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IMPACT OF SUBGLACIAL GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITY ON MELTWATER QUALITY IN THE JÖKULSÁ Á SÓLHEIMASANDI SYSTEM, SOUTHERN ICELAND
Author(s) -
LAWLER D. M.,
BJÖRNSSON H.,
DOLAN M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1085(199604)10:4<557::aid-hyp392>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - meltwater , geology , geothermal gradient , glacial period , glacier , geomorphology , dolomitization , geochemistry , hydrology (agriculture) , structural basin , geophysics , geotechnical engineering , facies
The influence of subglacial geothermal activity on the hydrochemistry of the Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi glacial meltwater river, south Iceland, is discussed. A radio echosounding and Global Positioning System survey of south‐west Myrdalsjökull, the parent ice‐cap of the valley glacier Sólheimajökull, establishes the geometry and position of a subglacial caldera. A cauldron in the ice‐cap surface at the basin head is also defined, signifying one location of geothermally driven ablation processes. Background H 2 S concentrations for the Jökulsá meltwaters in summer 1989 show that leakage of geothermal fluids into the glacial drainage network takes place throughout the melt season. Chemical geothermometry (Na + /K + ratio) applied to the bulk meltwaters tentatively suggests that the subglacial geothermal area is a high‐temperature field with a reservoir temperature of ≈289–304°C. A major event of enhanced geothermal fluid injection was also detected. Against a background of an apparently warming geothermal reservoir, the event began on Julian day 205 (24 July) with a burst of subglacial seismic activity. Meltwater hydrochemical perturbations followed on day 209 and peaked on day 213, finally leading to a sudden and significant increase in flow on day 214. The hydrochemical excursions were characterized by strong peaks in meltwater H 2 S, SO 2− 4 and total carbonate concentrations, transient decreases in pH, small increases in Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ and sustained increases in electrical conductivity. The event may relate to temporary invigoration of the subglacial convective hydrothermal circulation, seismic disturbance of patterns of groundwater flow and geothermal fluid recruitment to the subglacial drainage network, or a cyclic ‘sweeping out’ of the geothermal zone by the annual wave of descending groundwater. Time lags between seismic events and meltwater electrical conductivity responses suggest mean and maximum intraglacial throughflow velocities of 0.032–0.132 m s −1 , respectively, consistent with a distributed drainage system beneath Sólheimajökull. Because increases in flow follow hydrochemical perturbations, the potential exists to use meltwater hydrochemistry to forecast geothermally driven flood events in such environments.