Observing the subglacial hydrology network and its dynamics with a dense seismic array.

ABSTRACT: Subglacial water flow strongly modulates glacier basal motion, which itself strongly influences the contributions of glaciers and ice sheets to sea level rise. However, our understanding of when and where subglacial water flow enhances or impedes glacier flow is limited due to the paucity of direct observations of subglacial drainage characteristics. Here, we demonstrate that dense seismic array observations combined with an innovative systematic seismic source location technique allows the retrieval of a two-dimensional map of a subglacial drainage system, as well as its day-to-day temporal evolution. We observe with unprecedented detail when and where subglacial water flows through a cavity-like system that enhances glacier flow versus when and where water mainly flows through a channel-

SUBMITTER: Nanni U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8285902 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature