Brief communication: Subglacial lake drainage beneath Isunguata Sermia, West Greenland: geomorphic and ice dynamic effects

LIVINGSTONE, Stephen J, SOLE, Andrew J, STORRAR, Robert D, HARRISON, Devin, ROSS, Neil and BOWLING, Jade (2019). Brief communication: Subglacial lake drainage beneath Isunguata Sermia, West Greenland: geomorphic and ice dynamic effects. The Cryosphere, 13 (10), 2789-2796.

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Official URL: https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/2789/2019/tc-13-...
Open Access URL: https://www.the-cryosphere.net/13/2789/2019/tc-13-... (Published version)
Link to published version:: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2789-2019

Abstract

We report three active subglacial lakes within 2 km of the lateral margin of Isunguata Sermia, West Greenland, identified by differencing time-stamped ArcticDEM strips. Each lake underwent one drainage–refill event between 2009 and 2017, with two lakes draining in < 1 month in August 2014 and August 2015. The 2015 drainage caused a ∼ 1-month down-glacier slowdown in ice flow and flooded the foreland, aggrading the proglacial channel by 8 m. The proglacial flooding confirms the ice-surface elevation anomalies as subglacial water bodies and demonstrates how their drainage can significantly modify proglacial environments. These subglacial lakes offer accessible targets for geophysical investigations and exploration.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 0405 Oceanography; 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2789-2019
Page Range: 2789-2796
SWORD Depositor: Symplectic Elements
Depositing User: Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited: 29 Oct 2019 17:00
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2021 03:22
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/25365

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