Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity
High resolution measurements of ice motion along a -120 km transect in a land-terminating section of the GrIS reveal short-term velocity variations (<1 day), which are forced by rapid variations in meltwater input to the subglacial drainage system from the ice sheet surface. The seasonal changes...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2012
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Online Access: | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/shortterm-variability-in-greenland-ice-sheet-motion-forced-by-timevarying-meltwater-drainage(c36a4e2f-10ee-4605-beb2-19d91cc690dc).html https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940583065&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/c36a4e2f-10ee-4605-beb2-19d91cc690dc 2023-05-15T16:29:26+02:00 Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity Bartholomew, Ian Nienow, Peter Sole, Andrew Mair, Douglas Cowton, Thomas King, Matt A. 2012 https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/shortterm-variability-in-greenland-ice-sheet-motion-forced-by-timevarying-meltwater-drainage(c36a4e2f-10ee-4605-beb2-19d91cc690dc).html https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940583065&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Bartholomew , I , Nienow , P , Sole , A , Mair , D , Cowton , T & King , M A 2012 , ' Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage : Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity ' , Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface , vol. 117 , no. 3 , F03002 . https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 article 2012 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 2022-06-02T07:54:38Z High resolution measurements of ice motion along a -120 km transect in a land-terminating section of the GrIS reveal short-term velocity variations (<1 day), which are forced by rapid variations in meltwater input to the subglacial drainage system from the ice sheet surface. The seasonal changes in ice velocity at low elevations (<1000 m) are dominated by events lasting from 1 day to 1 week, although daily cycles are largely absent at higher elevations, reflecting different patterns of meltwater input. Using a simple model of subglacial conduit behavior we show that the seasonal record of ice velocity can be understood in terms of a time-varying water input to a channelized subglacial drainage system. Our investigation substantiates arguments that variability in the duration and rate, rather than absolute volume, of meltwater delivery to the subglacial drainage system are important controls on seasonal patterns of subglacial water pressure, and therefore ice velocity. We suggest that interpretations of hydro-dynamic behavior in land-terminating sections of the GrIS margin which rely on steady state drainage theories are unsuitable for making predictions about the effect of increased summer ablation on future rates of ice motion. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet University of St Andrews: Research Portal Greenland Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 117 F3 n/a n/a |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
description |
High resolution measurements of ice motion along a -120 km transect in a land-terminating section of the GrIS reveal short-term velocity variations (<1 day), which are forced by rapid variations in meltwater input to the subglacial drainage system from the ice sheet surface. The seasonal changes in ice velocity at low elevations (<1000 m) are dominated by events lasting from 1 day to 1 week, although daily cycles are largely absent at higher elevations, reflecting different patterns of meltwater input. Using a simple model of subglacial conduit behavior we show that the seasonal record of ice velocity can be understood in terms of a time-varying water input to a channelized subglacial drainage system. Our investigation substantiates arguments that variability in the duration and rate, rather than absolute volume, of meltwater delivery to the subglacial drainage system are important controls on seasonal patterns of subglacial water pressure, and therefore ice velocity. We suggest that interpretations of hydro-dynamic behavior in land-terminating sections of the GrIS margin which rely on steady state drainage theories are unsuitable for making predictions about the effect of increased summer ablation on future rates of ice motion. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bartholomew, Ian Nienow, Peter Sole, Andrew Mair, Douglas Cowton, Thomas King, Matt A. |
spellingShingle |
Bartholomew, Ian Nienow, Peter Sole, Andrew Mair, Douglas Cowton, Thomas King, Matt A. Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
author_facet |
Bartholomew, Ian Nienow, Peter Sole, Andrew Mair, Douglas Cowton, Thomas King, Matt A. |
author_sort |
Bartholomew, Ian |
title |
Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
title_short |
Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
title_full |
Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
title_fullStr |
Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
title_sort |
short-term variability in greenland ice sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage:implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/shortterm-variability-in-greenland-ice-sheet-motion-forced-by-timevarying-meltwater-drainage(c36a4e2f-10ee-4605-beb2-19d91cc690dc).html https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940583065&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Bartholomew , I , Nienow , P , Sole , A , Mair , D , Cowton , T & King , M A 2012 , ' Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage : Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity ' , Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface , vol. 117 , no. 3 , F03002 . https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
container_volume |
117 |
container_issue |
F3 |
container_start_page |
n/a |
op_container_end_page |
n/a |
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1766019133214818304 |