Supraglacial River Networks

Abstract

Supraglacial river networks are systems of channels cut down into the surface ice of glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves by flowing water. They are important because the water they carry, and indeed the water that creates them, is a product of ice melt. The movement of water through these channels toward the margins of ice bodies, where it is eventually evacuated, represents the removal of mass from glaciers and ice sheets. Supraglacial river networks are highly seasonal, due to the requirement for flowing water in their creation. Here, in addition to considering their importance and temporal evolution, the entry also addresses their geometry and size, as well as the role that they play in impacting the reflectance of an ice surface, and in delivering water to subglacial locations where it can influence ice dynamics. Supraglacial river networks are relatively understudied, yet here it is shown that they are of the utmost importance in the field of glaciology.