Abstract
Icebergs and bergy makes up a significant component of the total freshwater flux from the Greenland Ice Sheet to the ocean. Observations of iceberg trajectories are biased towards larger icebergs and, as a result, the drift characteristics of smaller icebergs and bergy bits are poorly understood. In an attempt to fill this critical knowledge gap, we developed the open-source EXpendable Ice TrackEr (EXITE). EXITE is a low-cost, satellite-tracked GPS beacon capable of high-resolution temporal measurements over extended deployment periods. Furthermore, EXITE can transform to a surface drifter when its host iceberg capsizes or fragments. Here we describe basic construction of an EXITE beacon and present results from a deployment in Godth\r{a}bsfjord (SW Greenland) in August 2016. Overall, EXITE trajectories show out-fjord surface transport, in agreement with a simple estuarine circulation paradigm. However, eddies and abrupt wind-driven reversals reveal complex surface transport pathways at time scales of hours to days.
Highlights
Solid ice calved from tidewater glaciers in Greenland makes up a significant component of the total freshwater flux from the ice sheet to the ocean
In an attempt to advance our general understanding of fjord circulation and ice-ocean interactions, and transport of bergy bits (i.e., L < 40 m) in a sub-Arctic fjord in southwest Greenland in particular, we developed the expendable ice tracker (EXITE)
We stress that the bergy bits studied here were mostly likely recently calved from their parent glacier, and not the result of fragmentation of a larger iceberg
Summary
Solid ice calved from tidewater glaciers in Greenland makes up a significant component of the total freshwater flux from the ice sheet to the ocean. Tidewater glaciers in Greenland exhibit considerable variability in overall dimensions, grounding line depth, and calving style (Sulak et al, 2017) and these factors determine the initial sizes of the solid ice that enters the fjord. Fjord-specific characteristics, including, but not limited to, size and extent of ice mélange and hydrodynamics, influence both transport and melting of the ice as it transits the fjord. The cumulative effects of calving style of the glacier, spatial and temporal variability of surface hydrography, and overall residence time in the fjord, as well as residence times in the mélange and in open water, will determine whether ice melts in the fjord or exits onto the continental shelf
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