Changes in soft bed subglacial hydrology associated with Climate Change

Recent research on the subglacial hydrology beneath the soft bedded West Antarctic Ice streams has shown the presence of a braided subglacial hydrology. We have been able to investigate the seasonal changes associated with a soft-bedded braided system from a series of instrumented temperate glaciers, and show there is a continuum between a subglacial channelized and braided system.

In particular, a braided subglacial river system can store summer meltwater, which is released during winter during positive degree days during winter (winter events) resulting in speed-ups. Here we show how recent increases in air temperature (and associated feedbacks such as proglacial lake growth), from a series of temperate soft-bedded glaciers, lead to potential changes in the subglacial hydrology and resultant glacier dynamics.