean circulation and properties in petermann fjord, greenland |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ab4a2b15-ad44-4f01-b149-2f8f2d5fa6d1 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.992,-62.992,81.502,81.502) ENVELOPE(158.167,158.167,-81.450,-81.450) ENVELOPE(-61.500,-61.500,81.167,81.167) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Hall Basin Nares Petermann Fjord |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Hall Basin Nares Petermann Fjord |
genre |
Arctic glacier Greenland Hall Basin Ice Shelf Nares strait Petermann Fjord Petermann glacier Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Greenland Hall Basin Ice Shelf Nares strait Petermann Fjord Petermann glacier Sea ice |
op_relation |
doi:10.1029/2010JC006519 https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ab4a2b15-ad44-4f01-b149-2f8f2d5fa6d1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006519 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
116 |
container_issue |
C1 |
_version_ |
1766341089045774336 |