MODIS observed increase in duration and spatial extent of sediment plumes in Greenland fjords
The freshwater flux from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to the North Atlantic Ocean carries extensive but poorly documented volumes of sediment. We develop a suspended sediment concentration (SSC) retrieval algorithm using a large Greenland specific in situ data set. This algorithm is applied to all...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2014-07-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/1161/2014/tc-8-1161-2014.pdf |
| Summary: | The freshwater flux from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to the North
Atlantic Ocean carries extensive but poorly documented volumes of sediment.
We develop a suspended sediment concentration (SSC) retrieval algorithm
using a large Greenland specific in situ data set. This algorithm is applied
to all cloud-free NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS)
Terra images from 2000 to 2012 to monitor SSC dynamics at six river plumes
in three fjords in southwest Greenland. Melt-season mean plume SSC increased
at all but one site, although these trends were primarily not statistically
significant. Zones of sediment concentration > 50 mg L<sup>−1</sup>
expanded in three river plumes, with potential consequences for biological
productivity. The high SSC cores of sediment plumes ( > 250 mg L<sup>−1</sup> expanded in one-third of study locations. At a regional scale,
higher volumes of runoff were associated with higher melt-season mean plume
SSC values, but this relationship did not hold for individual rivers. High
spatial variability between proximal plumes highlights the complex processes
operating in Greenland's glacio–fluvial–fjord systems. |
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| ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |