C43C-0616

Ice Sheet Hydrologic Network Examined with In Situ River Discharge from Nested Watersheds in Greenland
sa K.
1, Rennermalm

A. B.

2, Mikkelsen

L.C.

3, Smith

V. W.

3, Chu

S. E.

1, Moustafa

M R. van den

4, Broeke

Bent

2 Hasholt

1Rutgers

University, 2University of Copenhagen, 3University of California Los Angeles, 4Utrecht University

4. RESULTS
1. INTRODUCTION
Greenland surface meltwater created on the ice sheet periphery and interior surfaces is routed to its margin through a complex hydrologic network including storage in firn layers, glacial lakes, streams, and transport pathways through moulins, crevasses, and other conduits. However, development and functioning of this network is still unclear, partly because of lack of observational data. In this study, we contrast in situ ice sheet river discharge losses observed at two nested, and overlapping drainage basins of difference sizes (~64km2 and ~9,750 km2) within the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua (AK) River watershed (a.k.a. Watson River) in Southwest Greenland between 2008 and 2012. By analyzing timing, magnitude and extent of ice sheet surface melting and river discharge in smaller watersheds nested within larger watersheds, better understanding is obtained of how scale, space, and time influence storages and export of meltwater. The rich dataset for the AK River watershed provides unique insights into development and functioning of the hydrological network for one of Greenlands largest land terminating glaciers.

Normal melt year: 2008

2008 and 2012 marks two distinctly different melt years. While 2008 melt extent was near the 1980-2010 average, 2012 displayed the most extreme melt extent observed in the same period. Hatched areas in the maps shows melt extent at peak melt.

Extreme melt year: 2012

The upper reaches of the nested sub watershed is at 850 m a.s.l. This marks the boundary for Watson River watersheds ice margin. Sub watershed elevation distribution lacks some of low elevations that are manifested in the Watson ice margin drainage watershed (<850 m a.s.l). This suggest that the upscaled sub watershed discharge may slightly underestimate Watson River ice margin discharge.

The bar graph shows how the fraction of ice margin discharge has declined from 2008 to 2012 in the Watson River

2. STUDY SITE
The study was undertaken for two nested drainage watersheds of difference sizes: 1) Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua (AK) River drainage basin (~64km2) collecting meltwater from the ice margin 2) Watson River drainage basin (~9,750 km2) collecting meltwater from the ice margin and the interior ice sheet. The AK River is a sub watershed of the Watson River.
Time series of upscaled river discharge from the sub watershed to the entire ice margin of Watson River, and discharge measured in the Watson River. While ice margin (<850m) discharge is largely constant, Watson river discharge vary due to interannual variability in melt area extent.

Squared wavelet coherence (local correlation between two continuous wavelet transforms) for 2008 and 2012 daily discharge data from the AK River and Watson River. Black contours show 5% significance level. Ice margin meltwater is more influential on seasonal scale in 2008 (9 days or longer over most of the melt season) than in 2012 (significant coherence is mainly seen in the latter part of the melt season).

3. METHODS
Discharge: Time series of river discharge were made by relating occasional measurements of river discharge to continuously monitored water depth with a rating curve. Discharge was determined with the velocity-area method, and water depth was calculated from measurements of atmospheric and water pressure using Solinst pressure transducers. Nested watershed approach: Hydrologic observations of water export from sub watersheds are assumed representative for similar elevation bands within the larger catchment. Sub watershed discharge is upscaled to match the representative area of the larger basin.

Schematic of Watson River drainage basin

5. CONCLUSIONS
The nested watershed approach provides a method to investigate ice sheet meltwater source area The importance of ice sheet melt below 850 has declined from 2008 to 2012 In 2009 to 2012 the majority of meltwater originated from higher elevations This agree with satellite remote sensing observations of expanding ice sheet melt area in recent years

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This work was supported by the NASA Cryosphere Program (grant NNX11AQ38G), managed by Dr. Thomas P. Wagner; Mote, T.L. 2012, updated current year. Greenland Daily Surface Melt 25km EASE-Grid 2.0 Climate Data Record, [2008, 2012]. Athens, Georgia, USA: University of Georgia. Digital media; Cross wavelet and wavelet coherence MATLAB package by Aslak Grinsted, John Moore and Svetlana Jevrejeva

Contact: asa.rennermalm@rutgers.edu