Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier
The Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to raise sea levels by 7 m. However, its present mass balance and future contribution to sea level rise is poorly understood. Accelerated mass loss has been observed near the ice sheet margin, partly as a result of faster ice motion. Surface melt waters...
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:82111 2023-05-15T16:21:09+02:00 Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier Bartholomew, I Nienow, P Mair, D Hubbard, A King, MA Sole, A 2010 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo863 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/82111 en eng x http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo863 Bartholomew, I and Nienow, P and Mair, D and Hubbard, A and King, MA and Sole, A, Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier, Nature Geoscience, 3, (6) pp. 408-411. ISSN 1752-0894 (2010) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/82111 Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2010 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo863 2019-12-13T21:47:03Z The Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to raise sea levels by 7 m. However, its present mass balance and future contribution to sea level rise is poorly understood. Accelerated mass loss has been observed near the ice sheet margin, partly as a result of faster ice motion. Surface melt waters can reach the base of the ice sheet and enhance basal ice motion. However, the response of ice motion to seasonal variations in meltwater supply is poorly constrained both in space and time. Here we present ice motion data obtained with global positioning system receivers located along a 35 km transect at the western margin of the Greenland ice sheet throughout a summer melt season. Our measurements reveal substantial increases in ice velocity during summer, up to 220% above winter background values. These speed-up events migrate up the glacier over the course of the summer. The relationship between melt and ice motion varies both at each site throughout the melt season and between sites. We suggest that these patterns can be explained by the seasonal evolution of the subglacial drainage system similar to hydraulic forcing mechanisms for ice dynamics that have been observedat smaller glaciers. 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice Sheet eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Greenland Nature Geoscience 3 6 408 411 |
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eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
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ftunivtasecite |
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English |
topic |
Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified |
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Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified Bartholomew, I Nienow, P Mair, D Hubbard, A King, MA Sole, A Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified |
description |
The Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to raise sea levels by 7 m. However, its present mass balance and future contribution to sea level rise is poorly understood. Accelerated mass loss has been observed near the ice sheet margin, partly as a result of faster ice motion. Surface melt waters can reach the base of the ice sheet and enhance basal ice motion. However, the response of ice motion to seasonal variations in meltwater supply is poorly constrained both in space and time. Here we present ice motion data obtained with global positioning system receivers located along a 35 km transect at the western margin of the Greenland ice sheet throughout a summer melt season. Our measurements reveal substantial increases in ice velocity during summer, up to 220% above winter background values. These speed-up events migrate up the glacier over the course of the summer. The relationship between melt and ice motion varies both at each site throughout the melt season and between sites. We suggest that these patterns can be explained by the seasonal evolution of the subglacial drainage system similar to hydraulic forcing mechanisms for ice dynamics that have been observedat smaller glaciers. 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bartholomew, I Nienow, P Mair, D Hubbard, A King, MA Sole, A |
author_facet |
Bartholomew, I Nienow, P Mair, D Hubbard, A King, MA Sole, A |
author_sort |
Bartholomew, I |
title |
Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier |
title_short |
Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier |
title_full |
Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier |
title_sort |
seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a greenland outlet glacier |
publisher |
x |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo863 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/82111 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo863 Bartholomew, I and Nienow, P and Mair, D and Hubbard, A and King, MA and Sole, A, Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier, Nature Geoscience, 3, (6) pp. 408-411. ISSN 1752-0894 (2010) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/82111 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo863 |
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Nature Geoscience |
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