Sediment transport by Greenland's icebergs.

ABSTRACT: Ice-rafted debris (IRD) from Greenland's tidewater glaciers provides key inputs to biogeochemical cycles, sequesters sediment in fjords, and leaves evidence of paleoclimate conditions. Previous work has shown that most IRD is entrained in basal ice, but studies have yet to translate this process knowledge into predictions of IRD export. Here, we combine field data and numerical models to quantify sediment transport in basal ice and estimate IRD fluxes. We present 210 samples of debris-rich icebergs, collected from three fjord systems, showing a long-tailed distribution of sediment concentrations between 0.1% and 45% by mass (3.48% median). Then, we develop a numerical process model of erosion and entrainment to predict the thickness of debris-rich ice layers and the IRD flux from each outl

SUBMITTER: Pierce E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12859035 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature