Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020
<p>Supraglacial rivers and lakes are important for the routing and storage of surface meltwater during the summer melt season across the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) but remain poorly mapped and quantified across the northern part of the ice sheet, which is rapidly losing mass. Here we produce,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2023-11-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/4729/2023/tc-17-4729-2023.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797633117002924032 |
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| author | L. D. Rawlins D. M. Rippin A. J. Sole S. J. Livingstone K. Yang |
| author_facet | L. D. Rawlins D. M. Rippin A. J. Sole S. J. Livingstone K. Yang |
| author_sort | L. D. Rawlins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Supraglacial rivers and lakes are important for the routing and storage of surface meltwater during the summer melt season across the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) but remain poorly mapped and quantified across the northern part of the ice sheet, which is rapidly losing mass. Here we produce, for the first time, a high-resolution record of the supraglacial drainage network (including both rivers and lakes) and its seasonal behaviour at Humboldt Glacier, a wide-outlet glacier draining a large melt-prone hydrologic catchment (13 488 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span>), spanning the period 2016 to 2020 using 10 m spatial resolution Sentinel-2 imagery. Our results reveal a perennially extensive yet interannually variable supraglacial network extending from an elevation of 200 m a.s.l. to a maximum of <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 1440 m a.s.l. recorded in 2020, with limited development of the network observed in the low-melt years of 2017 and 2018. The supraglacial drainage network is shown to cover an area ranging between 966 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> (2018) and 1566 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> (2019) at its maximum seasonal extent, with spatial coverage of up to 2685 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> recorded during the early phases of the melt season when a slush zone is most prominent. Up-glacier expansion and the development of an efficient supraglacial drainage network as surface runoff increases and the snowline retreats is clearly visible. Preconditioning of the ice surface following a high-melt year is also observed, with an extreme and long-lasting 2019 melt season and over-winter persistence of liquid lakes, followed by low snow accumulation the following spring, culminating in earlier widespread exposure of the supraglacial drainage network in 2020 compared to other years. This preconditioning is predicted to become more common with persistent warmer years into the future. Overall, this study provides evidence of a persistent, yet dynamic, supraglacial drainage network at this prominent northern GrIS outlet glacier and advances our understanding of such hydrologic processes, particularly under ongoing climatic warming and enhanced runoff.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:49:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1901c7d70ce14f5aad90a8c1a9e33f23 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:49:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-1901c7d70ce14f5aad90a8c1a9e33f232023-11-09T09:24:13ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242023-11-01174729475010.5194/tc-17-4729-2023Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020L. D. Rawlins0D. M. Rippin1A. J. Sole2S. J. Livingstone3K. Yang4Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, YO10 5NG, UKDepartment of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, YO10 5NG, UKDepartment of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S3 7ND, UKDepartment of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S3 7ND, UKSchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China<p>Supraglacial rivers and lakes are important for the routing and storage of surface meltwater during the summer melt season across the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) but remain poorly mapped and quantified across the northern part of the ice sheet, which is rapidly losing mass. Here we produce, for the first time, a high-resolution record of the supraglacial drainage network (including both rivers and lakes) and its seasonal behaviour at Humboldt Glacier, a wide-outlet glacier draining a large melt-prone hydrologic catchment (13 488 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span>), spanning the period 2016 to 2020 using 10 m spatial resolution Sentinel-2 imagery. Our results reveal a perennially extensive yet interannually variable supraglacial network extending from an elevation of 200 m a.s.l. to a maximum of <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 1440 m a.s.l. recorded in 2020, with limited development of the network observed in the low-melt years of 2017 and 2018. The supraglacial drainage network is shown to cover an area ranging between 966 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> (2018) and 1566 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> (2019) at its maximum seasonal extent, with spatial coverage of up to 2685 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> recorded during the early phases of the melt season when a slush zone is most prominent. Up-glacier expansion and the development of an efficient supraglacial drainage network as surface runoff increases and the snowline retreats is clearly visible. Preconditioning of the ice surface following a high-melt year is also observed, with an extreme and long-lasting 2019 melt season and over-winter persistence of liquid lakes, followed by low snow accumulation the following spring, culminating in earlier widespread exposure of the supraglacial drainage network in 2020 compared to other years. This preconditioning is predicted to become more common with persistent warmer years into the future. Overall, this study provides evidence of a persistent, yet dynamic, supraglacial drainage network at this prominent northern GrIS outlet glacier and advances our understanding of such hydrologic processes, particularly under ongoing climatic warming and enhanced runoff.</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/4729/2023/tc-17-4729-2023.pdf |
| spellingShingle | L. D. Rawlins D. M. Rippin A. J. Sole S. J. Livingstone K. Yang Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020 The Cryosphere |
| title | Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020 |
| title_full | Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020 |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020 |
| title_short | Seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland, between 2016 and 2020 |
| title_sort | seasonal evolution of the supraglacial drainage network at humboldt glacier northern greenland between 2016 and 2020 |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/4729/2023/tc-17-4729-2023.pdf |
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