Bathymetry data reveal glaciers vulnerable to ice-ocean interaction in Uummannaq and Vaigat glacial fjords, West Greenland

Rignot, E.; Fenty, I.; Xu, Y.; Cai, C.; Velicogna, I.; Ó Cofaigh, C.; Dowdeswell, J.A.; Weinrebe, W.; Catania, G.; Duncan, D.

doi:10.1002/2016gl067832

Bathymetry data reveal glaciers vulnerable to ice-ocean interaction in Uummannaq and Vaigat glacial fjords, West Greenland

Rignot, E.; Fenty, I.; Xu, Y.; Cai, C.; Velicogna, I.; Ó Cofaigh, C.; Dowdeswell, J.A.; Weinrebe, W.; Catania, G.; Duncan, D.

Authors

E. Rignot

I. Fenty

Y. Xu

C. Cai

I. Velicogna

Professor Colm O'Cofaigh colm.ocofaigh@durham.ac.uk
Head Of Department

J.A. Dowdeswell

W. Weinrebe

G. Catania

D. Duncan

Abstract

Marine-terminating glaciers play a critical role in controlling Greenland's ice sheet mass balance. Their frontal margins interact vigorously with the ocean, but our understanding of this interaction is limited, in part, by a lack of bathymetry data. Here we present a multibeam echo sounding survey of 14 glacial fjords in the Uummannaq and Vaigat fjords, west Greenland, which extends from the continental shelf to the glacier fronts. The data reveal valleys with shallow sills, overdeepenings (>1300 m) from glacial erosion, and seafloor depths 100–1000 m deeper than in existing charts. Where fjords are deep enough, we detect the pervasive presence of warm, salty Atlantic Water (AW) (>2.5°C) with high melt potential, but we also find numerous glaciers grounded on shallow (<200 m) sills, standing in cold (<1°C) waters in otherwise deep fjords, i.e., with reduced melt potential. Bathymetric observations extending to the glacier fronts are critical to understand the glacier evolution.

Citation

Rignot, E., Fenty, I., Xu, Y., Cai, C., Velicogna, I., Ó Cofaigh, C., …Duncan, D. (2016). Bathymetry data reveal glaciers vulnerable to ice-ocean interaction in Uummannaq and Vaigat glacial fjords, West Greenland. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(6), 2667-2674. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016gl067832

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Mar 2, 2016
Online Publication Date	Mar 25, 2016
Publication Date	Mar 25, 2016
Deposit Date	Aug 22, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Aug 22, 2017
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Print ISSN	0094-8276
Electronic ISSN	1944-8007
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	43
Issue	6
Pages	2667-2674
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1002/2016gl067832
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1370760

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Copyright Statement
Rignot, E., Fenty, I., Xu, Y., Cai, C., Velicogna, I., Ó Cofaigh, C., Dowdeswell, J. A., Weinrebe, W., Catania, G. & Duncan, D. (2016). Bathymetry data reveal glaciers vulnerable to ice-ocean interaction in Uummannaq and Vaigat glacial fjords, West Greenland. Geophysical Research Letters 43(6): 2667-2674, 10.1002/2016GL067832. To view the published open abstract, go to https://doi.org/ and enter the DOI.