Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities
Subglacial hydrological processes at tidewater glaciers remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in obtaining direct measurements and lack of empirical verification for modelling approaches. Here, we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Kronebreen, a fast-flowing tidewater glacier in Svalba...
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Uppsala universitet, Luft-, vatten- och landskapslära
2017
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Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-334291 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
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ftuppsalauniv:oai:DiVA.org:uu-334291 2023-05-15T16:22:10+02:00 Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities How, Penny Benn, Douglas Hulton, Nick Hubbard, Bryn Luckman, Adrien Sevestre, Heidi van Pelt, Ward J.J. Lindbäck, Katrin Kohler, Jack Boot, Wim 2017 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-334291 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 eng eng Uppsala universitet, Luft-, vatten- och landskapslära The Cryosphere, 1994-0416, 2017, 11, s. 2691-2710 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-334291 doi:10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 ISI:000415829000003 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess subglacial hydrology plumes Svalbard ice dynamics Physical Geography Naturgeografi Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2017 ftuppsalauniv https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 2023-02-23T21:52:11Z Subglacial hydrological processes at tidewater glaciers remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in obtaining direct measurements and lack of empirical verification for modelling approaches. Here, we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Kronebreen, a fast-flowing tidewater glacier in Svalbard during the 2014 melt season. We combine observations of borehole water pressure, supraglacial lake drainage, surface velocities and plume activity with modelled run-off and water routing to develop a conceptual model that thoroughly encapsulates subglacial drainage at a tidewater glacier. Simultaneous measurements suggest that an earlyseason episode of subglacial flushing took place during our observation period, and a stable efficient drainage system effectively transported subglacial water through the northern region of the glacier tongue. Drainage pathways through the central and southern regions of the glacier tongue were disrupted throughout the following melt season. Periodic plume activity at the terminus appears to be a signal for modulated subglacial pulsing, i.e. an internally driven storage and release of subglacial meltwater that operates independently of marine influences. This storage is a key control on ice flow in the 2014 melt season. Evidence from this work and previous studies strongly suggests that long-term changes in ice flow at Kronebreen are controlled by the location of efficient/inefficient drainage and the position of regions where water is stored and released. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Svalbard The Cryosphere Tidewater Uppsala University: Publications (DiVA) Kronebreen ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) Svalbard The Cryosphere 11 6 2691 2710 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Uppsala University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftuppsalauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
subglacial hydrology plumes Svalbard ice dynamics Physical Geography Naturgeografi |
spellingShingle |
subglacial hydrology plumes Svalbard ice dynamics Physical Geography Naturgeografi How, Penny Benn, Douglas Hulton, Nick Hubbard, Bryn Luckman, Adrien Sevestre, Heidi van Pelt, Ward J.J. Lindbäck, Katrin Kohler, Jack Boot, Wim Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
topic_facet |
subglacial hydrology plumes Svalbard ice dynamics Physical Geography Naturgeografi |
description |
Subglacial hydrological processes at tidewater glaciers remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in obtaining direct measurements and lack of empirical verification for modelling approaches. Here, we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Kronebreen, a fast-flowing tidewater glacier in Svalbard during the 2014 melt season. We combine observations of borehole water pressure, supraglacial lake drainage, surface velocities and plume activity with modelled run-off and water routing to develop a conceptual model that thoroughly encapsulates subglacial drainage at a tidewater glacier. Simultaneous measurements suggest that an earlyseason episode of subglacial flushing took place during our observation period, and a stable efficient drainage system effectively transported subglacial water through the northern region of the glacier tongue. Drainage pathways through the central and southern regions of the glacier tongue were disrupted throughout the following melt season. Periodic plume activity at the terminus appears to be a signal for modulated subglacial pulsing, i.e. an internally driven storage and release of subglacial meltwater that operates independently of marine influences. This storage is a key control on ice flow in the 2014 melt season. Evidence from this work and previous studies strongly suggests that long-term changes in ice flow at Kronebreen are controlled by the location of efficient/inefficient drainage and the position of regions where water is stored and released. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
How, Penny Benn, Douglas Hulton, Nick Hubbard, Bryn Luckman, Adrien Sevestre, Heidi van Pelt, Ward J.J. Lindbäck, Katrin Kohler, Jack Boot, Wim |
author_facet |
How, Penny Benn, Douglas Hulton, Nick Hubbard, Bryn Luckman, Adrien Sevestre, Heidi van Pelt, Ward J.J. Lindbäck, Katrin Kohler, Jack Boot, Wim |
author_sort |
How, Penny |
title |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_short |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_full |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_fullStr |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
title_sort |
rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities |
publisher |
Uppsala universitet, Luft-, vatten- och landskapslära |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-334291 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) |
geographic |
Kronebreen Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Kronebreen Svalbard |
genre |
glacier Svalbard The Cryosphere Tidewater |
genre_facet |
glacier Svalbard The Cryosphere Tidewater |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere, 1994-0416, 2017, 11, s. 2691-2710 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-334291 doi:10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 ISI:000415829000003 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2691-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2691 |
op_container_end_page |
2710 |
_version_ |
1766010141228924928 |