Hydrological networks and flow of the Greenland ice sheet

Séminaire de P. Christoffersen, Lundi 21 Septembre 2020 à 13h30 en salle Lliboutry, Bât. Glaciologie

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Title : Hydrological networks and flow of the Greenland ice sheet

Abstract : Glaciers drain ice sheets by transporting ice from the interior to the coast where ice is discharged into the sea as icebergs. In Greenland, glaciers are flowing faster, posing a global risk of accelerated sea level rise. In this talk I report outcomes from the interdisciplinary RESPONDER project, which is investigating hydrological networks and flow of the Greenland ice sheet. Using drones, the team tracked meltwater pathways and found surface water to descend rapidly to the bed when fault and structural weaknesses in the ice intercept supraglacial melt lakes. We used a hot-water drill to gain access to the bed at specific targets, which included the shore of a rapidly draining lake, and the drained lake floor where a hydrological connection supplied surface water directly to the basal drainage system. With sensors deployed at the bed and within the ice, we observed the formation of warm basal ice and the physical conditions that drive fast glacier flow.

By Poul Christoffersen (Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, Royaume-Uni).