EGU22-247
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-247
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Ice-flow history and observations from the ice base of Jutulstraumen drainage basin (Antarctica)

Steven Franke1,2, Niklas Neckel1, Tamara Annina Gerber2, Hannes Eisermann1, Jölund Asseng1, Daniel Steinhage1, Veit Helm1, Olaf Eisen1,3, Reinhard Drews4, Graeme Eagles1, Heinrich Miller1, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen2,5, and Daniela Jansen1
Steven Franke et al.
  • 1Alfred-Wegener-Intitut, Helmholz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung, Glaciology, Bremerhaven, Germany
  • 2Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 3Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
  • 4Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • 5Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Canada

Future sea-level predictions require that the history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is well understood and constrained by observations. Much of the ice sheets’  ice-dynamic properties are governed by processes at the ice-bed interface which can be imaged with radar sounding surveys. Here we use a combination of ultra-wideband radio-echo sounding data, satellite radar and laser altimetry data, as well as electromagnetic waveform modeling to characterize the properties of the ice base and the evolution of the subglacial morphology of the Jutulstraumen drainage basin (western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica). Based on the classification of the bed topography, we reconstruct the step-by-step modifications the subglacial landscape has experienced since the beginning of the glaciation of Antarctica, 34 million years ago. Between 2017 and 2020, we find evidence of active episodic cascade-like subglacial water transport along the subglacial valley network. In addition, our high-resolution radio-echo sounding data reveal a cluster of anomalous basal ice units whose material properties we constrain by electromagnetic waveform modeling. Through this, we aim to derive the physical conditions at the ice base, and establish a link to the subglacial hydrology system. The combination of these observations will represent an important step towards a better understanding of large-scale ice-sheet dynamics in western Dronning Maud Land.

How to cite: Franke, S., Neckel, N., Gerber, T. A., Eisermann, H., Asseng, J., Steinhage, D., Helm, V., Eisen, O., Drews, R., Eagles, G., Miller, H., Dahl-Jensen, D., and Jansen, D.: Ice-flow history and observations from the ice base of Jutulstraumen drainage basin (Antarctica), EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-247, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-247, 2022.

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