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Dramatic supraglacial lake drainage events in Greenland and Antarctica are enabled by rapid hydrofracture propagation through >1 km ice. Here, we present a slower mode of hydrofracture, where hairline surface fractures intersect supraglacial streams, and hypothesise that fracture penetration depth is critically limited by water supply and englacial refreezing. We apply a model of stream-fed hydrofracture to the Greenland Ice Sheet and find that, under most conditions, 2-cm-wide fractures can penetrate hundreds of metres before freezing closed. Full-depth hydrofracture is more restricted, requiring relatively large meltwater channels and/or warm englacial conditions. Given the abundance of streams and surface fractures across Greenland and Antarctica's expanding ablation zones, stream-driven hydrofractures are likely ubiquitous even where distant from supraglacial lakes and crevasses. While lake-driven hydrofracture is now argued to have minimal long-term dynamic impacts, this intriguing stream-fed hydrofracturing has two important consequences. First, by driving widespread cryohydrologic warming at depths far greater than surface crevassing, it explains a cold bias in modelled englacial thermal profiles. Second, the associated decrease in ice viscosity, and increased damage accumulation, will enhance the vulnerability of ice sheets to dynamic instability under climate warming. This process is likely undetectable by remote sensing, and warrants more detailed modelling and field investigations.

The Greenland Ice Sheet harbours a wealth of microbial life, yet the total biomass stored or exported from its surface to downstream environments is unconstrained. Here, we quantify microbial abundance and cellular biomass flux within the near-surface weathering crust photic zone of the western sector of the ice sheet. Using groundwater techniques, we demonstrate that interstitial water flow is slow (~10−2 m d−1), while flow cytometry enumeration reveals this pathway delivers 5 × 108 cells m−2 d−1 to supraglacial streams, equivalent to a carbon flux up to 250 g km−2 d−1. We infer that cellular carbon accumulation in the weathering crust exceeds fluvial export, promoting biomass sequestration, enhanced carbon cycling, and biological albedo reduction. We estimate that up to 37 kg km−2 of cellular carbon is flushed from the weathering crust environment of the western Greenland Ice Sheet each summer, providing an appreciable flux to support heterotrophs and methanogenesis at the bed., Microbes that colonise ice sheet surfaces are important to the carbon cycle, but their biomass and transport remains unquantified. Here, the authors reveal substantial microbial carbon fluxes across Greenland’s ice surface, in quantities that may sustain subglacial heterotrophs and fuel methanogenesis.

As the Arctic warms, one of the fundamental changes has been the freshening of Arctic ocean waters, impacting ocean circulation and marine ecosystems, among many other critical changes. This increase in freshwater is largely the result of increased precipitation and runoff as part of an amplified Arctic water cycle and increased influx of glacial meltwater from around the Arctic, particularly from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Tracing the sources and extent of this freshwater is critical to understanding future changes to the Arctic seas. One way of delineating these water masses is through measuring its isotopic composition (δ18O and δD), where the freshwater varies significantly from older and other ocean water sources.In order to identify these freshwater influxes, we conducted in-situ measurements aboard the USCGC Healy that transited the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, the Northwest Passage, and performed numerous transects across Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea, including detailed examinations of several key fjords and coastal regions of Greenland, during autumn of 2021. Over the length of this 45 day expedition, we continuously measured the isotopic composition (δ18O and δD) of surface seawater allowing us to fingerprint these sources of freshwater and assess the spatial extent of their influence. We also collected discrete samples from over 100 CTD casts, primarily in Baffin Bay, to identify how freshwater is distributed in the ocean water column. Through these measurements, we identified numerous freshwater influxes, including anomalously high proportions of freshwater in sections of the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska and in Uummannaq Fjord along the west Greenland coast. These isotopic measurements also allow for the disentangling of different freshwater sources (i.e., precipitation or glacial meltwater). Additionally, we find that the freshwater pulses along the west coast of Greenland corresponded with relatively high levels of chlorophyll and fluorescence, suggesting a possible link between this increase in biologic productivity and an increase in the proportion of freshwater.

One of the key changes of the global climate system is the loss of Arctic sea ice, particularly through its impact on ocean-atmosphere interactions. Enhanced evaporation under open-water conditions is widespread from places and periods previously precluded by perennial sea ice cover, leading to an increase in vapor uptake across the Arctic. However, the response of ocean-atmosphere system to sea ice loss varies significantly over time and space. To quantify these variations, the Arctic Water Isotope Network (AWIN) has been established to make continuous water vapor isotope measurements (δD, δ18O, and d-excess) at seven land-based stations from Barrow, Alaska to Ny Alesund, Svalbard. This network has been supplemented by continuous mobile isotope data from the CiASOM project on the Polarstern ice-breaker throughout the MOSAiC “Arctic-drift” expedition. With this network, we comprehensively track water vapor from its source to sink, thereby demonstrating how it varies simultaneously across the entire Arctic Basin.Here, we utilize AWIN measurements to specifically quantify how variations in sea ice extent and distribution affect moisture content, water vapor isotope traits, and transport along several critical storm tracks. By monitoring vapor isotopic changes in air masses advected from one site to another, we are able to track how much moisture is added along a given trajectory. We investigate several primary vapor transport pathways into the Arctic, including the North Atlantic/Greenland Sea, Baffin Bay, and the Bering Strait, and track the geochemical signature of this vapor as it transits along these well-established storm pathways into and within the Arctic. By quantifying isotopic changes between our sites we: 1) identify the distinct isotopic fingerprint of moisture sourced by evaporation from Arctic seas that is critically dependent on variable sea ice conditions, 2) detect moisture addition into critical storm tracks as they transit across the Arctic, and 3) determine the spatial variability of this enhanced Arctic-sourced evaporation and moisture. We find that for every major storm track observed, the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas are significant sources of enhanced moisture uptake, acting within an amplified water cycle.

The loss of Arctic sea-ice has been implicated with severe cold and snowy mid-latitude winters. However, the mechanisms and a direct link remain elusive due to limited observational evidence. Here we present atmospheric water vapour isotope measurements from Arctic Finland during ‘the Beast from the East’—a severe anticyclonic outbreak that brought heavy snowfall and freezing across Europe in February 2018. We find that an anomalously warm Barents Sea, with a 60% ice-free surface, supplied up to 9.3 mm d−1 moisture flux to this cold northeasterly airflow. We demonstrate that approximately 140 gigatonnes of water was evaporated from the Barents Sea during the event, potentially supplying up to 88% of the corresponding fresh snow over northern Europe. Reanalysis data show that from 1979 to 2020, net March evaporation across the Barents Sea increased by approximately 70 kg per square metre of sea-ice lost (r2 = 0.73, P

Accepted manuscript version, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The Barents Sea has experienced intense erosion throughout the Cenozoic due to uplift and repeated episodes of glaciation. This, in turn, has driven large pressure and temperature fluctuations in the sediment substrate along with rearrangement of thermogenic oil and gas accumulations. As a result, some hydrocarbon fields have relatively shallow depths, and natural gas release is widespread. This study focuses on the process of hydrocarbon leakage from the Realgrunnen reservoir - encompassing the Hanssen and Wisting discoveries - to the shallow subsurface caused by repeated cycles of glacial erosion in the central Barents Sea throughout the Quaternary. We apply 2D basin and petroleum system modeling to two seismic sections using data from two wells and run ten different scenarios that test model sensitivity to key parameters. We find that the primary factors governing gas leakage are the erosion amount, its distribution between glacial and preglacial stages, and the timing of the glaciations. Our results demonstrate that intense oil and gas leakage from the Realgrunnen reservoir occurs primarily through widespread faults activated during the first deglaciation episode. Further considerable gas leakage occurs by the seal breach after a critical overburden thickness is eroded and pressure on the reservoir decreases to ca. 9 MPa. Modeling reveals that the first deglaciation episode causes up to ca. 20% loss of oil and gas from the reservoir, whereas leakage after the seal breach yields a further ca. 15% decrease in gas. Our results are supported by seismic analyses that demonstrate hydrocarbon leakage in the study area

The dynamics and paleo‐glaciology of ice sheet interiors during the last deglaciation are poorly constrained, hindering ice sheet model reconstructions. We provide direct evidence of Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) interior behavior during deglaciation through surface exposure dating. Our results demonstrate early thinning of the FIS, prior to the Younger Dryas (YD, 12.8–11.7 ka). Interior thinning in central Norway was concurrent with retreat along the coastline, exposing ice‐free mountainous tracts, potentially as early as 20–15 ka. The FIS then formed moraines in these ice‐free tracts during the YD. This is contrary to current hypotheses advocating a landscape fully covered by cold, inactive ice during this period. Present empirical and model reconstructions fail to capture rapid interior downwastage, increasing uncertainties in ice sheet volume estimates and sea level contributions. Plain language summary The decay of past ice sheets provides an analogue for the retreat of present‐day ice sheets, due to rapidly changing climate conditions experienced then and now. One limitation with ice reconstructions is, however, that they rarely contain dated evidence for how the ice sheet interiors behaved during their termination. In a new reconstruction of the geometry of the southern part of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS), we overcome this limitation. We document that areas at the heart of the southern ice dome, previously thought to be consumed by thick ice, were in fact ice‐free 12,000 years ago suggesting that the FIS was considerably thinner than thought and that previous estimates of the ice sheet’s volume need to be recalculated.

The evidence for periods of increased volcanic activity following deglaciation, such as following ice sheet retreat after the Last Glacial Maximum, has been examined in several formerly glaciated areas, including Iceland, Alaska, and the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone. Here we present new evidence supporting the theory that during episodes of cooling in the Holocene, Icelandic volcanic activity decreased. By examining proximal and distal tephra records from Iceland spanning the last 12,500 years, we link two observed tephra minima to documented periods of climatic cooling and glacial advance, at 8.3 to 8 and 5.2 to 4.9 cal kyr BP. We simulate these periods in atmosphere-ocean and ice sheet models to assess the potential validity of the postglacial ‘unloading effect’ on Icelandic volcanic systems. We conclude that an increase in glacial cover may have decreased shallow magma ascent rates, thus limiting eruption potential and producing apparent quiescent periods in proximal and distal tephra records. However, several major uncertainties remain regarding the theory, including geographical and temporal preservation biases and the importance of any unloading effects against other factors, and these will require more prolonged investigation in future research.

Stable isotope ratios (δ18O and δ2H) in precipitation (P) and atmospheric water vapor (V) can provide mechanistic information about water cycle processes such as moisture evaporation, transport and recycling dynamics. Such insight is valuable in the Arctic where declining sea ice is amplifying atmospheric temperature and humidity, leading to complex seasonal patterns of synoptic climate and atmospheric moisture transport. Here, we present two years of continuous water vapor isotope data from Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, northern Finland, to investigate moisture source and transport processes in the Barents Region of the Arctic. High-resolution (1-sec) measurements obtained between December 2017 and December 2019 are coupled with on-site automated weather station data – including air temperature, humidity, solar flux, wind speed and direction – as well as event-based precipitation sampling and stable isotope data over the same interval. Over the two-years, mean vapor δ18OV, δ2HV and d-excessV values are -24.50‰, -181.49‰ and 14.49‰, respectively. These values are strongly correlated and define a local vapor line for Pallas where δ2HV = 7.6 x δ18OV + 5.9 (R2=0.98). We observe a mean offset of 10.9 ‰ between Pallas δ18OV and δ18OP, and d-excess is -4.8 ‰ lower in δ18OP. There is a larger offset between vapor and precipitation d-excess during summer (-8.4‰) compared to winter (0.1‰) that may reflect varying fractionation coefficients between solid and liquid cloud-precipitation phases. The timeseries exhibits strong seasonality characterized by lower δ18OV/δ2HV and higher d-excess during winter, and the reverse during summer. In winter these broad patterns are primarily driven by synoptic-scale processes that influence the source and transport pathway of atmospheric moisture, and three dominant oceanic evaporative source regions are identified: the Barents, Norwegian, and Baltic Seas. Yet on diurnal timescales we observe distinct summer diel cycles that correlate with local fluctuations in specific humidity (q). These seasonal relationships are explored in context of spatial-temporal patterns in sea ice and snow cover distribution, as well as evapotranspiration processes across northern Eurasia. Finally, to better understand how current changes in the Arctic hydrologic cycle relate to inherent variability of the polar jet stream and related synoptic-scale weather, our isotope data are examined in context of dynamic circulation modes of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO).

Gas hydrates exist within a relatively narrow envelope of thermal and pressure conditions, small changes in which may lead to widespread dissociation and methane release. During past glacials, extensive ice sheets covered the continental margins of the Arctic Basin yielding ideal high pressure and low temperature conditions for the sequestration of thermogenic and biogenic methane in hydrate-bearing subglacial sediments. On ice sheet retreat at the end of the last glacial, these hydrate reservoirs experienced major perturbations in thermal and pressure conditions leading to decomposition and methane mobilization over a variety of magnitude, temporal and spatial scales. Using geophysical data to constrain state-of-the-art ice sheet/gas hydrate modelling, we investigate how past Northern Hemisphere ice sheets modulated carbon sequestration and release. Our results provide the first quantitative assessment of widespread subglacial hydrate formation and mobilization during the last glacial, yields insights into global carbon cycle dynamics and informs potential future atmospheric greenhouse composition and feedbacks associated with shrinkage of the contemporary cryosphere.

Release of greenhouse gasses is of major concern when it comes to climate change. Large amount of those gases are released through faults and fractures at the ocean floor, forming pockmarks at the surface. Understanding the formation of pockmarks and the fracture - fault network underlying them, is thus of first importance to apprehend the dynamics of gas seepages. We suggest that such fractures are closely related to the regional stress field and thus control by the combination of large scale tectonic processes, sedimentation - erosion mechanism and reactivation of inherited structures in the underlying basement.The present study focus on the calculation of the regional stress field along Vestnesa ridge, a key location for methane seepage and pockmarks study. This area is located in a tectonically active region, boarded in the west by the Atlantic ridge and two major transform faults. In addition, deglaciation since the last glacial maximum (LGM), has induced a rebound of the lithosphere which also affects the stress field of the area including Fennoscandia, Svalbard and Greenland. However, it is difficult to estimate the effect of post-glacial rebound on the regional stress field, especially in a zone where the stress is mostly dominated by the effect of the Atlantic ridge push. To assess this problem, we built a time-dependent mechanical model of an elastic crust and viscoelastic mantle underlying the area of interest. We apply an ice cover on the surface of the model that varies according to the time-dependent ice-thickness model of Patton et al., 2016; 2017. The model runs for 50 000 yrs which includes 1) a glaciation phase till the last glacial maximum (LGM) at about -16000 yrs and 2), a deglaciation phase from the last LGM up to present time.Preliminary results show that the amplitude of the stress change resulting from glacial adjustment, can be of the order of -2 MPa to 2 MPa along Vestnesa ridge. Moreover, the orientation of the maximum horizontal stress (σH) is modified according to the geometry and evolution of the ice cover, just as to the topography of the region affected by the lithospheric adjustment.

During the past ~2.6 Ma, some 30 glaciations have caused episodic high pressure and low temperature conditions and forced growth and decay of extensive subglacial methane hydrate accumulations globally. Research on Arctic methane release has primarily focused on warm, interglacial episodes when hydrates became unstable across territories either abandoned by former ice sheets or affected by permafrost degradation. Here we present a new mechanism – the subglacial erosion of gas hydrate-bearing sediments – that actively mobilizes methane in hydrate and dissolved form and delivers it to the ice sheet margin. We investigate this mechanism using geophysical imaging and ice sheet/gas hydrate modeling focused on a study site in Storfjordrenna, that hosted large ice stream draining the Barents Sea ice sheet. During the last glacial, we find that this ice stream overrode an extensive cluster of conduits that supplied a continuous methane flux from a deep, thermogenic source and delivered it to the subglacial environment. Our analysis reveals that 15,000 to 44,000 m3 of gas hydrates were subglacially eroded from the 17 km2 study site and transported to the shelf-edge. Given the abundance of natural gas reservoirs across the Barents Sea and marine-based glaciated petroleum provinces elsewhere, we propose that this mechanism had the potential to mobilize a substantial flux of subglacial methane throughout multiple Quaternary glacial episodes.

MOSAiC is a one of a kind, year-long study of the Arctic Basin’s behavior focused in large part on interactions between sea ice, atmospheric processes, ecosystem dynamics and oceanography, as well as connections between the Arctic and the mid-latitudes. Our MOSAiC project is focused on how the Arctic Basin’s water cycle behaves throughout the year, especially now that sea ice loss allows for a new source of moisture to the atmosphere during times when this basin was formerly frozen over. These massive changes in open water and corresponding fluxes in conjunction with significant shifts in atmospheric circulation, are altering how moisture is transported into, within, and out of the Arctic Basin. In order to help quantify these Arctic hydrologic cycle variations, we have established the AWIN (Arctic Water Isotope Network) that uses continuous water vapor isotope measurements (δD, δ18O, and deuterium excess) at eight land-based stations from Barrow in Alaska to Ny Alesund in Svalbard, as well as on board the Polarstern.With a network of sites rather than a single station, we gain the significant advantage of being able to track water vapor and how it varies from site to site, allowing us to identify the sources of moisture, and how and where that moisture is transported into, within, and out of the Arctic. For this analysis, we focus on the first months of the expedition (October-December 2019) to closely examine cases of critical events including a major low-pressure system in mid-November that impacted much of the Arctic Ocean basin and three key repeating transport regimes – 1) transport into the Arctic from the North Atlantic via the Greenland Sea, 2) transport into the Arctic via Baffin Bay, and 3) transport out of the Arctic via the Greenland Sea, as well as transport within the Arctic during each of these regimes. For example, in the scenario of transport into the Arctic via Baffin Bay, at our site in Thule, Greenland, we see significant reductions in deuterium excess each time the southerly flow initiates, suggesting significant moisture evaporating from nearby in Baffin Bay. We then can track that moisture to another site to observe how much of that locally-sourced vapor is transported to a given downwind location, allowing us to quantify vapor fluxes and isotopic fractionation processes across the Arctic. By examining these scenarios under varying sea ice conditions and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, this circum-Arctic network of water isotope measurements is transforming our understanding of the Arctic hydrologic cycle during MOSAiC.

The timing, rates and patterns of retreat of western sectors of the last Eurasian Ice Sheet (EurIS) are poorly constrained, hampered by limited observations from the marine domain. A better knowledge of the deglaciation of the NW European marine areas/continental margins is essential for efforts to understand the role of different controlling factors (such as ice streams, atmospheric and oceanic conditions, relative sea level, morphology and substrate) on the stability of the EurIS, and also for ice-sheet stability in general. Based on new and existing mapping of glacial landforms, together with a compilation of existing and recalibrated dates from the NW European shelf, a new reconstruction of the retreating EurIS between 20 and 14 ka BP will be presented. Our reconstruction suggests an initial modest withdrawal from maximum extent to c. 19 ka BP along the entire western marine-terminating margin. From 19ka the two major marine-terminating ice streams, in the Norwegian Channel and Bear Island Trough, begin to retreat/collapse. This destabilisation leads to rapid interior downdraw and the eventual unzipping of the British-Irish and Fennoscandian ice sheets at c. 18.5 ka BP, and the Barents-Kara and Fennoscandian ice sheets between 16 and 15 ka BP. Based on our new reconstruction and modelling results, the importance of factors controlling the nonsynchronous and rapid deglaciation of marine-based sectors and the implications for the stability of the ice sheet, will be discussed. The chronology and patterns of past marine deglaciations provide contextual insight into ice sheet instabilities and the mechanisms behind, underpinning the ongoing retreat of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets today.

Iceland’s periglacial realm is one of the most dynamic on the planet, with active geomorphological processes and high weathering rates of young bedrock resulting in high sediment yields and ongoing mass movement. Permafrost is discontinuous in Iceland’s highlands and mountains over c. 800 m a.s.l, and sporadic in palsa mires in the central highlands. During the late Pleistocene and Holocene, Iceland’s periglacial environment varied considerably in time and space, dominated by glacial fluctuations and periglacial processes. To evaluate the dynamics of permafrost in Iceland since the last deglaciation, we use the output of a coupled climate/ice sheet model to force a transient permafrost model (CryoGRID 2) from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) through to the present. We find that permafrost was widespread across the deglaciated areas of western, northern and eastern Iceland after the LGM, and that up to 20% of Iceland’s terrestrial area was underlain by permafrost throughout the late Pleistocene. This influenced geomorphological processes and landform generation: the early collapse of the marine-based ice sheet together with the aggradation of permafrost in these zones initiated the formation of abundant and now relict rock glaciers across coastal margins. Permafrost degraded rapidly after the Younger Dryas, with a marked impact on slope stability. Permafrost that formed during the Little Ice Age is again thawing rapidly, and an escalation in slope failure and mass-movement might be currently underway. Our study demonstrates that large regions of Iceland have been underlain by permafrost for millennia, facilitating landform development and influencing the stability of steep slopes.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Jones, C., Ryan, J., Holt, T. & Hubbard, A.L. (2018). Structural glaciology of Isunguata Sermia, West Greenland. Journal of Maps, 14(2), 517-527. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2018.1507952, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2018.1507952. We present a 1:42,000 scale map of Isunguata Sermia, a land-terminating outlet glacier draining the western-sector of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Structure-from-Motion software applied to ∼3,600 aerial images collected by a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle in July 2015 allowed us to produce a high resolution (0.3 m ground sampling distance (GSD)) orthomosaic and digital elevation model (DEM; 1.5 m GSD).These products were used to map and describe the structural, geomorphological and hydrological features of the lower 16 km terminus of Isunguata Sermia and include many thousands of crevasses, crevasse traces and supraglacial channels. Additionally, several geomorphological features and pro-glacial hydrological features were identified, including debris-covered ice, lateral moraines and ice-marginal lakes. The map has potential for informing and reconstructing the long-term dynamic history of the glacier, including its response to variable environmental forcing.

Intensive study of the Greenland Ice Sheet's (GrIS) subglacial drainage has been motivated by its importance for ice dynamics and for nutrient/sediment export to coastal ecosystems. This has revealed consistent seasonal development of efficient subglacial drainage in the lower ablation area. While some hydrological models show qualitative agreement with field data, conflicting evidence (both field- and model-based) maintains uncertainty in the extent and rate of efficient drainage development under thick (∼1 km) ice. Here, we present the first simultaneous time series of directly-observed subglacial drainage evolution, supraglacial hydrology and ice dynamics over 11 weeks in a large GrIS catchment. We demonstrate development of a fast/efficient subglacial drainage system extending from the margin to beneath ice >900 m thick, which then persisted with little response to highly variable moulin inputs including extreme melt events and extended periods (2 weeks) of low melt input. This efficient system evolved within ∼3 weeks at a moulin initiated when a fracture intersected a supraglacial river (rather than hydrofracture and lake drainage). Ice flow response to surface melt inputs at this site follows a pattern commonly observed in the lower GrIS ablation area, and by assuming a strong relationship between ice dynamics and subglacial hydrology, we infer that efficient subglacial drainage evolution is widespread under 900 m-thick ice in west Greenland. This time series of tracer transit characteristics through a developing and then persistent efficient drainage system provides a unique data set with which to validate and constrain existing numerical drainage system models, extending their capability for simulating drainage system evolution under current and future conditions publishedVersion

The continental margin off Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard, is characterized by widespread natural gas seepage into the water column at and upslope of the gas hydrate stability zone. We deployed an ocean bottom seismometer integrated into the MASOX (Monitoring Arctic Seafloor-Ocean Exchange) automated seabed observatory at the pinch-out of this zone at 389 m water depth to investigate passive seismicity over a continuous 297 day period from 13 October 2010. An automated triggering algorithm was applied to detect over 220,000 short duration events (SDEs) defined as having a duration of less than 1 s. The analysis reveals two different types of SDEs, each with a distinctive characteristic seismic signature. We infer that the first type consists of vocal signals generated by moving mammals, likely finback whales. The second type corresponds to signals with a source within a few hundred meters of the seismometer, either due east or west, that vary on short (∼tens of days) and seasonal time scales. Based on evidence of prevalent seafloor seepage and subseafloor gas accumulations, we hypothesize that the second type of SDEs is related to subseafloor fluid migration and gas seepage. Furthermore, we postulate that the observed temporal variations in microseismicity are driven by transient fluid release and due to the dynamics of thermally forced, seasonal gas hydrate decomposition. Our analysis presents a novel technique for monitoring the duration, intensity, and periodicity of fluid migration and seepage at the seabed and can help elucidate the environmental controls on gas hydrate decomposition and release.

High-impact review papers describe and synthesize the current state of the art, the open questions and controversies, and provide ideas for future investigations. They are written not only for a specific scientific discipline but also for the broader Earth and space science community. They not only summarize the literature, but they also create a framework from which to understand the progress, problems, and connections between different communities, observations, models, and approaches. Here we describe how to write a high-impact review paper, and why you should consider writing one for Reviews of Geophysics.

Published version. Source at http://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073661. ©2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved Calibration and validation of satellite‐derived ice sheet albedo data require high‐quality, in situ measurements commonly acquired by up and down facing pyranometers mounted on automated weather stations (AWS). However, direct comparison between ground and satellite‐derived albedo can only be justified when the measured surface is homogeneous at the length‐scale of both satellite pixel and in situ footprint. Here we use digital imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle to evaluate point‐to‐pixel albedo comparisons across the western, ablating margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Our results reveal that in situ measurements overestimate albedo by up to 0.10 at the end of the melt season because the ground footprints of AWS‐mounted pyranometers are insufficient to capture the spatial heterogeneity of the ice surface as it progressively ablates and darkens. Statistical analysis of 21 AWS across the entire Greenland Ice Sheet reveals that almost half suffer from this bias, including some AWS located within the wet snow zone.

Widespread methane release from thawing Arctic gas hydrates is a major concern, yet the processes, sources, and fluxes involved remain unconstrained. We present geophysical data documenting a cluster of kilometer-wide craters and mounds from the Barents Sea floor associated with large-scale methane expulsion. Combined with ice sheet/gas hydrate modeling, our results indicate that during glaciation, natural gas migrated from underlying hydrocarbon reservoirs and was sequestered extensively as subglacial gas hydrates. Upon ice sheet retreat, methane from this hydrate reservoir concentrated in massive mounds before being abruptly released to form craters. We propose that these processes were likely widespread across past glaciated petroleum provinces and that they also provide an analog for the potential future destabilization of subglacial gas hydrate reservoirs beneath contemporary ice sheets.

Greenland's Dark Zone is the largest contiguous region of bare terrestrial ice in the Northern Hemisphere and microbial processes play an important role in driving its darkening and thereby amplifying melt and runoff from the ice sheet. However, the dynamics of these microbiota have not been fully identified. Here we present joint 16S rRNA gene and 16S rRNA (cDNA) comparison of input (snow), storage (cryoconite), and output (supraglacial stream water) habitats across the Dark Zone over the melt season. We reveal that all three Dark Zone communities have a preponderance of rare taxa exhibiting high protein synthesis potential (PSP). Furthermore, taxa with high PSP represent highly connected ‘bottlenecks’ within community structure, consistent with their roles as metabolic hubs. Finally, low abundance-high PSP taxa affiliated with Methylobacterium within snow and stream water suggest a novel role for Methylobacterium in the carbon cycle of Greenlandic snowpacks, and importantly, the export of potentially active methylotrophs to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet. By comparing the dynamics of bulk and potentially active microbiota in the Dark Zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet we provide novel insights into the mechanisms and impacts of the microbial colonization of this critical region of our melting planet.

The Dark Zone of the western Greenland Ice Sheet is the most expansive region of contiguous bare terrestrial ice in the Northern Hemisphere. Microbial processes within the Dark Zone play an important role in driving extensive albedo reduction and amplified melting, yet the composition and function of those consortia have not been fully identified. Here we present the first results from joint 16S rRNA gene and 16S rRNA (cDNA) analysis for the comparison of input (snow), storage (cryoconite), and output (supraglacial stream water) habitats across the Dark Zone over the melt season. Our analysis reveals that all three Dark Zone communities are characterized by a preponderance of rare taxa exhibiting high protein synthesis potential (PSP). Furthermore, taxa with high PSP represent highly connected “bottlenecks” within community structure, consistent with roles as metabolic hubs within their communities. Finally, the detection of low abundance-high PSP taxa affiliated withMethylobacteriumwithin snow and stream water indicates a potential role forMethylobacteriumin the carbon cycle of Greenlandic snowpacks, and importantly, the export of potentially active methylotrophs to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet. By comparing the dynamics of bulk and potentially active microbial communities in the Dark Zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet our study provides insight into the mechanisms and impacts of the microbial colonization of this critical region of our melting planet.

Several recent studies from both Greenland and Antarctica have reported significant changes in the water isotopic composition of near‐surface snow between precipitation events. These changes have been linked to isotopic exchange with atmospheric water vapor and sublimation‐induced fractionation, but the processes are poorly constrained by observations. Understanding and quantifying these processes are crucial to both the interpretation of ice core climate proxies and the formulation of isotope‐enabled general circulation models. Here, we present continuous measurements of the water isotopic composition in surface snow and atmospheric vapor together with near‐surface atmospheric turbulence and snow‐air latent and sensible heat fluxes, obtained at the East Greenland Ice‐Core Project drilling site in summer 2016. For two 4‐day‐long time periods, significant diurnal variations in atmospheric water isotopologues are observed. A model is developed to explore the impact of this variability on the surface snow isotopic composition. Our model suggests that the snow isotopic composition in the upper subcentimeter of the snow exhibits a diurnal variation with amplitudes in δ18O and δD of ~2.5‰ and ~13‰, respectively. As comparison, such changes correspond to 10–20% of the magnitude of seasonal changes in interior Greenland snow pack isotopes and of the change across a glacial‐interglacial transition. Importantly, our observation and model results suggest, that sublimation‐induced fractionation needs to be included in simulations of exchanges between the vapor and the snow surface on diurnal timescales during summer cloud‐free conditions in northeast Greenland., Key Points Data show evidence of isotopic fractionation during vapor exchange between the snow surface and atmosphereModel simulations suggest diurnal variation in the snow surface isotopic compositionWe propose an enhanced effective isotopic exchange between the surface of the snow grain and its interior

Greenland’s snowline exhibits large fluctuations and is a primary amplifier of ice sheet surface melt and runoff., Greenland Ice Sheet mass loss has recently increased because of enhanced surface melt and runoff. Since melt is critically modulated by surface albedo, understanding the processes and feedbacks that alter albedo is a prerequisite for accurately forecasting mass loss. Using satellite imagery, we demonstrate the importance of Greenland’s seasonally fluctuating snowline, which reduces ice sheet albedo and enhances melt by exposing dark bare ice. From 2001 to 2017, this process drove 53% of net shortwave radiation variability in the ablation zone and amplified ice sheet melt five times more than hydrological and biological processes that darken bare ice itself. In a warmer climate, snowline fluctuations will exert an even greater control on melt due to flatter ice sheet topography at higher elevations. Current climate models, however, inaccurately predict snowline elevations during high melt years, portending an unforeseen uncertainty in forecasts of Greenland’s runoff contribution to global sea level rise.

Temporal variations in ice sheet flow directly impact the internal structure within ice sheets through englacial deformation. Large‐scale changes in the vertical stratigraphy within ice sheets have been previously conducted on centennial to millennial timescales; however, intra‐annual changes in the morphology of internal layers have yet to be explored. Over a period of 2 years, we use autonomous phase‐sensitive radio‐echo sounding to track the daily displacement of internal layers on Store Glacier, West Greenland, to millimeter accuracy. At a site located ∼30 km from the calving terminus, where the ice is ∼600 m thick and flows at ∼700 m/a, we measure distinct seasonal variations in vertical velocities and vertical strain rates over a 2‐year period. Prior to the melt season (March–June), we observe increasingly nonlinear englacial deformation with negative vertical strain rates (i.e., strain thinning) in the upper half of the ice column of approximately −0.03 a−1, whereas the ice below thickens under vertical strain reaching up to +0.16 a−1. Early in the melt season (June–July), vertical thinning gradually ceases as the glacier increasingly thickens. During late summer to midwinter (August–February), vertical thickening occurs linearly throughout the entire ice column, with strain rates averaging 0.016 a−1. We show that these complex variations are unrelated to topographic setting and localized basal slip and hypothesize that this seasonality is driven by far‐field perturbations in the glacier's force balance, in this case generated by variations in basal hydrology near the glacier's terminus and propagated tens of kilometers upstream through transient basal lubrication longitudinal coupling., Key Points Autonomous phase‐sensitive radar can be used to track the fine‐scale motion of glacier internal layersVertical velocity profiles of internal layers evolve seasonally in a region of fast flowChanges in the local strain field are driven by downstream far‐field longitudinal stress coupling

Mars’ mid-latitude glacier-like forms (GLFs) have undergone substantial mass loss and recession since a hypothesised last martian glacial maximum (LMGM) stand. To date, there is a lack of knowledge of the nature and timing of the LMGM, the subsequent mass loss and whether this mass loss has been spatially variable. Here, we present the results of a population-scale inventory of recessional GLFs, derived from analysis of 1293 GLFs 3 identified within Context Camera (CTX) imagery, to assess the distribution and controls on GLF recession. A total of 436 GLFs were identified showing strong evidence of recession: 197 in the northern hemisphere and 239 in the southern hemisphere. Relative to their parent populations, recessional GLFs are over-represented in the low latitude belts between 25 and 40° and in areas of high relief, suggesting that these zones exert some control over GLF sensitivity and response to forcing. This analysis is complemented by the reconstruction of the maximum extent and morphology of a specific GLF for which High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) derived digital elevation data are available. Using Nye's (Nye, J.F. [1951] Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond, Ser. a—Mat. Phys. Sci., 207, 554–572) perfect plastic approximation of ice flow applied to multiple flow-lines under an optimum yield strength of 22 kPa, we calculate that the reconstructed GLF has lost an area of 6.86 km 2 with a corresponding volume loss of 0.31 km 3 since the LMGM. Assuming the loss reconstructed at this GLF occurred at all mid-latitude GLFs yields a total planetary ice loss from Mars’ GLFs of 135 km 3 , similar to the current ice volume in the European Alps on Earth.

Source: doi: 10.5194/tc-10-1147-2016 It has been argued that the infiltration and retention of meltwater within firn across the percolation zone of the Greenland ice sheet has the potential to buffer up to ∼ 3.6 mm of global sea-level rise (Harper et al., 2012). Despite evidence confirming active refreezing processes above the equilibrium line, their impact on runoff and proglacial discharge has yet to be assessed. Here, we compare meteorological, melt, firn stratigraphy and discharge data from the extreme 2010 and 2012 summers to determine the relationship between atmospheric forcing and melt runoff at the land-terminating Kangerlussuaq sector of the Greenland ice sheet, which drains into the Watson River. The 6.8 km3 bulk discharge in 2012 exceeded that in 2010 by 28 %, despite only a 3 % difference in net incoming melt energy between the two years. This large disparity can be explained by a 10 % contribution of runoff originating from above the long-term equilibrium line in 2012 caused by diminished firn retention. The amplified 2012 response was compounded by catchment hypsometry; the disproportionate increase in area contributing to runoff as the melt-level rose high into the accumulation area. Satellite imagery and aerial photographs reveal an extensive supraglacial network extending 140 km from the ice margin that confirms active meltwater runoff originating well above the equilibrium line. This runoff culminated in three days with record discharge of 3100 m3 s−1 (0.27 Gt d−1) that peaked on 11 July and washed out the Watson River Bridge. Our findings corroborate melt infiltration processes in the percolation zone, though the resulting patterns of refreezing are complex and can lead to spatially extensive, perched superimposed ice layers within the firn. In 2012, such layers extended to an elevation of at least 1840 m and provided a semi-impermeable barrier to further meltwater storage, thereby promoting widespread runoff from the accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet that contributed directly to proglacial discharge and global sea-level rise.

Localized subglacial zones of high traction help to regulate ice sheet flow. Geophysical data from a palaeo-ice-stream suggest that methane gas accumulation and hydrate formation beneath ice sheets can produce such high-traction sticky spots.

Accepted manuscript version, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Abrasion and quarrying are significant processes of subglacial erosion for ice masses in direct contact with hard substrates, yet their relative efficacy and spatio-temporal variability is unclear. Here, we investigate the glacial impact of these processes on a 70 m by 60 m bedrock surface at Moel Ysgyfarnogod in the Rhinog Mountains, Wales, using a combination of high-resolution digital photographs, analysis of a Digital Terrain Model derived from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle survey, and regional ice sheet modelling. We map and analyze the distribution of grooved and striated surfaces, abraded surfaces, quarried blocks and open fractures in addition to the orientation of pre-existing bedrock fractures and joints. The grooves and striations are orientated in a single, consistent direction across the bedrock surfaces related to regional ice flow during the Late Pleistocene. Abraded and smoothed bedrock dominates the proximal edges of the bedrock outcrop and quarrying prevails on the distal edges of the bedrock outcrop, which are dominated by detached and partially detached blocks. We propose these blocks were removed during the final stages of the last glacial cycle when subglacial meltwater was plentiful in this otherwise predominantly frozen subglacial setting. A minimum estimate of 2000 m3 displaced material at this site implies that subglacial quarrying would have been an important erosional process during final stages of deglaciation.

Accepted manuscript version, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Published version available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.11.031. Although a substantial ice cover has been identified within the mid-latitudes of Mars, there is uncertainty regarding the formation, current and former volume, and dynamic evolution of these ice masses. Here, we present the first comprehensive ice volume estimate of martian glacier-like forms (GLFs) from systematic population scale mapping and volumetric analysis. The outlines of 1243 GLFs were manually delineated from 6 m per pixel Context Camera (CTX) images and the volume of each determined using a volume–area scaling approach. Our results show that GLFs cover a surface area of 11344 ± 393 km2 and have a total volume of 1744 ± 441 km3. Using two end-member scenarios for ice concentration by volume of 30% (pore ice) and 90% (debris-covered glacier ice), we calculate the volume of ice contained within GLFs to be between 523 ± 132 km3 (480 ± 121 Gt) and 1570 ± 397 km3 (1439 ± 364 Gt), equivalent to a mean global water layer 3 to 10 mm thick. We investigate the local topographic setting of each GLF by reference to the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) digital elevation model. Our analysis reveals that globally GLFs are on average larger in latitudes >36° and on slopes between 2 and 8°. In the northern hemisphere GLFs between 500 and 2500 m in elevation and in the southern hemisphere GLFs with a northern aspect are also larger on average. The observed spatial patterns of GLF landform and volume distribution suggests that regional to local meteorological and topographical conditions play an important role in GLF ice accumulation and/or preservation. Assuming a net accumulation rate of 10 mm a−1 typical of climatic excursions with high obliquity, we estimate a period of at least 13 ka is required to yield the average calculated GLF ice thickness of ∼130 m. Such a period is well within the timeframe of a high obliquity cycle (20–40 ka), suggesting that the current GLF volume could have formed during a single climate excursion.