Calving at Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland

Holmes, Felicity; Kirchner, Nina; Prakash, Abhay; Stranne, Christian; Dijkstra, Semme J.

doi:10.1029/2020jf005872

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Secondly, nondrainage dominated years are characterized by a slow but steady increase in total lake area over the melt season. Our analysis identifies 2018 as such a year (Figure 7), also observed by Holmes et al (2021), and a similar evolution of total lake area was shown by Sundal et al (2009) for years 2006 and 2007 and supported by imagery analysed here for these years (Figure 6). Overall, lake area evolution over the melt season can therefore be seen as an indicator for identifying whether meltwater drainage or storage was the dominant process during a particular year.…”

Section: Inter-annual Variability In Lake Drainage Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Seaward of its grounding line, Ryder Glacier features a floating ice tongue c. 25 km long and c. 10 km wide (Hill et al, 2017;Wilson et al, 2017;Holmes et al, 2021). Episodically, calving takes place from this tongue (Wilson et al, 2017), with calving styles described in detail in Holmes et al (2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Supraglacial lake processes at northern Greenland's outlet glaciers have recently received some attention (e.g. Sundal et al, 2009;Hill et al, 2017;Macdonald et al, 2018;Holmes et al, 2021). Earlier, Ryder Glacier was included in an ice-sheet wide study of seasonal supraglacial lake evolution during the melt seasons 2003and 2005-2007(Sundal et al, 2009, revealing strong inter-annual variations in the timing of the maximum total lake area as well as the annual onset of lake formation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier, Ryder Glacier was included in an ice-sheet wide study of seasonal supraglacial lake evolution during the melt seasons 2003and 2005-2007(Sundal et al, 2009, revealing strong inter-annual variations in the timing of the maximum total lake area as well as the annual onset of lake formation. Holmes et al (2021) investigated the correlation between ice velocities and monthly supraglacial lake formation during 2015-2019, however no direct relationship was found, supposedly due to the too coarse temporal resolution of the lake dataset utilized. Observed supraglacial accumulation of melt water at the terminus of Ryder Glacier was suggested to contribute to floating tongue instability by inducing fracturing and triggering calving at these points of weaknesses, but no evidence for upstream effects on ice velocities including potential speed-up and associated higher ice fluxes across the grounding line was found (Holmes et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Holmes et al (2021) investigated the correlation between ice velocities and monthly supraglacial lake formation during 2015-2019, however no direct relationship was found, supposedly due to the too coarse temporal resolution of the lake dataset utilized. Observed supraglacial accumulation of melt water at the terminus of Ryder Glacier was suggested to contribute to floating tongue instability by inducing fracturing and triggering calving at these points of weaknesses, but no evidence for upstream effects on ice velocities including potential speed-up and associated higher ice fluxes across the grounding line was found (Holmes et al, 2021). For the neighboring Petermann Glacier, modelling results indicate that the seasonal variation in velocity of the glacier is mainly controlled by forcings effective at and upstream of the grounding line, with surface meltwater triggering basal lubrication on grounded ice being the main influence on glacier acceleration instead of calving at the floating tongue (Nick et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supraglacial lake expansion, intensified lake drainage frequency, and first observation of coupled lake drainage, during 1985–2020 at Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland

2022

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Along the Greenland Ice Sheet margin, supraglacial lakes store and redistribute ice sheet surface run off, and comprise an important potential hydrological link between the ice surface and the base, with ramifications for subglacial drainage systems and ice flow. As a consequence of increasing global mean surface air temperatures, these lakes have been predicted to expand further inland and to affect larger areas of the ice sheet. However, as contemporary dynamics of such supraglacial lake expansion are not well studied, any assessment of their future implications remains afflicted with uncertainty. Here, recent changes in supraglacial lake distribution and expansion, and in their drainage behavior and frequency, are presented for Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland, as concluded from a remote sensing based analysis. The 35-year time span covered in the analysis allows for the detection of trends in lake processes and ice velocity, which otherwise were found to exhibit large inter-annual variability. It also reveals the first occurrence of a coupled lake drainage event in 2002. By linking supraglacial lake expansion, drainage modes, and drainage frequency to the efficiency of the subglacial drainage system and ice flow on seasonal and decadal timescales, a contribution is made to better understand the complexity of coupled glacio-hydrological processes, and to help reduce uncertainties in predictions of future mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet.

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Section: Inter-annual Variability In Lake Drainage Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Supraglacial lake expansion, intensified lake drainage frequency, and first observation of coupled lake drainage, during 1985–2020 at Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland

2022

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Short-term calving front dynamics and mass loss at Sálajiegna glacier, northern Sweden, assessed by uncrewed surface and aerial vehicles

Vacek,

Deutsch,

Kuttenkeuler

et al. 2024

J. Glaciol.

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Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) are frequently used in glaciological applications, among other things, for photogrammetric assessments of calving dynamics at glacier termini. However, UAVs are often limited by battery endurance and weight constraints on the scientific payload that can be added. At Sálajiegna, the largest freshwater calving glacier in Sweden, we explored the combined use of a versatile maritime robot (uncrewed surface vehicle, USV) and a UAV to characterise Sálajiegna's short-term and seasonal calving front dynamics and mass loss. For this, a photogrammetric payload suite was integrated into the USV. Consecutive USV surveys of Sálajiegna's front, followed by point cloud based calving detection and surface-reconstruction based volume quantification, allowed for a detailed description of calving-induced terminus changes and is hence suggested as a viable alternative to the differencing of digital elevation models. By combining USV and UAV measurements, we identify sectors of high and low calving activity, a calving front retreat of up to 56 m and a thinning rate in the terminus region of 5.4 cm d−1 during the summer of 2022.

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Evaluation of low-cost Raspberry Pi sensors for structure-from-motion reconstructions of glacier calving fronts

Taylor

Quincey²,

Smith³

2023

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Glacier calving fronts are highly dynamic environments that are becoming ubiquitous as glaciers recede and, in many cases, develop proglacial lakes. Monitoring of calving fronts is necessary to fully quantify the glacier ablation budget and to warn nearby communities of the threat of hazards, such as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), tsunami waves, and iceberg collapses. Time-lapse camera arrays, with structure-from-motion photogrammetry, can produce regular 3D models of glaciers to monitor changes in the ice but are seldom incorporated into monitoring systems owing to the high cost of equipment. In this proof-of-concept study at Fjallsjökull, Iceland, we present and test a low-cost, highly adaptable camera system based on Raspberry Pi computers and compare the resulting point cloud data to a reference cloud generated using an unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV). The mean absolute difference between the Raspberry Pi and UAV point clouds is found to be 0.301 m with a standard deviation of 0.738 m. We find that high-resolution point clouds can be robustly generated from cameras positioned up to 1.5 km from the glacier (mean absolute difference 0.341 m, standard deviation 0.742 m). Combined, these experiments suggest that for monitoring calving events in glaciers, Raspberry Pi cameras are an affordable, flexible, and practical option for future scientific research. Owing to the connectivity capabilities of Raspberry Pi computers, this opens the possibility for real-time structure-from-motion reconstructions of glacier calving fronts for deployment as an early warning system to calving-triggered GLOFs.

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Calving at Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland

Cited by 4 publications

References 60 publications

Supraglacial lake expansion, intensified lake drainage frequency, and first observation of coupled lake drainage, during 1985–2020 at Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland

Supraglacial lake expansion, intensified lake drainage frequency, and first observation of coupled lake drainage, during 1985–2020 at Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland

Short-term calving front dynamics and mass loss at Sálajiegna glacier, northern Sweden, assessed by uncrewed surface and aerial vehicles

Evaluation of low-cost Raspberry Pi sensors for structure-from-motion reconstructions of glacier calving fronts

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