Articles | Volume 19, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2635-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-2635-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 22 Jul 2025
| 22 Jul 2025
Volumetric evolution of supraglacial lakes in southwestern Greenland using ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2
Tiantian Feng
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
College of Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
The Center for Spatial Information Science and Sustainable Development Applications, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Xinyu Ma
College of Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
The Center for Spatial Information Science and Sustainable Development Applications, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Xiaomin Liu
College of Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
The Center for Spatial Information Science and Sustainable Development Applications, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, 666 Wusu Street, Hangzhou, 311300, China
Related authors
Tiantian Feng, Hui Dong, Yangyang Chen, and Tong Hao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1632, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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This study focuses on the long-term subglacial hydrological activity of the Recovery Ice Stream in East Antarctica. We update the outlines of reported lakes based on their recent activity and identify 14 new lakes. A 21-year record of elevation changes of these lakes is constructed using multi-mission altimetry data. We also reveal spatial variability in elevation change patterns within several typical individual lakes. Our hydrological network confirms hydraulic connectivity among these lakes.
Lin Li, Aiguo Zhao, Tiantian Feng, Xiangbin Cui, Lu An, Ben Xu, Shinan Lang, Liwen Jing, Tong Hao, Jingxue Guo, Bo Sun, and Rongxing Li
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-332, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-332, 2021
Preprint withdrawn
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No subglacial lakes have been reported in Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL), East Antarctica. In this study, thanks to a new suite of airborne geophysical observations in PEL, including RES and gravity data collected during the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition, we detected a large subglacial lake of ~45 km in length, ~11 km in width, and ~250 m in depth. These findings will help us understand ice sheet stability in the PEL region.
X. Shen, X. Liu, Y. Yao, and T. Feng
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B3-2021, 497–502, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-497-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-497-2021, 2021
D. Wang, T. Feng, T. Hao, and R. Li
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B3-2021, 521–526, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-521-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-521-2021, 2021
X. Liu, H. Chen, and T. Feng
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3, 1153–1156, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-1153-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-1153-2018, 2018
Tiantian Feng, Hui Dong, Yangyang Chen, and Tong Hao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1632, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
This study focuses on the long-term subglacial hydrological activity of the Recovery Ice Stream in East Antarctica. We update the outlines of reported lakes based on their recent activity and identify 14 new lakes. A 21-year record of elevation changes of these lakes is constructed using multi-mission altimetry data. We also reveal spatial variability in elevation change patterns within several typical individual lakes. Our hydrological network confirms hydraulic connectivity among these lakes.
Lin Li, Aiguo Zhao, Tiantian Feng, Xiangbin Cui, Lu An, Ben Xu, Shinan Lang, Liwen Jing, Tong Hao, Jingxue Guo, Bo Sun, and Rongxing Li
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-332, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-332, 2021
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
No subglacial lakes have been reported in Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL), East Antarctica. In this study, thanks to a new suite of airborne geophysical observations in PEL, including RES and gravity data collected during the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition, we detected a large subglacial lake of ~45 km in length, ~11 km in width, and ~250 m in depth. These findings will help us understand ice sheet stability in the PEL region.
X. Shen, X. Liu, Y. Yao, and T. Feng
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B3-2021, 497–502, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-497-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-497-2021, 2021
D. Wang, T. Feng, T. Hao, and R. Li
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B3-2021, 521–526, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-521-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-521-2021, 2021
X. Liu, H. Chen, and T. Feng
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3, 1153–1156, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-1153-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-1153-2018, 2018
Related subject area
Discipline: Ice sheets | Subject: Glacier Hydrology
Subglacial hydrology regulates oscillations in marine ice streams
Evidence of active subglacial lakes under a slowly moving coastal region of the Antarctic Ice Sheet
The organization of subglacial drainage during the demise of the Finnish Lake District Ice Lobe
Supraglacial lake drainage through gullies and fractures
Deep clustering in subglacial radar reflectance reveals subglacial lakes
Partial melting in polycrystalline ice: pathways identified in 3D neutron tomographic images
Evaluation of satellite methods for estimating supraglacial lake depth in southwest Greenland
Observed and modeled moulin heads in the Pâkitsoq region of Greenland suggest subglacial channel network effects
In situ measurements of meltwater flow through snow and firn in the accumulation zone of the SW Greenland Ice Sheet
Controls on Greenland moulin geometry and evolution from the Moulin Shape model
Supraglacial streamflow and meteorological drivers from southwest Greenland
Hourly surface meltwater routing for a Greenlandic supraglacial catchment across hillslopes and through a dense topological channel network
Challenges in predicting Greenland supraglacial lake drainages at the regional scale
Role of discrete water recharge from supraglacial drainage systems in modeling patterns of subglacial conduits in Svalbard glaciers
A confined–unconfined aquifer model for subglacial hydrology and its application to the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream
Modelling the fate of surface melt on the Larsen C Ice Shelf
Modelled subglacial floods and tunnel valleys control the life cycle of transitory ice streams
Marianne Haseloff, Ian J. Hewitt, and Richard F. Katz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-204, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-204, 2025
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We combine models for marine ice sheets (which terminate in the ocean) and water flux at the ice-bed interface. The coupled system evolves dynamically due to a positive feedback between ice flow, heat dissipation at the ice stream bed, and basal lubrication. Our results show that depending on the hydraulic properties of the bed, distinct dynamic regimes can be identified. These regimes include steady streaming, hydraulically controlled surges, and thermally controlled oscillations.
Jennifer F. Arthur, Calvin Shackleton, Geir Moholdt, Kenichi Matsuoka, and Jelte van Oostveen
The Cryosphere, 19, 375–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-375-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-375-2025, 2025
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Lakes can form beneath the large ice sheets and can influence ice-sheet dynamics and stability. Some of these subglacial lakes are active, meaning that they periodically drain and refill. Here we report seven new active subglacial lakes close to the Antarctic Ice Sheet margin using satellite measurements of ice surface height changes in a region where little was known previously. These findings improve our understanding of subglacial hydrology and will help refine subglacial hydrological models.
Adam J. Hepburn, Christine F. Dow, Antti Ojala, Joni Mäkinen, Elina Ahokangas, Jussi Hovikoski, Jukka-Pekka Palmu, and Kari Kajuutti
The Cryosphere, 18, 4873–4916, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4873-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4873-2024, 2024
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Terrain formerly occupied by ice sheets in the last ice age allows us to parameterize models of basal water flow using terrain and data unavailable beneath current ice sheets. Using GlaDS, a 2D basal hydrology model, we explore the origin of murtoos, a specific landform found throughout Finland that is thought to mark the upper limit of channels beneath the ice. Our results validate many of the predictions of murtoo origins and demonstrate that such models can be used to explore past ice sheets.
Angelika Humbert, Veit Helm, Ole Zeising, Niklas Neckel, Matthias H. Braun, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Martin Rückamp, Holger Steeb, Julia Sohn, Matthias Bohnen, and Ralf Müller
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1151, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1151, 2024
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We study the evolution of a massive lake on the Greenland Ice Sheet using satellite and airborne data and some modelling. The lake is emptying rapidly. The water flows to the base of the glacier through cracks and gullies that remain visible over years. Some of them become reactive. We find features inside the glacier that stem from the drainage events with even 1 km width. These features are persistent over the years, although they are changing in shape.
Sheng Dong, Lei Fu, Xueyuan Tang, Zefeng Li, and Xiaofei Chen
The Cryosphere, 18, 1241–1257, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1241-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1241-2024, 2024
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Subglacial lakes are a unique environment at the bottom of ice sheets, and they have distinct features in radar echo images that allow for visual detection. In this study, we use machine learning to analyze radar reflection waveforms and identify candidate subglacial lakes. Our approach detects more lakes than known inventories and can be used to expand the subglacial lake inventory. Additionally, this analysis may also provide insights into interpreting other subglacial conditions.
Christopher J. L. Wilson, Mark Peternell, Filomena Salvemini, Vladimir Luzin, Frieder Enzmann, Olga Moravcova, and Nicholas J. R. Hunter
The Cryosphere, 18, 819–836, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-819-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-819-2024, 2024
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As the temperature increases within a deforming ice aggregate, composed of deuterium (D2O) ice and water (H2O) ice, a set of meltwater segregations are produced. These are composed of H2O and HDO and are located in conjugate shear bands and in compaction bands which accommodate the deformation and weaken the ice aggregate. This has major implications for the passage of meltwater in ice sheets and the formation of the layering recognized in glaciers.
Laura Melling, Amber Leeson, Malcolm McMillan, Jennifer Maddalena, Jade Bowling, Emily Glen, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Mai Winstrup, and Rasmus Lørup Arildsen
The Cryosphere, 18, 543–558, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-543-2024, 2024
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Lakes on glaciers hold large volumes of water which can drain through the ice, influencing estimates of sea level rise. To estimate water volume, we must calculate lake depth. We assessed the accuracy of three satellite-based depth detection methods on a study area in western Greenland and considered the implications for quantifying the volume of water within lakes. We found that the most popular method of detecting depth on the ice sheet scale has higher uncertainty than previously assumed.
Celia Trunz, Kristin Poinar, Lauren C. Andrews, Matthew D. Covington, Jessica Mejia, Jason Gulley, and Victoria Siegel
The Cryosphere, 17, 5075–5094, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5075-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5075-2023, 2023
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Models simulating water pressure variations at the bottom of glaciers must use large storage parameters to produce realistic results. Whether that storage occurs englacially (in moulins) or subglacially is a matter of debate. Here, we directly simulate moulin volume to constrain the storage there. We find it is not enough. Instead, subglacial processes, including basal melt and input from upstream moulins, must be responsible for stabilizing these water pressure fluctuations.
Nicole Clerx, Horst Machguth, Andrew Tedstone, Nicolas Jullien, Nander Wever, Rolf Weingartner, and Ole Roessler
The Cryosphere, 16, 4379–4401, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4379-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4379-2022, 2022
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Meltwater runoff is one of the main contributors to mass loss on the Greenland Ice Sheet that influences global sea level rise. However, it remains unclear where meltwater runs off and what processes cause this. We measured the velocity of meltwater flow through snow on the ice sheet, which ranged from 0.17–12.8 m h−1 for vertical percolation and from 1.3–15.1 m h−1 for lateral flow. This is an important step towards understanding where, when and why meltwater runoff occurs on the ice sheet.
Lauren C. Andrews, Kristin Poinar, and Celia Trunz
The Cryosphere, 16, 2421–2448, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2421-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2421-2022, 2022
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We introduce a model for moulin geometry motivated by the wide range of sizes and shapes of explored moulins. Moulins comprise 10–14 % of the Greenland englacial–subglacial hydrologic system and act as time-varying water storage reservoirs. Moulin geometry can vary approximately 10 % daily and over 100 % seasonally. Moulin shape modulates the efficiency of the subglacial system that controls ice flow and should thus be included in hydrologic models.
Rohi Muthyala, Åsa K. Rennermalm, Sasha Z. Leidman, Matthew G. Cooper, Sarah W. Cooley, Laurence C. Smith, and Dirk van As
The Cryosphere, 16, 2245–2263, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2245-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2245-2022, 2022
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In situ measurements of meltwater discharge through supraglacial stream networks are rare. The unprecedentedly long record of discharge captures diurnal and seasonal variability. Two major findings are (1) a change in the timing of peak discharge through the melt season that could impact meltwater delivery in the subglacial system and (2) though the primary driver of stream discharge is shortwave radiation, longwave radiation and turbulent heat fluxes play a major role during high-melt episodes.
Colin J. Gleason, Kang Yang, Dongmei Feng, Laurence C. Smith, Kai Liu, Lincoln H. Pitcher, Vena W. Chu, Matthew G. Cooper, Brandon T. Overstreet, Asa K. Rennermalm, and Jonathan C. Ryan
The Cryosphere, 15, 2315–2331, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2315-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2315-2021, 2021
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We apply first-principle hydrology models designed for global river routing to route flows hourly through 10 000 individual supraglacial channels in Greenland. Our results uniquely show the role of process controls (network density, hillslope flow, channel friction) on routed meltwater. We also confirm earlier suggestions that large channels do not dewater overnight despite the shutdown of runoff and surface mass balance runoff being mistimed and overproducing runoff, as validated in situ.
Kristin Poinar and Lauren C. Andrews
The Cryosphere, 15, 1455–1483, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1455-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1455-2021, 2021
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This study addresses Greenland supraglacial lake drainages. We analyze ice deformation associated with lake drainages over 18 summers to assess whether
precursorstrain-rate events consistently precede lake drainages. We find that currently available remote sensing data products cannot resolve these events, and thus we cannot predict future lake drainages. Thus, future avenues for evaluating this hypothesis will require major field-based GPS or photogrammetry efforts.
Léo Decaux, Mariusz Grabiec, Dariusz Ignatiuk, and Jacek Jania
The Cryosphere, 13, 735–752, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-735-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-735-2019, 2019
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Due to the fast melting of glaciers around the world, it is important to characterize the evolution of the meltwater circulation beneath them as it highly impacts their velocity. By using very
high-resolution satellite images and field measurements, we modelized it for two Svalbard glaciers. We determined that for most of Svalbard glaciers it is crucial to include their surface morphology to obtain a reliable model, which is not currently done. Having good models is key to predicting our future.
Sebastian Beyer, Thomas Kleiner, Vadym Aizinger, Martin Rückamp, and Angelika Humbert
The Cryosphere, 12, 3931–3947, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3931-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3931-2018, 2018
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The evolution of subglacial channels below ice sheets is very important for the dynamics of glaciers as the water acts as a lubricant. We present a new numerical model (CUAS) that generalizes existing approaches by accounting for two different flow situations within a single porous medium layer: (1) a confined aquifer if sufficient water supply is available and (2) an unconfined aquifer, otherwise. The model is applied to artificial scenarios as well as to the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream.
Sammie Buzzard, Daniel Feltham, and Daniela Flocco
The Cryosphere, 12, 3565–3575, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3565-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3565-2018, 2018
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Surface lakes on ice shelves can not only change the amount of solar energy the ice shelf receives, but may also play a pivotal role in sudden ice shelf collapse such as that of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002.
Here we simulate current and future melting on Larsen C, Antarctica’s most northern ice shelf and one on which lakes have been observed. We find that should future lakes occur closer to the ice shelf front, they may contain sufficient meltwater to contribute to ice shelf instability.
Thomas Lelandais, Édouard Ravier, Stéphane Pochat, Olivier Bourgeois, Christopher Clark, Régis Mourgues, and Pierre Strzerzynski
The Cryosphere, 12, 2759–2772, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2759-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2759-2018, 2018
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Scattered observations suggest that subglacial meltwater routes drive ice stream dynamics and ice sheet stability. We use a new experimental approach to reconcile such observations into a coherent story connecting ice stream life cycles with subglacial hydrology and bed erosion. Results demonstrate that subglacial flooding, drainage reorganization, and valley development can control an ice stream lifespan, thus opening new perspectives on subglacial processes controlling ice sheet instabilities.
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Short summary
During the melting season, substantial quantities of surface meltwater converge in topographically depressed regions, forming supraglacial lakes (SGLs). We extract SGL area and profile depth using remote sensing data and then invert the depth of entire SGLs based on the machine learning method. By applying the above-mentioned methods, we capture the volumetric evolution of SGLs throughout the entire melt season of 2022 in southwestern Greenland.
During the melting season, substantial quantities of surface meltwater converge in...
