Articles | Volume 17, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-761-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-761-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Feb 2023
Research article |
| 14 Feb 2023
| 14 Feb 2023
Channelized, distributed, and disconnected: spatial structure and temporal evolution of the subglacial drainage under a valley glacier in the Yukon
Camilo Andrés Rada Giacaman
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2207 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Centro de Investigación GAIA Antártica, Universidad de Magallanes, Avenida Bulnes 01855, Punta Arenas, Chile
Christian Schoof
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2207 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Related authors
Camilo Rada and Christian Schoof
The Cryosphere, 12, 2609–2636, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2609-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2609-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We analyse a large glacier borehole pressure dataset and provide a holistic view of the observations, suggesting a consistent picture of the evolution of the subglacial drainage system. Some aspects are consistent with the established understanding and others ones are not. We propose that most of the inconsistencies arise from the capacity of some areas of the bed to become hydraulically isolated. We present an adaptation of an existing drainage model that incorporates this phenomena.
Christian Schoof
The Cryosphere, 17, 4797–4815, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4797-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4797-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Computational models that seek to predict the future behaviour of ice sheets and glaciers typically rely on being able to compute the rate at which a glacier slides over its bed. In this paper, I show that the degree to which the glacier bed is
hydraulically connected(how easily water can flow along the glacier bed) plays a central role in determining how fast ice can slide.
Christian Schoof
The Cryosphere, 17, 4817–4836, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4817-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4817-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The subglacial drainage of meltwater plays a major role in regulating glacier and ice sheet flow. In this paper, I construct and solve a mathematical model that describes how connections are made within the subglacial drainage system. This will aid future efforts to predict glacier response to surface melt supply.
Camilo Rada and Christian Schoof
The Cryosphere, 12, 2609–2636, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2609-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2609-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We analyse a large glacier borehole pressure dataset and provide a holistic view of the observations, suggesting a consistent picture of the evolution of the subglacial drainage system. Some aspects are consistent with the established understanding and others ones are not. We propose that most of the inconsistencies arise from the capacity of some areas of the bed to become hydraulically isolated. We present an adaptation of an existing drainage model that incorporates this phenomena.
Related subject area
Discipline: Glaciers | Subject: Subglacial Processes
Multi-scale variations of subglacial hydro-mechanical conditions at Kongsvegen glacier, Svalbard
Geothermal heat source estimations through ice flow modelling at Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland
Impact of shallow sills on circulation regimes and submarine melting in glacial fjords
Differential impact of isolated topographic bumps on ice sheet flow and subglacial processes
Persistent, extensive channelized drainage modeled beneath Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica
Long-period variability in ice-dammed glacier outburst floods due to evolving catchment geometry
Seasonal evolution of basal environment conditions of Russell sector, West Greenland, inverted from satellite observation of surface flow
Brief communication: Heterogenous thinning and subglacial lake activity on Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica
Subglacial permafrost dynamics and erosion inside subglacial channels driven by surface events in Svalbard
Quantification of seasonal and diurnal dynamics of subglacial channels using seismic observations on an Alpine glacier
Glaciohydraulic seismic tremors on an Alpine glacier
Airborne radionuclides and heavy metals in high Arctic terrestrial environment as the indicators of sources and transfers of contamination
Pervasive cold ice within a temperate glacier – implications for glacier thermal regimes, sediment transport and foreland geomorphology
Coline Bouchayer, Ugo Nanni, Pierre-Marie Lefeuvre, John Hult, Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Jack Kohler, François Renard, and Thomas V. Schuler
The Cryosphere, 18, 2939–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2939-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2939-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the interplay between surface runoff and subglacial conditions. We focus on Kongsvegen glacier in Svalbard. We drilled 350 m down to the glacier base to measure water pressure, till strength, seismic noise, and glacier surface velocity. In the low-melt season, the drainage system adapted gradually, while the high-melt season led to a transient response, exceeding drainage capacity and enhancing sliding. Our findings contribute to discussions on subglacial hydro-mechanical processes.
Alexander H. Jarosch, Eyjólfur Magnússon, Krista Hannesdóttir, Joaquín M. C. Belart, and Finnur Pálsson
The Cryosphere, 18, 2443–2454, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2443-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2443-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Geothermally active regions beneath glaciers not only influence local ice flow as well as the mass balance of glaciers but also control changes of subglacial water reservoirs and possible subsequent glacier lake outburst floods. In Iceland, such outburst floods impose danger to people and infrastructure and are therefore monitored. We present a novel computer-simulation-supported method to estimate the activity of such geothermal areas and to monitor its evolution.
Weiyang Bao and Carlos Moffat
The Cryosphere, 18, 187–203, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-187-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-187-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A shallow sill can promote the downward transport of the upper-layer freshwater outflow in proglacial fjords. This sill-driven transport reduces fjord temperature and stratification. The sill depth, freshwater discharge, fjord temperature, and stratification are key parameters that modulate the heat supply towards glaciers. Additionally, the relative depth of the plume outflow, the fjord, and the sill can be used to characterize distinct circulation and heat transport regimes in glacial fjords.
Marion A. McKenzie, Lauren E. Miller, Jacob S. Slawson, Emma J. MacKie, and Shujie Wang
The Cryosphere, 17, 2477–2486, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2477-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2477-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Topographic highs (“bumps”) across glaciated landscapes have the potential to affect glacial ice. Bumps in the deglaciated Puget Lowland are assessed for streamlined glacial features to provide insight on ice–bed interactions. We identify a general threshold in which bumps significantly disrupt ice flow and sedimentary processes in this location. However, not all bumps have the same degree of impact. The system assessed here has relevance to parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet and Thwaites Glacier.
Alexander O. Hager, Matthew J. Hoffman, Stephen F. Price, and Dustin M. Schroeder
The Cryosphere, 16, 3575–3599, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3575-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3575-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The presence of water beneath glaciers is a control on glacier speed and ocean-caused melting, yet it has been unclear whether sizable volumes of water can exist beneath Antarctic glaciers or how this water may flow along the glacier bed. We use computer simulations, supported by observations, to show that enough water exists at the base of Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica, to form "rivers" beneath the glacier. These rivers likely moderate glacier speed and may influence its rate of retreat.
Amy Jenson, Jason M. Amundson, Jonathan Kingslake, and Eran Hood
The Cryosphere, 16, 333–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-333-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-333-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Outburst floods are sudden releases of water from glacial environments. As glaciers retreat, changes in glacier and basin geometry impact outburst flood characteristics. We combine a glacier flow model describing glacier retreat with an outburst flood model to explore how ice dam height, glacier length, and remnant ice in a basin influence outburst floods. We find storage capacity is the greatest indicator of flood magnitude, and the flood onset mechanism is a significant indicator of duration.
Anna Derkacheva, Fabien Gillet-Chaulet, Jeremie Mouginot, Eliot Jager, Nathan Maier, and Samuel Cook
The Cryosphere, 15, 5675–5704, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5675-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5675-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Along the edges of the Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt lubricates the bed and causes large seasonal fluctuations in ice speeds during summer. Accurately understanding how these ice speed changes occur is difficult due to the inaccessibility of the glacier bed. We show that by using surface velocity maps with high temporal resolution and numerical modelling we can infer the basal conditions that control seasonal fluctuations in ice speed and gain insight into seasonal dynamics over large areas.
Andrew O. Hoffman, Knut Christianson, Daniel Shapero, Benjamin E. Smith, and Ian Joughin
The Cryosphere, 14, 4603–4609, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4603-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4603-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet has long been considered geometrically prone to collapse, and Thwaites Glacier, the largest glacier in the Amundsen Sea, is likely in the early stages of disintegration. Using observations of Thwaites Glacier velocity and elevation change, we show that the transport of ~2 km3 of water beneath Thwaites Glacier has only a small and transient effect on glacier speed relative to ongoing thinning driven by ocean melt.
Andreas Alexander, Jaroslav Obu, Thomas V. Schuler, Andreas Kääb, and Hanne H. Christiansen
The Cryosphere, 14, 4217–4231, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4217-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4217-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we present subglacial air, ice and sediment temperatures from within the basal drainage systems of two cold-based glaciers on Svalbard during late spring and the summer melt season. We put the data into the context of air temperature and rainfall at the glacier surface and show the importance of surface events on the subglacial thermal regime and erosion around basal drainage channels. Observed vertical erosion rates thereby reachup to 0.9 m d−1.
Ugo Nanni, Florent Gimbert, Christian Vincent, Dominik Gräff, Fabian Walter, Luc Piard, and Luc Moreau
The Cryosphere, 14, 1475–1496, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1475-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1475-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Our study addresses key questions on the subglacial drainage system physics through a novel observational approach that overcomes traditional limitations. We conducted, over 2 years, measurements of the subglacial water-flow-induced seismic noise and of glacier basal sliding speeds. We then inverted for the subglacial channel's hydraulic pressure gradient and hydraulic radius and investigated the links between the equilibrium state of subglacial channels and glacier basal sliding.
Fabian Lindner, Fabian Walter, Gabi Laske, and Florent Gimbert
The Cryosphere, 14, 287–308, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-287-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-287-2020, 2020
Edyta Łokas, Agata Zaborska, Ireneusz Sobota, Paweł Gaca, J. Andrew Milton, Paweł Kocurek, and Anna Cwanek
The Cryosphere, 13, 2075–2086, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2075-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2075-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Cryoconite granules built of mineral particles, organic substances and living organisms significantly influence fluxes of energy and matter at glacier surfaces. They contribute to ice melting, give rise to an exceptional ecosystem, and effectively trap contaminants. This study evaluates contamination levels of radionuclides in cryoconite from Arctic glaciers and identifies sources of this contamination, proving that cryoconite is an excellent indicator of atmospheric contamination.
Benedict T. I. Reinardy, Adam D. Booth, Anna L. C. Hughes, Clare M. Boston, Henning Åkesson, Jostein Bakke, Atle Nesje, Rianne H. Giesen, and Danni M. Pearce
The Cryosphere, 13, 827–843, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-827-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-827-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Cold-ice processes may be widespread within temperate glacier systems but the role of cold-ice processes in temperate glacier systems is relatively unknown. Climate forcing is the main control on glacier mass balance but potential for heterogeneous thermal conditions at temperate glaciers calls for improved model assessments of future evolution of thermal conditions and impacts on glacier dynamics and mass balance. Cold-ice processes need to be included in temperate glacier land system models.
Cited articles
Alley, R.: Water pressure coupling of sliding and bed deformation: I. Water
system, J. Glaciol., 35, 108–118, 1989. a
Alley, R., Blankenship, D., Bentley, C., and Rooney, S.: Deformation of till
beneath ice stream B, West Antarctica, Nature, 322, 57–59, 1986. a
Blake, E., Fischer, U., and Clarke, G.: Direct measurement of sliding at the
glacier bed, J. Glaciol., 40, 559–599, 1994. a
Bloomfield, P.: Fourier Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction, John Wiley
and Sons, ISBN 978-0-471-88948-9, 2004. a
Boulton, G. and Hindmarsh, R.: Sediment deformation beneath glaciers: rheology
and geological consequences, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 9059–9082,
1987. a
Boulton, G., Lunn, R., Vidstrand, P., and Zatsepin, S.: Subglacial drainage by
groundwater–channel coupling, and the origin of esker systems: Part II –
theory and simulation of a modern system, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 26, 1091–1105,
2007. a
Bueler, E. and van Pelt, W.: Mass-conserving subglacial hydrology in the Parallel Ice Sheet Model version 0.6, Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1613–1635, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1613-2015, 2015. a, b
David, A. and Vassilvitskii, S.: K-means++: The Advantages of Careful Seeding,
in: SODA 07: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on
Discrete Algorithms, New Orleans, LA, USA, 7–9 January 2007,
https://theory.stanford.edu/~sergei/papers/kMeansPP-soda.pdf
(last access: February 2023), 1027–1035, 2007. a
De Fleurian, B., Werder, M. A., Beyer, S., Brinkerhoff, D. J., Delaney, I.,
Dow, C. F., Downs, J., Gagliardini, O., Hoffman, M. J., Hooke, R. L.,
Seguinot, J., and Sommers, A. N.: SHMIP The subglacial hydrology model
intercomparison Project, J. Glaciol., 64, 897–916,
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.78, 2018. a
Downs, J. Z., Johnson, J. V., Harper, J. T., Meierbachtol, T., and Werder,
M. A.: Dynamic Hydraulic Conductivity Reconciles Mismatch Between Modeled and
Observed Winter Subglacial Water Pressure, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 123, 818–836, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JF004522, 2018. a
Doyle, S. H., Hubbard, B., Christoffersen, P., Law, R., Hewitt, D. R., Neufeld,
J. A., Schoonman, C. M., Chudley, T. R., and Bougamont, M.: Water flow
through sediments and at the ice-sediment interface beneath Sermeq Kujalleq
(Store Glacier), Greenland, J. Glaciol., 68, 665–684,
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.121, 2022. a
Engelhardt, H. and Kamb, B.: Basal sliding of Ice Stream B, West Antarctica,
J. Glaciol., 44, 223–230, 1998. a
Flowers, G. E., Roux, N., Pimentel, S., and Schoof, C. G.: Present dynamics and future prognosis of a slowly surging glacier, The Cryosphere, 5, 299–313, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-299-2011, 2011. a, b
Flowers, G. E.: Modelling water flow under glaciers and ice sheets, P. R. Soc. A, 471, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2014.0907,
2015. a
Fountain, A.: Borehole water-level variations and implications for the
subglacial hydraulics of South Cascade Glacier, Washington State, U.S.A., J.
Glaciol., 40, 293–304, 1994. a
Fowler, A.: Sliding with cavity formation, J. Glaciol., 33, 131–141,
1987. a
Freeze, R. and Cherry, J.: Groundwater, Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0133653129, 9780133653120 1979. a
Fudge, T., Harper, J., Humphrey, N., and Pfeffer, W.: Diurnal water-pressure
fluctuations: timing and pattern of termination below Bench Glacier, Alaska,
USA, Ann. Glaciol., 40, 102–106, 2005. a
Gagliardini, O., Cohen, D., Råback, P., and Zwinger, T.: Finite-element
modeling of subglacial cavities and related friction law, J. Geophys. Res.,
112, W11420, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000576, 2007. a
Gerrard, J., Perutz, M., and Roch, A.: Measurement of the velocity distribution along a vertical line through a glacier, P. R. Soc. A, 213, 546–558,
1952. a
Harper, J., Humphrey, N., and Greenwood, M.: Basal conditions and glacier
motion during the winter/spring transition, Worthington Glacier, Alaska,
U.S.A., J. Glaciol., 48, 42–50, 2002. a
Hodge, S. M.: Direct Measurement of Basal Water Pressures: Progress and
Problemss, J. Glaciol., 23, 309–319,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022143000029920, 1979. a, b
Hoffman, M., Andrews, L., Price, S., Catania, G., Neumann, T., Lüthi, M.,
Gulley, J., Ryser, C., Hawley, R., and Morriss, B.: Greenland subglacial
drainage evolution regulated by weakly connected regions of the bed, Nat.
Commun., 7, 13903, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13903, 2016. a, b
Hubbard, B. and Nienow, P.: Alpine subglacial hydrology, Quaternary Sci.
Rev., 16, 939–955, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(97)00031-0,
1997. a, b, c
Huzurbazar, S. and Humphrey, N. F.: Functional clustering of time series: An
insight into length scales in subglacial water flow, Water Resour.
Res., 44, F02027, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006612, 2008. a, b, c
Iken, A. and Truffer, M.: The relationship between subglacial water pressure
and velocity of Findelengletscher, Switzerland, during its advance and
retreat, J. Glaciol., 43, 328–338, 1997. a
Iken, A., Fabri, K., and Funk, M.: Water storage and subglacial drainage
conditions inferred from borehole measurements on Gornergletscher, Valais,
Switzerland, J. Glaciol., 42, 233–248,
https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000004093, 1996. a
Iverson, N. R., Baker, R. W., Hooke, R. L., Hanson, B., and Jansson, P.:
Coupling between a glacier and a soft bed: I. A relation between effective
pressure and local shear stress determined from till elasticity, J.
Glaciol., 45, 31–40, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022143000003014, 1999. a
Jolliffe, I.: Principal Component Analysis, Springer, 2nd edn., ISBN 978-0-387-22440-4, 2002. a
Kamb, B.: Glacier surge mechanism based on linked cavity configuration of the
basal water conduit system, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 9083–9100, 1987. a
Kavanaugh, J. and Clarke, G.: Evidence for extreme pressure pulses in the
subglacial water system, J. Glaciol., 46, 9083–9100, 2000. a
Kulessa, B., Hubbard, B., Williamson, M., and Brown, G. H.: Hydrogeological
analysis of slug tests in glacier boreholes, J. Glaciol., 51, 269–280, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756505781829458, 2005. a
Lliboutry, L.: Contribution à la théorie du frottement du glacier sur
son lit, C. R. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci., 247, 318–320, 1958. a
Lüthi, M., Funk, M., Iken, A., Gogineni, S., and Truffer, M.: Mechanisms of
fast flow in Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland. Part III. Measurements of
ice deformation, temperature and cross-borehole conductivity in boreholes to
the bedrock, J. Glaciol., 48, 369–385, 2002. a
MacDougall, A. and Flowers, G.: Spatial and temporal transferability of a
distributed energy-balance glacier melt model, J. Climate, 24,
1480–1498, 2011. a
MacQueen, J.: Some methods for classification and analysis of multivariate
observations, in: Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical
Statistics and Probability, Volume 1: Statistics, 281–297, University of
California Press, Berkeley, Calif.,
https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.bsmsp/1200512992 (last access: 2 February 2023), 1967. a, b
Mair, D., Nienow, P., Willis, I., and Sharp, M.: Spatial patterns of glacier
motion during a high-velocity event: Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland,
J. Glaciol., 47, 9–20, 2001. a
Mathews, W.: Vertical distribution of velocity in Salmon Glacier, British
Columbia, J. Glaciol., 3, 448–454, 1959. a
McCall, J.: The internal structure of a cirque glacier: report on studies of
the englacial movements and temperatures, J. Glaciol., 2, 122–130,
1952. a
Mejia, J. Z.: Investigating the hydrology of the Greenland Ice Sheet:
spatiotemporal variability and implications on ice dynamics, PhD thesis,
University of South Florida, https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/9598/
(last access: 23 February 2023),
2021. a
Nienow, P., Sharp, M., and Willis I.: Ice sheet acceleration driven by melt supply
variability, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 23, 825–843,
1998a. a
Nienow, P., Sharp, M., and Willis, I.: Seasonal changes in the morphology of
the subglacial drainage system, Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, Earth
Surf. Proc. Land., 23, 825–843, 1998b. a
Paoli, L. and Flowers, G.: Dynamics of a small surge-type glacier using
one-dimensional geophysical inversion, J. Glaciol., 55, 1101–1112,
2009. a
Rokach, L. and Maimon, O.: Clustering methods. Data mining and knowledge
discovery handbook, Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-25465-X_15,
Print ISBN 978-0-387-24435-8, Online ISBN 978-0-387-25465-4,
2005. a, b, c
Röthlisberger, H.: Water pressure in intra- and subglacial channels,
J. Glaciol., 11, 177–203, 1972. a
Ryser, C., Lüthi, M., Andrews, L., Hoffman, M., Catania, G., Hawley, R.,
Neumann, T., and Kristensen, S.: Sustained high basal motion of the Greenland
ice sheet revealed by borehole deformation, J. Glaciol., 60, 647–660,
https://doi.org/10.3189/2014JoG13J196, 2014b. a, b
Savage, J. and Paterson, W.: Borehole measurements in the Athabasca Glacier,
J. Geophys. Res., 68, 4521–4536, 1963. a
Schoof, C.: The effect of cavitation on glacier sliding, Philos. T. R.
Soc. A,
461, 609–627, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2004.1350, 2005. a
Schoof, C., Rada, C. A., Wilson, N. J., Flowers, G. E., and Haseloff, M.: Oscillatory subglacial drainage in the absence of surface melt, The Cryosphere, 8, 959–976, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-959-2014, 2014. a, b
Shreve, R.: The borehole experiment on Blue Glacier, Washington, Union
Géodésique et Géophysique Intemationale. Association
Intemationale d'Hydrologie Scientifique. Assemblée générale de
Helsinki, 25 July to 6 August 1960, Commission des Neiges et Glaces, 530–531,
1961. a
Sole, A., Mair, D., Nienow, P., Bartholomew, I., King, M., Burke, M., and
Joughin, I.: Ice sheet acceleration driven by melt supply variability,
J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 116, 1–11,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JF001948, 2011. a
Sommers, A., Rajaram, H., and Morlighem, M.: SHAKTI: Subglacial Hydrology and Kinetic, Transient Interactions v1.0, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 2955–2974, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2955-2018, 2018. a
Stone, D.: Characterization of the basal hydraulic system of a surge-type
glacier: Trapridge Glacier, PhD thesis, University of British Columbia, https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/831/1.0052961/1
(last access: 2 February 2023),
1993. a
Stone, D. and Clarke, G.: I Situ Measurements of Basal Water Quality and
Pressure as AN Indicator of the Character of Subglacial Drainage Systems,
Hydrol. Process., 10, 615–628,
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199604)10:4<615::AID-HYP395>3.3.CO;2-D, 1996. a
Thompson, A. C., Iverson, N. R., and Zoet, L. K.: Controls on Subglacial Rock
Friction: Experiments With Debris in Temperate Ice, J. Geophys.
Res.-Earth, 125, e2020JF005718, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005718,
2020. a
Truffer, M., Echelmeyer, K. A., and Harrison, W. D.: Implications of till
deformation on glacier dynamics, J. Glaciol., 47, 123–134,
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756501781832449, 2001. a
Tulaczyk, S., Kamb, W., and Engelhardt, H.: Basal mechanics of Ice Stream B,
west Antarctica: 1. Till mechanics, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 105, 463–481, 2000. a
Vesanto, J., Himberg, J., Alhoniemi, E., and Parhankangas, J.: SOM Toolbox for
Matlab 5, Tech. rep., Helsinki University of Technology, ISBN 951-22-4951-0, 2000. a
Vivian, R.: The nature of the ice-rock interface: the results of investigation
on 20 000 m2 of the rock bed of temperate glaciers, J. Glaciol.,
25, 267–277, 1980. a
Waddington, B. and Clarke, G.: Hydraulic properties of subglacial sediment
determined from the mechanical response of water-filled boreholes, J.
Glaciol., 41, 112–124, 1995. a
Weertman, J.: On the sliding of glaciers, J. Glaciol., 3, 33–38,
1957. a
Wilson, N., Flowers, G., and Mingo, L.: Comparison of thermal structure and
evolution between neighboring subarctic glaciers, J. Geophys.
Res., 118, 1443–1459, 2013. a
Wright, P., Harper, J., Humphrey, N., and Meierbachtol, T.: Measured basal
water pressure variability of the western Greenland Ice Sheet: Implications
for hydraulic potential, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 121,
1134–1147, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JF003819, 2016. a
Ye, L. and Keogh, E.: Time Series Shapelets: A New Primitive for Data Mining,
in: Proceedings of the 15th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge
Discovery and Data Mining, KDD '09, ACM, Paris, France,
29 June–1 July 2009, 947–956,
https://www.cs.ucr.edu/~eamonn/shaplet.pdf
(last access: 2 February 2023), 2009. a
Short summary
Water flowing at the base of glaciers plays a crucial role in controlling the speed at which glaciers move and how glaciers react to climate. The processes happening below the glaciers are extremely hard to observe and remain only partially understood. Here we provide novel insight into the subglacial environment based on an extensive dataset with over 300 boreholes on an alpine glacier in the Yukon Territory. We highlight the importance of hydraulically disconnected regions of the glacier bed.
Water flowing at the base of glaciers plays a crucial role in controlling the speed at which...
