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Subglacial topography and geothermal heat flux: Potential interactions with drainage of the Greenland ice sheet
Author(s) -
van der Veen C. J.,
Leftwich T.,
von Frese R.,
Csatho B. M.,
Li J.
Publication year - 2007
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 - 10.1029/2007gl030046
Subject(s) - geology , geothermal gradient , glacier , flux (metallurgy) , heat flux , ice sheet , bedrock , geomorphology , greenland ice sheet , ice stream , geothermal exploration , geothermal heating , geophysics , geothermal energy , heat transfer , climatology , cryosphere , sea ice , mechanics , physics , materials science , metallurgy
Many of the outlet glaciers in Greenland overlie deep and narrow trenches cut into the bedrock. It is well known that pronounced topography intensifies the geothermal heat flux in deep valleys and attenuates this flux on mountains. Here we investigate the magnitude of this effect for two subglacial trenches in Greenland. Heat flux variations are estimated for idealized geometries using solutions for plane slopes derived by Lachenbruch (1968). It is found that for channels such as the one under Jakobshavn Isbræ, topographic effects may increase the local geothermal heat flux by as much as 100%.