Water flux through Aurora Subglacial Basin and its impact on Totten Glacier stability

Totten Glacier is one of the most rapidly thinning regions of East Antarctica. The glacier isfed by a large catchment and culminates in an ice shelf, which is also demonstratingsignificant dynamic changes. In order to investigate the stability of Totten Glacier we use thetwo-dimensional hydrology mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dow, C, Graham, F, Young, D, Greenbaum, J, Roberts, J, Blankenship, D
Format: Conference Object
Language:English
Published: . 2017
Subjects:
Engineering
Interdisciplinary Engineering
Computational Fluid Dynamics
East Antarctica
Totten Glacier
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Shelf
Online Access:https://www.igsoc.org/symposia/2018/buffalo/proceedings/progfiles/programme.html
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/126738
Description
Summary:Totten Glacier is one of the most rapidly thinning regions of East Antarctica. The glacier isfed by a large catchment and culminates in an ice shelf, which is also demonstratingsignificant dynamic changes. In order to investigate the stability of Totten Glacier we use thetwo-dimensional hydrology model GlaDS to examine the subglacial drainage networksunderneath Totten Glacier and its catchment, Aurora Subglacial Basin. Within these regions,the model provides information on areas of high water pressure, water accumulation, andlake growth and drainage patterns. In addition, basal channels form at the outlet of TottenGlacier and feed into the ice-shelf cavity as concentrated plumes of fresh water, impactingshelf stability and sub-ice-shelf channel formation. To test the hydrology model, wecompare the outputs of subglacial water thickness and pressure with geophysicalspecularity data collected as part of the International Collaborative Exploration of theCryosphere through Aerogeophysical Profiling (ICECAP) project over a large portion ofAurora Subglacial Basin. These specularity data indicate smoother areas where water ispresent at the base of the ice. We find a good overlap between the outputs of the hydrologymodel and the specularity data. Here, we will present these model outputs with a focus onhow the hydrological system relates to ice dynamics and the stability of Totten Glacier.

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