| 1. |
- Fuerst, Johannes J., et al.
(författare)
-
The Ice-Free Topography of Svalbard
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 45:21, s. 11760-11769
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a first version of the Svalbard ice-free topography (SVIFT1.0) using a mass conserving approach for mapping glacier ice thickness. SVIFT1.0 is informed by more than 1 million point measurements, totalling more than 8,700 km of thickness profiles. SVIFT1.0 is publicly available and represents the geometric state around the year 2010. Our estimate for the total ice volume is 6,199 km(3), equivalent to 1.5-cm sea level rise. The thickness map suggests that 13% of the glacierized area is grounded below sea level. A complementary map of error estimates comprises uncertainties in the thickness surveys as well as in other input variables. Aggregated error estimates are used to define a likely ice-volume range of 5,200-7,300 km(3). The ice front thickness of marine-terminating glaciers is a key quantity for ice loss attribution because it controls the potential ice discharge by iceberg calving into the ocean. We find a mean ice front thickness of 135 m for the archipelago (likely range 123-158 m). Plain Language Summary Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, north of Norway, which is comparable in size to the New York metropolitan area. Roughly half of it is covered by glacier ice. Yet to this day, the ice volume stored in the many glaciers on Svalbard is not well known. Many attempts have been made to infer a total volume estimate, but results differ substantially. This surprises because of the long research activity in this area. A large record of more than 1 million thickness measurements exists, making Svalbard an ideal study area for the application of a state-of-the-art mapping approach for glacier ice thickness. The mapping approach computes an ice volume that will raise global sea level by more than half an inch if instantaneously melted. If spread over the metropolitan area, New York would be buried beneath a 100-m ice cover. The asset of this approach is that it provides not only a thickness map for each glacier on the archipelago but also an error map that defines the likely local thickness range. Finally, we provide the first well-informed estimate of the ice front thickness of all marine-terminating glaciers that loose icebergs to the ocean. The archipelago-wide mean ice front cliff is 135 m.
|
|
| 2. |
- How, Penny, et al.
(författare)
-
Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities
- 2017
-
Ingår i: The Cryosphere. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1994-0416 .- 1994-0424. ; 11, s. 2691-2710
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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.
|
|
| 3. |
- Lovell, Harold, et al.
(författare)
-
Multiple Late Holocene surges of a High-Arctic tidewater glacier system in Svalbard
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791. ; 201, s. 162-185
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most large tidewater glaciers in Svalbard are known to have surged at least once in the last few hundred years. However, very little information exists on the frequency, timing or magnitude of surges prior to the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in ∼1900. We investigate the sediment-landform assemblages produced by multiple advances of the Nathorstbreen glacier system (NGS) in order to reconstruct its Late Holocene surge history. The glacier has recently undergone one of the largest surges ever observed in Svalbard, advancing ∼16 km from 2008 to 2016. We present flow velocities and ice-marginal observations (terminus change, proglacial geomorphological processes) from the later stages of this surge. A first detailed assessment of the development of a glaciotectonic mud apron within the fjord during a surge is provided. Geomorphological and sedimentological examination of the terrestrial moraine areas formed prior to the most recent surge reveals that at least two advances were responsible for their formation, based on the identification of a previously unrecognised ice-contact zone recorded by the distribution of sediment facies in coastal exposures. We distinguish between an outer, older advance to the distal part of the moraine system and an inner, younger advance to a position ∼2 km upfjord. Radiocarbon dating of shells embedded in glaciotectonic composite ridges formed by the onshore bulldozing of marine mud during the outer (older) of the two advances shows that it occurred at some point during the interval 700–890 cal. yr BP (i.e. ∼1160 AD), and not during the LIA as previously assumed. We instead attribute the inner (younger) advance to the LIA at ∼1890. By combining these data with previous marine geological investigations in inner and outer Van Keulenfjorden, we demonstrate that NGS has advanced at least four times prior to the recent 2008–2016 surge: twice at ∼2.7 kyr BP, at ∼1160 AD, and in ∼1890. This represents a unique record of the timing and magnitude of Late Holocene tidewater glacier surges in Svalbard.
|
|
| 4. |
- Sevestre, Heidi, et al.
(författare)
-
Tidewater Glacier Surges Initiated at the Terminus
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9003 .- 2169-9011. ; 123:5, s. 1035-1051
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There have been numerous reports that surges of tidewater glaciers in Svalbard were initiated at the terminus and propagated up-glacier, in contrast with downglacier-propagating surges of land-terminating glaciers. Most of these surges were poorly documented, and the cause of this behavior was unknown. We present detailed data on the recent surges of two tidewater glaciers, Aavatsmarkbreen and Wahlenbergbreen, in Svalbard. High-resolution time series of glacier velocities and evolution of crevasse patterns show that both surges propagated up-glacier in abrupt steps. Prior to the surges, both glaciers underwent retreat and steepening, and in the case of Aavatsmarkbreen, we demonstrate that this was accompanied by a large increase in driving stress in the terminal zone. The surges developed in response to two distinct processes. (1) During the late quiescent phase, internal thermodynamic processes and/or retreat from a pinning point caused acceleration of the glacier front, leading to the development of terminal crevasse fields. (2) Crevasses allowed surface meltwater and rainwater to access the bed, causing flow acceleration and development of new crevasses up-glacier. Upward migration of the surge coincided with stepwise expansion of the crevasse field. Geometric changes near the terminus of these glaciers appear to have led to greater strain heating, water production, and storage at the glacier bed. Water routing via crevasses likely plays an important role in the evolution of surges. The distinction between internally triggered surges and externally triggered speedups may not be straightforward. The behavior of these glaciers can be understood in terms of the enthalpy cycle model.
|
|
