The relative importance of subglacial discharge and iceberg melt forcing in Greenlandic glacial fjord circulation

Glacial fjords form a crucial coupling between the Greenland ice sheet and the surrounding ocean, but observational data is scarce and their complex multi-scale physics can be difficult to model. Thus, glacial fjord processes are often excluded from large-scale ice sheet models that project  sea level contribution and ocean models that are forced by ice sheet freshwater. A key driver of fjord dynamics is the input of ice sheet freshwater, primarily from subglacial discharge rising in a buoyant plume and from iceberg melt. These freshwater sources set up a density gradient between the fjord and shelf, driving fjord circulation and exporting freshwater to the ocean. Observational evidence from a few fjords suggests that fjords can store this freshwater, leading to an export to the shelf that is modified in properties and lagged in time compared to the input of the freshwater to the fjord. Yet little is known about how this freshwater modification varies across Greenland’s diverse fjords, and the relative importance of the sources of freshwater in this process has not been quantified.  

Here, we use a two-layer box model to simulate fjord dynamics in a simple yet realistic way. We isolate the circulation driven by freshwater input from each of subglacial discharge and iceberg melting to assess the relative impact of each process on (i) strength of circulation and (ii) modification and export of freshwater. The model suggests that fjord geometry and the strength of the fjord-shelf exchange are the key controllers of the lag time for freshwater export, with strong fjord-shelf exchange and smaller fjords promoting nearly instant freshwater export, and weak fjord-shelf exchange and large fjords giving long lags in freshwater export. The wider aims of the project are to quantify freshwater export and heat import at glacial fjords on a Greenland-wide scale.