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Fracture propagation to the base of the Greenland ice sheet during supraglacial lake drainage
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 15:21 authored by Das, SB, Joughin, I, Behn, MD, Howat, IM, Matt KingMatt King, Lizarralde, D, Bhatia, MPSurface meltwater that reaches the base of an ice sheet creates a mechanism for the rapid response of ice flow to climate change. The process whereby such a pathway is created through thick, cold ice has not, however, been previously observed. We describe the rapid (<2 hours) drainage of a large supraglacial lake down 980 meters through to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet initiated by water-driven fracture propagation evolving into moulin flow. Drainage coincided with increased seismicity, transient acceleration, ice-sheet uplift, and horizontal displacement. Subsidence and deceleration occurred over the subsequent 24 hours. The short-lived dynamic response suggests that an efficient drainage system dispersed the meltwater subglacially. The integrated effect of multiple lake drainages could explain the observed net regional summer ice speedup.
History
Publication title
ScienceVolume
320Issue
5877Pagination
778-781ISSN
0036-8075Department/School
School of Geography, Planning and Spatial SciencesPublisher
Amer Assoc Advancement SciencePlace of publication
1200 New York Ave, Nw, Washington, USA, Dc, 20005Repository Status
- Restricted