Abstract
A wide range of delta morphologies occurs along the fringes of the Young Sound in Northeast Greenland due to spatial heterogeneity of delta regimes. In general, the delta regime is related to catchment and basin characteristics (geology, topography, drainage pattern, sediment availability, and bathymetry), fluvial discharges and associated sediment load, and processes by waves and currents. Main factors steering the Arctic fluvial discharges into the Young Sound are the snow and ice melt and precipitation in the catchment, and extreme events like glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Waves are subordinate and only rework fringes of the delta plain forming sandy bars if the exposure and fetch are optimal. Spatial gradients and variability in driving forces (snow and precipitation) and catchment characteristics (amount of glacier coverage, sediment characteristics) as well as the strong and local influence of GLOFs in a specific catchment impede a simple upscaling of sediment fluxes from individual catchments toward a total sediment flux into the Young Sound.
Highlights
Ice, snow, and freezing temperatures are characteristic for Arctic coastal regions
The climate change in these areas induces an increase of air and seawater temperatures (Wadhams 2012), and the impact of climate change may be more pronounced for Arctic coastal environments (Lantuit et al 2012)
The present study focuses on delta morphologies and delta regimes in the Young Sound area and discusses the spatial variability of the driving forces and its ability for upscaling
Summary
The climate change in these areas induces an increase of air and seawater temperatures (Wadhams 2012), and the impact of climate change may be more pronounced for Arctic coastal environments (Lantuit et al 2012). The volume of the Greenland Ice Sheet is reducing, and this will lead to increasing freshwater fluxes toward the coastal zones and to a change in the local gravity field. Overeem and Syvitski (2010) described the monthly freshwater fluxes of 19 large rivers between 1997 and 2007. They showed an increase in total annual water discharge (?10%), of melt month discharge (?66%), and a decrease in peak month discharge (-7%)
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