Speaker
Description
Submarine melting of icebergs are a large source of freshwater within Greenland fjord systems. This input of freshwater can alter the ocean heat flux near marine terminating glaciers, impacting ice-ocean exchanges at the glacier front. A sikkusak might promote heat transfer by enhancing fjord circulation, yet act as a heat sink from an increase in iceberg melt production. Traditional modeling methods often rely on approximate iceberg concentrations and distributions within fjords limiting the connection to individual glacier characteristics such as calving style and sikkusak configuration. With recent advances in iceberg detection from satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery using machine learning algorithms, we are able to detect bi-weekly ice sheet wide iceberg distributions including icebergs within the sikkusak. Here we integrate an iceberg melt model with iceberg locations, distributions, and sikkusak extent derived from Sentinel-1. We aim to determine if sikkusak alters fjord waters enough to inhibit heat transfer to specific glaciers. This approach considers an alternative role of sikkusak around Greenland – not for mechanical buttressing, but its role in heat transfer near the terminus.
