Articles | Volume 16, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2265-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2265-2022
Research article
 | 
15 Jun 2022
Research article |  | 15 Jun 2022

Impact of runoff temporal distribution on ice dynamics

Basile de Fleurian, Richard Davy, and Petra M. Langebroek

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Cited articles

Ahlstrøm, A. P., Petersen, D., Langen, P. L., Citterio, M., and Box, J. E.: Abrupt shift in the observed runoff from the southwestern Greenland ice sheet, Science Advances, 3, e1701169, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1701169, 2017. a
Anderson, R., Anderson, S., MacGregor, K., Waddington, E., O'Neel, S., Riihimaki, C., and Loso, M.: Strong feedbacks between hydrology and sliding of a small alpine glacier, J. Geophys. Res., 109, 1–17, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JF000120, 2004. a
Bartholomaus, T. C., Anderson, R. S., and Anderson, S. P.: Response of glacier basal motion to transient water storage, Nat. Geosci., 1, 33–37, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo.2007.52, 2008. a
Bartholomew, I., Nienow, P., Mair, D., Hubbard, A., King, M. A., and Sole, A.: Seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage and acceleration in a Greenland outlet glacier, Nat. Geosci., 3, 408–411, https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO863, 2010. a
Bartholomew, I., Peter, N., Andrew, S., Douglas, M., Thomas, C., and A., K. M.: Short-term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage: Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behavior and ice velocity, J. Geophys. Res., 117, F03002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002220, 2012. a
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Short summary
As temperature increases, more snow and ice melt at the surface of ice sheets. Here we use an ice dynamics and subglacial hydrology model with simplified geometry and climate forcing to study the impact of variations in meltwater on ice dynamics. We focus on the variations in length and intensity of the melt season. Our results show that a longer melt season leads to faster glaciers, but a more intense melt season reduces glaciers' seasonal velocities, albeit leading to higher peak velocities.
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