Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-141
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-141
15 Jul 2016
 | 15 Jul 2016
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal TC. A revision for further review has not been submitted.

Possible groundwater dominance in the subglacial hydrology of ice sheet interiors: example at Dome C, East Antarctica

Brad T. Gooch, Sasha P. Carter, Omar Ghattas, Duncan A. Young, and Donald D. Blankenship

Abstract. We hypothesize that groundwater systems may be the main water transport mechanism over (distributed, inefficient) water sheets at large scales in the interiors of ice sheets where melt rates are very low. We compare melt rate magnitudes to potential groundwater volume fluxes and also calculate the theoretical transmissivity ranges of subglacial water sheet and groundwater flow systems. Theoretical groundwater systems are on par with or are more transmissive than water sheets for the upper half of the permeability spectrum. In addition, we develop a 2D cross-sectional subglacial flow path model that connects subglacial lakes near Dome C, East Antarctica. This model integrates subglacial water sheet flux and hypothetical groundwater flow forcing, better bridging two historically disparate modeling frameworks – subglacial hydrology and ice sheet hydrogeology. Our model results suggest that the water sheet thickness can be highly dependent on groundwater flux and that the water sheet transmissivity is within the total range of the modeled groundwater system transmissivity. We infer from these results that subglacial lake stability and basal radar reflections underneath the interior of East Antarctica may possibly be affected by groundwater flow.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Brad T. Gooch, Sasha P. Carter, Omar Ghattas, Duncan A. Young, and Donald D. Blankenship
 
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
 
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
Brad T. Gooch, Sasha P. Carter, Omar Ghattas, Duncan A. Young, and Donald D. Blankenship
Brad T. Gooch, Sasha P. Carter, Omar Ghattas, Duncan A. Young, and Donald D. Blankenship

Viewed

Total article views: 1,767 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
1,118 466 183 1,767 306 136 167
  • HTML: 1,118
  • PDF: 466
  • XML: 183
  • Total: 1,767
  • Supplement: 306
  • BibTeX: 136
  • EndNote: 167
Views and downloads (calculated since 15 Jul 2016)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 15 Jul 2016)

Discussed

Latest update: 08 Dec 2024
Download
Short summary
Our work investigates the potential significance of groundwater flow underneath the interior of East Antarctica where the ice doesn't rapidly melt. We attempt to describe the relationship between two hydrologic systems (water under the ice and in the ground) and how they might interact along a flow path between lakes under the ice. We find that groundwater is significant in regional water transport for melt water under the ice in areas of low melting in East Antarctica.