First-Order Estimates of Coastal Bathymetry in Ilulissat and Naajarsuit Fjords, Greenland, from Remotely Sensed Iceberg Observations.

ABSTRACT: Warm water masses circulating at depth off the coast of Greenland play an important role in controlling rates of mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet through feedbacks associated with the melting of marine glacier termini. The ability of these warm waters to reach glacier termini is strongly controlled by fjord bathymetry, which was unmapped for the majority of Greenland's fjords until recently. In response to the need for bathymetric measurements in previously uncharted areas, we developed two companion methods to infer fjord bathymetry using icebergs as depth sounders. The main premise of our methods centers around the idea that deep-drafted icebergs will become stranded in shallow water such that estimates of iceberg surface elevation can be used to infer draft, and thus water depth,

SUBMITTER: Scheick J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6894177 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature