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Quantifying flow regimes in a Greenland glacial fjord using iceberg drifters
Author(s) -
Sutherland David A.,
Roth George E.,
Hamilton Gordon S.,
Mernild Sebastian H.,
Stearns Leigh A.,
Straneo Fiammetta
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl062256
Subject(s) - fjord , iceberg , geology , glacier , oceanography , glacial period , sea ice , meltwater , ice shelf , ice calving , geomorphology , cryosphere , pregnancy , lactation , biology , genetics
Large, deep‐keeled icebergs are ubiquitous in Greenland's outlet glacial fjords. Here we use the movement of these icebergs to quantify flow variability in Sermilik Fjord, southeast Greenland, from the ice mélange through the fjord to the shelf. In the ice mélange, a proglacial mixture of sea ice and icebergs, we find that icebergs consistently track the glacier speed, with slightly faster speeds near terminus and episodic increases due to calving events. In the fjord, icebergs accurately capture synoptic circulation driven by both along‐fjord and along‐shelf winds. Recirculation and in‐/out‐fjord variations occur throughout the fjord more frequently than previously reported, suggesting that across‐fjord velocity gradients cannot be ignored. Once on the shelf, icebergs move southeastward in the East Greenland Coastal Current, providing wintertime observations of this freshwater pathway.