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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2025-5667</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Evidence for subglacial flooding in labyrinthine channels on Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ruso</surname>
<given-names>Simona F.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9051-4480</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Osinski</surname>
<given-names>Gordon R.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Grau Galofre</surname>
<given-names>Anna</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kukko</surname>
<given-names>Antero</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3841-6533</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 3K7, Canada</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, London, N6A 3K7, Canada</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Laboratoire de Planetologie et Geosciences, Nantes, 44322, France</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, National Land Survey of Finland, 02150 Espoo, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>13</day>
<month>01</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>40</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Simona F. Ruso et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2025-5667/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2025-5667/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2025-5667/egusphere-2025-5667.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2025-5667/egusphere-2025-5667.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Subglacial drainage systems route glacial meltwater to the ice margin either via efficient, channelized systems or inefficient, distributed systems. The interplay between channelized and distributed drainage systems varies spatially and temporally, governed by meltwater supply and abundance, bed roughness and topography, ice sliding velocity, and ice driving stress. Subglacial channel formation and evolution are therefore affected by variability in meltwater supply to subglacial conduits, and these changes may be recorded in the geomorphology of these channels. The formation of subglacial bedrock channels is attributed to higher energy and/or higher magnitude discharge events, such as the episodic release of meltwater in the form of either subglacial or proglacial floods, in comparison to the energy or discharge required to excavate channels in soft sediment. Common features of landscapes modified by meltwater floods include anastomosing channels and multiple erosive surfaces, wherein the pre-existing drainage system is inundated, resulting in the incision of new channels that reconnect downstream. Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago was covered by the thin (&amp;lt;1000 m), cold-to-polythermal based Innuitian Ice Sheet over the course of at least three glacial expansions during the last glacial cycle. Despite this, there is a conspicuous lack of typical glacial landforms, and instead, the inland plateau region of the island is incised by ubiquitous subglacial and lateral meltwater channels. Some sets of bedrock subglacial channels on Devon Island bear a striking resemblance to the morphology of The Labyrinth in Antarctica, which formed by the episodic drainage of a subglacial lake. The characteristics, topology, and morphology of these channels, referred to as &apos;Labyrinthine channels&apos; hereafter, together with two subglacial channel networks make the focus of this study. We argue that, within both labyrinthine and other subglacial channel networks on Devon Island, the presence of distinct erosional surfaces, anastomosing channels, and profile slope breaks imply formation by short-lived locally intense episodes of erosion. The presence of well-defined erosional surfaces suggests floods progressively incised into lower elevations where meltwater was captured by pre-existing or incipient channels. Moreover, steep contacts between erosional surfaces, termed here as &quot;slope breaks&quot;, are similar to fluvial knickpoints and hanging valleys found in other notable landscapes caused by flooding, such as the Channeled Scablands, possibly indicating channel headward erosion in response to pulses of intense erosion. Overall, we suggest that the presence of discrete erosional surfaces implies multiple flooding events, and that changing flow conditions during these events are evidenced by slope breaks. Multiple erosional surfaces, scabland-type landscapes, anastomosing bedrock channels, and hanging valleys with steep slope breaks are not consistent with ice marginal melt, demanding large discharge conditions and pulses of activity, and pointing at subglacial rather than marginal or proglacial environments of formation. This work aids in enhancing the current understanding of the role and dynamics of meltwater drainage systems operating under the cold-to-polythermal based Innuitian Ice Sheet, perhaps shedding light into its retreat dynamics, and bolstering the interpretation of glacial dynamics on Devon Island.</p>
</abstract>
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<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Canadian Space Agency</funding-source>
<award-id>Fieldwork for the Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST)</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada</funding-source>
<award-id>Discovery Grant Northern Supplement</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs3">
<funding-source>Polar Knowledge Canada</funding-source>
<award-id>Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP)</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs4">
<funding-source>Explorers Club</funding-source>
<award-id>Exploration Fund Grant</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs5">
<funding-source>Royal Canadian Geographical Society</funding-source>
<award-id>James Bourque Northern Doctoral Scholarship</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs6">
<funding-source>European Commission</funding-source>
<award-id>MSCA 101027900</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs7">
<funding-source>Institut national des sciences de l&apos;Univers</funding-source>
<award-id>PNP project EGV E&amp;M</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs8">
<funding-source>Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor</funding-source>
<award-id>SUBGLACE-2</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
</article-meta>
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