Articles | Volume 15, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-897-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-897-2021
Research article
 | 
19 Feb 2021
Research article |  | 19 Feb 2021

The cooling signature of basal crevasses in a hard-bedded region of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Ian E. McDowell, Neil F. Humphrey, Joel T. Harper, and Toby W. Meierbachtol

Data sets

Full-depth ice temperature measurements from southwestern Greenland’s ablation zone, 2015-2017 Ian McDowell, Neil Humphrey, Joel Harper, and Toby Meierbachtol https://doi.org/10.15786/20.500.11919/7147

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Short summary
Ice temperature controls rates of internal deformation and the onset of basal sliding. To identify heat transfer mechanisms and englacial heat sources within Greenland's ablation zone, we examine a 2–3-year continuous temperature record from nine full-depth boreholes. Thermal decay after basal crevasses release heat in the near-basal ice likely produces the observed cooling. Basal crevasses in Greenland can affect the basal ice rheology and indicate a potentially complex basal hydrologic system.