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Northeastern Section - 50th Annual Meeting (23–25 March 2015)

Paper No. 4
Presentation Time: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM

RECENT CHANGES IN SUBGLACIAL DISCHARGE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KONGSVEGEN-KRONEBREEN GLACIAL COMPLEX, KONGSFJORDEN, SVALBARD


SELES, Dominique A., Department of Earth, Environment, and Physics, Worcester State University, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester, MA 01602, BRIGHAM-GRETTE, Julie, Department of Geosciences, Univ of Massachusetts, 611 N. Pleasant St, Morrill Science Center II, Amherst, MA 01003, POWELL, Ross D., Department of Geology & Environmental Geosciences, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, IL 60115, COOK, Timothy L., Department of Earth, Environment and Physics, Worcester State University, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester, MA 01602 and KOWALEWSKI, Douglas E., Department of Earth, Environment, and Physics, Worcester State University, 486 Chandler St, Worcester, MA 01602, dseles@worcester.edu

Evaluating glacial meltwater processes in areas that are sensitive to changes in climate, such as the High Arctic, establishes direct links between atmospheric and oceanographic trends and tide-water glacier responses. This study is part of the Svalbard Research Experience (REU) for Undergraduates program and examines recent changes (2005 – 2014) in subglacial discharge characteristics of the Kongsvegen and Kronebreen glaciers at the head of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Since 2005 the glacial ice face has retreated ~1km. Ice-proximal data assessing subglacial meltwater volumes and the characteristics of sediment entering Kongsfjorden determines the response of tide-water glaciers to climate change and their potential for future stability. Here we specifically look at the volume and rate of melt water and sediment entering Kongsfjorden via two main upwelling sites. The data used for analysis was collected within 2km of the ice margin during peak melt season, and was compared to similar data sets from previous Svalbard REU research. Salinity (conductivity), Temperature, and Depth (CTD) profiles were collected in transects along the ice face and within the turbid upwelling plumes using both a Sea-Bird SBE 19 CTD Profiler and SAIV A/S CTD/STD model SD204, each with an attached optical backscatter (OBS) sensor to measure relative turbidity. Sediment samples were collected directly from ice bergs and the fjord floor to study settling velocities, particle size distributions, and provenance. Sediment concentrations and current velocity measurements were also collected at different depths within the upwelling plumes to characterize the water column. Preliminary examinations of field observations indicate a shift in the dominant upwelling locations and greater variability in subglacial meltwater output. However, sediment volumes entering the fjord near Kongsvegen, where a new accumulation of sediment has aggraded above sea level, appear to remain high.

Session No. 57--Booth# 39

T10. Holocene Paleoclimate Perspectives on Present-Day Arctic Change (Posters)
Tuesday, 24 March 2015: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
Presidential Ballroom (Omni Mount Washington Resort)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 47, No. 3, p.116
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