Abstract
We measure hydrological parameters in meltwater draining from an outlet glacier in west Greenland to investigate seasonal changes in the structure and behaviour of the hydrological system of a large catchment in the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS). Our data reveal seasonal upglacier expansion and increase in hydraulic efficiency of the subglacial drainage system, across a catchment >600 km(2), to distances >50 km from the ice-sheet margin. This expansion occurs episodically in response to the drainage of surface meltwaters into a hitherto inefficient subglacial drainage system as new input locations become active progressively further upglacier; this system is similar to Alpine glaciers. These observations provide the first synopsis of seasonal hydrological behaviour in the ablation zone of the GrIS. Citation: Bartholomew, I., P. Nienow, A. Sole, D. Mair, T. Cowton, S. Palmer, and J. Wadham (2011), Supraglacial forcing of subglacial drainage in the ablation zone of the Greenland ice sheet, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L08502, doi: 10.1029/2011GL047063.
Original language | English |
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Article number | L08502 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Apr 2011 |
Keywords
- seasonal evolution
- basal sediment
- surface melt
- glacier
- system
- acceleration
- configuration
- lakes