Articles | Volume 11, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1247-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1247-2017
Research article
 | 
24 May 2017
Research article |  | 24 May 2017

Self-affine subglacial roughness: consequences for radar scattering and basal water discrimination in northern Greenland

Thomas M. Jordan, Michael A. Cooper, Dustin M. Schroeder, Christopher N. Williams, John D. Paden, Martin J. Siegert, and Jonathan L. Bamber

Data sets

Likely Basal Thermal State of the Greenland Ice Sheet, Version 1 J. A. MacGregor, M. Fahnestock, G. Catania, J. Paden, P. Gogineni, M. Morlighem, W. Colgan, S. M. Nowicki, G. Clow, A. Aschwanden, S. F. Price, and H. Seroussi http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/R4MWDWWUWQF9

Level 1B and Level 2 OIB RES data Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) https://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/

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Short summary
Using radio-echo sounding data from northern Greenland, we demonstrate that subglacial roughness exhibits self-affine (fractal) scaling behaviour. This enables us to assess topographic control upon the bed-echo waveform, and explain the spatial distribution of the degree of scattering (specular and diffuse reflections). Via comparison with a prediction for the basal thermal state (thawed and frozen regions of the bed) we discuss the consequences of our study for basal water discrimination.