Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 44, Issue 13, Pages 6886-6894Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2017GL073602
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Funding
- NASA [NNX12AP50G]
- NOAA Climate and Global Change postdoctoral fellowship
- NASA [14132, NNX12AP50G] Funding Source: Federal RePORTER
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At tidewater glaciers, plume dynamics affect submarine melting, fjord circulation, and the mixing of meltwater. Models often rely on buoyant plume theory to parameterize plumes and submarine melting; however, these parameterizations are largely untested due to a dearth of near-glacier measurements. Here we present a high-resolution ocean survey by ship and remotely operated boat near the terminus of Kangerlussuup Sermia in west Greenland. These novel observations reveal the 3-D structure and transport of a near-surface plume, originating at a large undercut conduit in the glacier terminus, that is inconsistent with axisymmetric plume theory, the most common representation of plumes in ocean-glacier models. Instead, the observations suggest a wider upwelling plume-a truncated line plume of similar to 200 m width-with higher entrainment and plume-driven melt compared to the typical axisymmetric representation. Our results highlight the importance of a subglacial outlet's geometry in controlling plume dynamics, with implications for parameterizing the exchange flow and submarine melt in glacial fjord models.
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