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Reading the latest NSIDC Greenland melt analysis, I came across this short video at the bottom of the summary. It's about melt lakes on top of the western part of the Greenland Ice Sheet and has nice visuals (you can spot Jakobshavn) and a great voice-over. If you haven't seen it yet, here's your chance:
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Fascinating video. Thanks Neven.
Posted by: OldLeatherneck | August 22, 2015 at 00:44
Excellent narration, the one aspect I would add is that a week after lake drainage, if they drained rapidly does the ice flow decline below the average, so that you have a spike up and a spike down, yielding little change in overall velocity. This has been observed in many cases, but it is not going to always be one way or the other.
Posted by: D | August 22, 2015 at 13:46
Some of the lakes have a horseshoe shape or have an ice island in the middle. I suspect these lakes didn't drain last year, leaving a flat lake bed. I'm curious was causes the central ice to rise enough so that we see the ring of water around the center. If enough water flows into one of these lakes, of course, the 'island' would be submerged and the depth would appear to be even.
I wonder what the differences are between this lake ice and the surrounding surface glacier/ice sheet ice and the consequences for subsequent melt-ability. I presume the lake ice would have less air and a different crystal structure.
Posted by: Tor Bejnar | August 22, 2015 at 16:03
Tor,
You are absolutely right. The white "spots" in the lakes are remnants of last year's lake ice. So, it is not the lake bed you are seeing, but the signature of a perennial lake on the ice sheet surface indicating either a large depression or a slow glacier under neath.
Posted by: P-maker | August 22, 2015 at 16:18
Earth Observatory has a new article today:
"Watching the Rivers Flow on Greenland"
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86508
"A handful of studies have mostly focused on Greenland’s massive meltwater lakes, which can disappear in a matter of hours. But Smith and his team believe that rivers sinking into holes in the ice are the main conduit for transporting water from the top of the ice sheet to the bottom. Besides contributing to sea level rise, melt water runoff also accelerates ice loss: when the water percolates through the ice sheet and reaches the rock below, it slightly lifts the ice, helping it flow faster toward the ocean."
A number of useful links if you click through. The one on meltwater lakes is from March 2013.
The visuals are, to my eye, stunning.
Posted by: Susan Anderson | August 30, 2015 at 01:34
A little birdy(http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/01/the-shrinking-glaciers-of-austria) told me that there is no money for glacier research.
Is this true?
If so, that can't be good can it?
Posted by: AbbottisGone | September 02, 2015 at 12:01