Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2018
Keywords
englacial hydrology, Helheim Glacier, ApRES, glacier dynamics, diurnal cycle, meltwater
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077869
Abstract
The interior dynamics of Helheim Glacier were monitored using an autonomous phase‐sensitive radio‐echo sounder (ApRES) during two consecutive summers. The return signals from all observational sites exhibited strong non‐tidal, depth‐dependent diurnal variations. We show that these variations in the glacier interior can be explained by an englacial diurnal meltwater cycle: a data interpretation that assumes constant ice‐column composition through time leads to dynamical inconsistencies with concurrent observations from GPS and terrestrial radar. The observed diurnal meltwater cycle is spatially variable, both between different sites and in the vertical, consistent with the existence of a dense and complex englacial hydrologic network. Future applications of this observational technique could reveal long‐term meltwater behavior inside glaciers and ice sheets, leading to an improved understanding of the spatiotemporal evolution of the basal boundary conditions needed to simulate them realistically.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Geophysical Research Letters, v. 45, issue 16, p. 8352-8362
©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Scholar Commons Citation
Vaňková, Irena; Voytenko, Denis; Nicholls, Keith W.; Xie, Surui; Parizek, Byron R.; and Holland, David M., "Vertical Structure of Diurnal Englacial Hydrology Cycle at Helheim Glacier, East Greenland" (2018). School of Geosciences Student Publications. 29.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_studpub/29
