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The geological nature of glacier beds plays a key role in ice sheet dynamics. Whereas little is known about Greenland’s subglacial geology, the presence of basal sediments is a necessary condition for fast-flowing Antarctic ice streams. Such sediments sustain subglacial till layers, which if water saturated and under high pore-water pressure provide little resistance to ice flow. Using receiver function modeling of teleseismic P-waves, we report a thick (at least tens of meters) sediment layer beneath a site in Greenland’s ablation zone, ∼15 km away from the western ice sheet margin. Although we do not discuss the origin or detailed nature of these subglacial sediments, we suggest that they are capable of sustaining a till layer. Due to the prevalence of an inefficient, pressurized subglacial drainage system, this till layer would typically be under high pore pressures and fail at the shear stresses transmitted from the overlaying ice. Ice flow resistance is thus focused on regions where till is consolidated or absent, or where form drag over obstacles takes place. In contrast to Antarctica, Greenland’s surface melt now affects practically all latitudes, and efficient hydraulic connections between ice sheet surface and bed are pervasive throughout the ablation zone. This implies that rapid, melt-induced changes in subglacial water pressure are possible. The time required for basal till strength to react to these changes depends on the till’s properties. We estimate that formation and destruction of flow resistance can occur on time scales of less than a few years. This could lead to changes in ice flow that are currently difficult to predict.

Interactions between subglacial hydrology and the ocean make the existence of estuaries at the grounding zones of ice sheets likely. Here we present geophysical observations of an estuary at the downstream end of the hydrologic system that links the active subglacial lakes beneath Whillans Ice Stream to the ocean beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. This subglacial estuary consists of a hydropotential low upstream of the grounding zone, which is linked to the ocean by a hydropotential trough and a large subglacial channel. This subglacial channel, which is imaged using active source seismic methods, has an apparent width of 1 km and a maximum depth of 7 m. The hydropotential trough continues upstream of the grounding zone and results from an along-flow depression in surface elevations. Pressure differences along the trough axis are within a range that can be overcome by tidally induced processes, making the interaction of subglacial and ocean water likely.

Video observations made in 16 boreholes drilled through a deforming valley glacier affirm that temperate glacier ice may be reasonably well represented as homogeneous in glacier flow models, but raise warnings about the complexities of basal boundary conditions and glacier sliding. Discrete englacial structures, including clear-ice layers, voids, and water conduits, compose a total of

The identification of subglacial drainage systems can inform our understanding of past and present hydrological processes, landscape evolution, and ice dynamics. Here, we present evidence from satellite imagery, digital elevation models, and radio-echo sounding data for a series of channelized networks with contrasting paleofluvial and subglacial origins beneath Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland. A >250-km-long, dendritic paleofluvial channel network beneath the northern portion of Humboldt is interpreted as a preglacial feature. Roughly linear channels beneath the southern portion of Humboldt, which display a similar distribution to tunnel valleys found on the beds of former ice sheets, are likely to have been eroded by subglacial meltwater routed along the ice-sheet bed. We suggest that basal meltwater is actively being routed down both the paleofluvial and subglacially formed channel networks to the coast. Inheritance of the preglacial channel network may have influenced the present-day location and dynamics of Humboldt Glacier and enhanced selective erosion at its down-glacier end.

Runoff from a late summer storm drained rapidly to a subglacial stream of McBride Glacier, southeast Alaska. The stream transported large volumes of sediment that discharged from the glacier's tidewater front directly into fjord water at 40 m depth. Measurements of salinity, temperature, and suspended-sediment concentration indicate that the sediment was transported by interflows within brackish fjord water. Sedimentation rates were exceptionally high (up to five times normal). Laminated fine sand accumulated in proximal sediment traps, and silty mud accumulated in distal traps. The low frequency of large storms late in the melt season indicates that the sedimentary products would be rare but significant marker horizons in temperate glaciomarine sequences.

The importance of the thermal characteristics of subglacial deformable debris is inferred from effects on processes of deposition and erosion. There is a lack of information on the temperatures found within subglacial debris under present-day ice masses. Data on the thermal conditions beneath Quaternary ice sheets, especially in the marginal areas where deformable material existed, must be obtained so that land-forming processes and the sedimentary environment beneath glaciers can be better understood. Four models illustrate, theoretically, the possible influences oscillating freezing fronts may have on subglacial debris. These models reveal that, depending upon the nature of the substructure, both erosion and deposition may occur under differing conditions and also that a “surge-type” condition may be created.