Subglacial decoupling at the sediment/bedrock interface: a new mechanism for rapid flowing ice

• Published in: Quaternary Science Reviews
• Main Authors: Kjær, Kurt H, Larsen, Eiliv, van der Meer, Jaap, Ingólfsson, Ólafur, Krüger, Johannes, Benediktsson, Ívar Örn, Knudsen, Carita G., Schomacker, Anders
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2006
• Subjects: Geology; glacier; Ice cap; Iceland
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/634329; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.06.010

Abstract in UndeterminedOn millennial or even centennial time scales, the activity of rapid flowing ice can affect climate variability and global sea level through release of meltwater into the ocean and positive feedback loops to the climate system. At the surge-type glacier Bruarjokull, an outlet of the Vatnajokull ice cap, eastern Iceland, extremely rapid ice flow was sustained by overpressurized water causing decoupling beneath a thick sediment sequence that was coupled to the glacier. This newly discovered mechanism has far reaching consequences for our understanding of fast-flowing ice and its integration with sediment discharge and meltwater release. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.