Search

Glacial fjords often contain ice mélange, a frozen conglomeration of icebergs, brash ice, and sea ice, that have been postulated to influence both glacier dynamics and fjord circulation through coupled mechanical and thermodynamic processes. Ice mélange meltwater can alter stratification of the water column by releasing cool, fresh water across a range of depths in the upper layer of the fjord. This meltwater input can subsequently modify the depth at which the subglacial discharge plume reaches neutral buoyancy and therefore the underlying buoyancy-driven fjord circulation and heat exchange with warm ocean shelf waters. Despite a spate of recent modelling studies exploring these proposed feedbacks, we lack in situ observations quantifying changes to the water column induced by ice mélange meltwater. Here we use a novel dataset collected before and after the melt, breakup, and down-fjord transport of an ephemeral ice mélange in front of Kangilliup Sermia (Rink Isbræ) to directly investigate the extent to which ice mélange meltwater can modify glacier-adjacent water properties. We find that even a short-lived ice mélange (4 days) can cause substantial cooling (0.18 °C) and freshening (0.25 g kg-1) of the water column that leads to stratification change down to the depth of the outflowing discharge plume. We compare our observations to an adjacent fjord, Kangerlussuup Sermia, where ice mélange seldom forms in the summertime, and show that the presence or absence of ice mélange melt creates fundamental differences in their upper layer hydrography. These observations provide critical constraints for recent modelling studies that have suggested ice mélange meltwater needs to be included in ocean circulation models for glaciers with deep grounding lines and high ice fluxes, which are precisely the glaciers exhibiting the largest magnitude terminus retreats at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field and remote sensing studies suggest that ice mélange influences glacier-fjord systems by exerting stresses on glacier termini and releasing large amounts of freshwater into fjords. The broader impacts of ice mélange over long time scales are unknown, in part due to a lack of suitable ice mélange flow models. Previous efforts have included modifying existing viscous ice shelf models, despite the fact that ice mélange is fundamentally a granular material, and running computationally expensive discrete element simulations. Here, we draw on laboratory studies of granular materials, which exhibit viscous flow when stresses greatly exceed the yield point, plug flow when the stresses approach the yield point, and stress transfer via force chains. By implementing the nonlocal granular fluidity rheology into a depth- and width-integrated stress balance equation, we produce a numerical model of ice mélange flow that is consistent with our understanding of well-packed granular materials and that is suitable for long time-scale simulations. For parallel-sided fjords, the model exhibits two possible steady state solutions. When there is no calving of new icebergs or melting of previously calved icebergs, the ice mélange is pushed down fjord by the advancing glacier terminus, the velocity is constant along the length of the fjord, and the thickness profile is exponential. When calving and melting are included, the ice mélange evolves to another steady state in which its location is fixed relative to the fjord walls, the thickness profile is relatively steep, and the flow is extensional. For the latter case, the model predicts that the steady-state ice mélange buttressing force depends on the surface and basal melt rates through an inverse power law relationship, decays roughly exponentially with both fjord width and gradient in fjord width, and increases with the iceberg calving flux. The increase in buttressing force with the calving flux, which depends on glacier thickness, appears to occur more rapidly than the force required to prevent the capsize of full-glacier-thickness icebergs, suggesting that glaciers with high calving fluxes may be more strongly influenced by ice mélange than those with small fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 79° North Glacier (Nioghalvfjerdsbrae, 79NG) is one of three remaining glaciers with a floating tongue in Greenland. Although the glacier has been considered exceptionally stable in the past, earlier studies have shown that the ice tongue has thinned in recent decades. By conducting high-resolution ground-based and airborne radar measurements in conjunction with satellite remote-sensing observations, we find significant changes in the geometry of 79NG. In the vicinity of the grounding line, a 500 m high subglacial channel has grown since ∼ 2010 and has caused surface lowering of up to 7.6 m a -1. Our results show extreme basal melt rates exceeding 150 m a -1 over a period of 17 d within a distance of 5 km from the grounding line, where the ice has thinned by 32 % since 1998. We find a heterogeneous distribution of melt rates, likely due to variability in water column thickness and channelization of the ice base. Time series of melt rates show a decrease in basal melting since 2018, indicating an inflow of colder water into the cavity below 79NG. We discuss the processes that have led to the changes in geometry and conclude that the inflow of warm ocean currents has led to the extensive thinning of 79NG's floating ice tongue near the grounding line over the last 2 decades. In contrast, we hypothesize that the growth of the channel results from increased subglacial discharge due to a considerably enlarged area of summer surface melt due to the warming of the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adélie‐George V Land in East Antarctica, encompassing the vast Wilkes Subglacial Basin, has a configuration that could be prone to ice sheet instability: the basin's retrograde bed slope could make its marine terminating glaciers vulnerable to warm seawater intrusion and irreversible retreat under predicted climate forcing. However, future projections are uncertain, due in part to limited subglacial observations near the grounding zone. Here, we develop a novel statistical approach to characterize subglacial conditions from radar sounding observations. Our method reveals intermixed frozen and thawed bed within 100 km of the grounding‐zone near the Wilkes Subglacial Basin outflow, and enables comparisons to ice sheet model‐inferred thermal states. The signs of intermixed or near thawed conditions raises the possibility that changes in basal thermal state could impact the stability of Adélie‐George V Land, adding to the region's potentially vulnerable topographic configuration and sensitivity to ocean forcing driven grounding line retreat. Plain Language Summary: East Antarctica's Adélie‐George V Land has been relatively stable over the last few decades. However, this region contains the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, which has a downward‐sloping bed inland of the grounding zone. This could make irreversible retreat possible if warming seawater off the coast enters beneath the ice sheet. However, predicting the region's vulnerability is difficult, in part, because there is limited information about the conditions beneath the ice sheet. In this study, we develop a new statistical approach to synthesize radar sounding data and classify the conditions at the ice‐bed interface into frozen‐bed and thawed‐bed, which can then provide comparisons to ice sheet model output. We find that areas near the outflow of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, critical in maintaining the stability of the region, might consist of mixed frozen‐bed and thawed‐bed or near‐thawed conditions on the scale of tens of kilometers across. This finding is important since the extent of basal thaw affects how easily ice can flow or slide over the bed. If parts of the bed are close to thawed, this could make Adélie‐George V Land more sensitive to climate forcing, possibly resulting in mass loss. Key Points: We develop an adaptable statistical framework using radar sounding data to classify the basal thermal state of ice sheetsApplied to the Adélie‐George V Coast, the framework reveals a mix of frozen and thawed‐bed, along with confidence in the classificationsAreas maintaining the region's stability have varied thermal states and we consider how this could increase sensitivity to climate forcing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]