Rain-induced transient variations in glacier dynamics characterized by a continuous and dense GPS network at the Glacier d’Argentière

Abstract

The motion of glaciers with a temperate base is highly variable in time and space, mainly as a result of glacier basal sliding being strongly modulated by subglacial hydrology. Although transient friction laws have recently been established in order to predict short-term sliding velocity changes in response to water input changes, yet little observations enable fully constraining these laws. Here we investigate short-term changes in glacier dynamics induced by transient rainwater input on the Glacier d’Argentière (French Alps) using up to 13 permanent GPS stations. We observe strong surface acceleration events materialized by maximum downglacier velocities on the order of 2 to 3 times background velocities and associated with significant glacier surface uplift of 0.03 m to 0.1 m. We demonstrate that uplift strikingly coincides with water discharge. In contrast, horizontal speed-up occurs over a timescale shorter than discharge and uplift changes, with a maximum occurring concomitantly with maximum water pressure but prior to maximum discharge or uplift. Our findings suggest that transient acceleration and uplift of the glacier are not necessarily modulated by the same mechanism. We also observe that the horizontal speed-ups propagate downglacier at migrating speeds of 0.04 m s-1 to 0.13 m s-1, suggesting an underlying migration of subglacial water flows through the inefficient, distributed system. We demonstrate that the temporal relationship between water discharge, water pressure, and three-dimensional glacier motions are complex and cannot be directly interpreted by changes in the subglacial water pressure through cavity formation and water storage.