Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1218
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1218
07 Dec 2022
 | 07 Dec 2022

Hydraulic suppression of basal glacier melt in sill fjords

Johan Nilsson, Eef van Dongen, Martin Jakobsson, Matt O'Regan, and Christian Stranne

Abstract. Using a conceptual model, we examine how hydraulically-controlled exchange flows in silled fjords affect the relationship between the basal glacier melt and the features of warm intermediate Atlantic Water (AW) outside the fjords. We show that an exchange flow can be forced to transit into the hydraulic regime if the AW interface height decreases, the AW temperature increases, or the production of glacially modified water is boosted by subglacial discharge. In the hydraulic regime, the heat transport across the sill becomes a rate limiting factor for the basal melt, which is suppressed. An interplay between processes near the ice–ocean boundary and the hydraulically-controlled exchange flow determines the melt dynamics, and the sensitivity of the basal melt to changes of the AW temperature is reduced. The model results are discussed in relation to observations from Petermann, Ryder, and 79° N glaciers in North Greenland.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

22 Jun 2023
Hydraulic suppression of basal glacier melt in sill fjords
Johan Nilsson, Eef van Dongen, Martin Jakobsson, Matt O'Regan, and Christian Stranne
The Cryosphere, 17, 2455–2476, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2455-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2455-2023, 2023
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
We investigate how topographical sills suppress basal glacier melt in Greenlandic fjords. The...
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