Recovery Glacier Research Articles

Detrital geochronology and lithologic signatures of Weddell Sea Embayment ice streams, Antarctica—Implications for subglacial geology and ice sheet history

ABSTRACT Tills from moraines adjacent to major ice streams of the Weddell Sea Embayment contain distinct detrital zircon (n = 5304) and K-bearing mineral age populations (n = 323) that, when combined with pebble composition data, can be used to better understand Antarctica's subglacial geology and ice sheet history. Till representing the Institute, Foundation, Academy, Recovery and Slessor Ice Streams each have distinct detrital zircon age populations. Detrital Ar-Ar ages are mostly younger than zircon ages, and distinctive populations include 270–300 Ma (Institute), 170–190 Ma (Foundation), and 1200–1400 Ma (Recovery), which are not easily explained by known outcrops. Pebble fractions of the Foundation and Academy tills are most diverse with up to >40% exotic erratics. The southern side of the Recovery Glacier has fossiliferous limestone erratics. Mixing models created using a nonlinear squares curve-fitting approach were developed to evaluate contributors of zircons to Foundation Ice Stream till. These model results and pebble lithology data both indicate that unexposed (subglacial) bedrock is mixed with exposed rocks to produce the observed till. Notably, the model required limited local Patuxent Formation input to the Foundation till's zircon population. Our data suggest that sandstones underlie the Foundation Ice Stream and Recovery Glacier troughs, which has a bearing on basal ice flow conditions and results in geological controls on ice stream location. This geo- and thermo-chronological characterization of the ice streams will enable ice-rafted debris in Weddell Sea marine sediments to be traced back to its sources and interpreted in terms of ice stream dynamics.

Missing Lakes Under Antarctic Ice Sheets

New radio sounding study finds little evidence of lakes under Antarctica's Recovery Glacier.

Subglacial Water Can Accelerate East Antarctic Glacier Flow

Airborne radar from the Recovery Glacier system demonstrates the importance of characterizing the underlying causes of ice flow speedup to understand how glacial discharge could change in the future.

Patchy Lakes and Topographic Origin for Fast Flow in the Recovery Glacier System, East Antarctica

The Recovery subglacial basin, with its largest glacier Recovery Glacier, has been identified as potentially the biggest contributor to future sea level rise from East Antarctica. Subglacial lakes along the main trunk have been detected from satellite data, with four giant lakes (Recovery Lakes A, B, C, and D) located at the onset of the fast ice flow (≥15 m/yr) and multiple smaller lakes along the glacier. The presence of subglacial water potentially plays a key role in the control of fast ice flow of Recovery Glacier. We present new insights on the Recovery Lakes from airborne radar data collected in 2013 and 2015. Using an adjusted classification scheme, we show that a single large area consisting of smaller lakes connected by likely saturated sediment, referred to as Lake AB, exists in the originally proposed area of the Recovery Lakes A and B. We estimate that the current size of Lake AB is ∼4,320 km2. Water likely leaks from the western shore of Lake AB lubricating the bed initiating fast ice flow at this location. The difference in the outlines of Lake AB and the Lakes A and B previously derived from surface features suggested that a larger paleolake existed here in the past. From our data, we find Recovery Lake C to be dry; we attribute fast ice flow originating from this area to be due to a topographic step and thus an increase in ice thickness rather than enhanced lubrication at the bed.

Missing Evidence of Widespread Subglacial Lakes at Recovery Glacier, Antarctica

Recovery Glacier reaches far into the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Recent projections point out that its dynamic behavior has a considerable impact on future Antarctic ice loss (Golledge et al., 2017, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072422). Subglacial lakes are thought to play a major role in the initiation of the rapid ice flow (Bell et al., 2007, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05554). Satellite altimetry observations have even suggested several actively filling and draining subglacial lakes beneath the main trunk (B. E. Smith et al., 2009, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309789470879). We present new data of the geometry of this glacier and investigate its basal properties employing radio‐echo sounding. Using ice sheet modeling, we were able to constrain estimates of radar absorption in the ice, but uncertainties remain large. The magnitude of the basal reflection coefficient is thus still poorly known. However, its spatial variability, in conjunction with additional indicators, can be used to infer the presence of subglacial water. We find no clear evidence of water at most of the previously proposed lake sites. Especially, locations, where altimetry detected active lakes, do not exhibit lake characteristics in radio‐echo sounding. We argue that lakes far upstream the main trunk are not triggering enhanced ice flow, which is also supported by modeled subglacial hydrology.

Dynamics of active subglacial lakes in Recovery Ice Stream.

Recovery Ice Stream has a substantial number of active subglacial lakes that are observed, with satellite altimetry, to grow and drain over multiple years. These lakes store and release water that could be important for controlling the velocity of the ice stream. We apply a subglacial hydrology model to analyze lake growth and drainage characteristics together with the simultaneous development of the ice stream hydrological network. Our outputs produce a good match between modeled lake location and those identified using satellite altimetry for many of the lakes. The modeled subglacial system demonstrates development of pressure waves that initiate at the ice stream neck and transit to within 100 km of the terminus. These waves alter the hydraulic potential of the ice stream and encourage growth and drainage of the subglacial lakes. Lake drainage can cause large R-channels to develop between basal overdeepenings that persist for multiple years. The pressure waves, along with lake growth and drainage rates, do not identically repeat over multiple years, due to basal network development. This suggests that the subglacial hydrology of Recovery Ice Stream is influenced by regional drainage development on the scale of hundreds of kilometers rather than local conditions over tens of kilometers.

Basal Settings Control Fast Ice Flow in the Recovery/Slessor/Bailey Region, East Antarctica

AbstractThe region of Recovery Glacier, Slessor Glacier, and Bailey Ice Stream, East Antarctica, has remained poorly explored, despite representing the largest potential contributor to future global sea level rise on a centennial to millennial time scale. Here we use new airborne radar data to improve knowledge about the bed topography and investigate controls of fast ice flow. Recovery Glacier is underlain by an 800 km long trough. Its fast flow is controlled by subglacial water in its upstream and topography in its downstream region. Fast flow of Slessor Glacier is controlled by the presence of subglacial water on a rough crystalline bed. Past ice flow of adjacent Recovery and Slessor Glaciers was likely connected via the newly discovered Recovery‐Slessor Gate. Changes in direction and speed of past fast flow likely occurred for upstream parts of Recovery Glacier and between Slessor Glacier and Bailey Ice Stream. Similar changes could also reoccur here in the future.

THE PENETRATION EFFECTS ON TANDEM-X ELEVATION USING THE GNSS AND LASER ALTIMETRY MEASUREMENTS IN ANTARCTICA

Abstract. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been widely used in many different fields, such as geoscience, climate monitoring, security-related applications. However, over natural terrain the radar signal has the ability to penetrate the ground surface which can cause the bias in the elevation measurements. The aim of the paper is to assess the SAR signal penetration effect on the TanDEM-X absolute elevation over ice and snow covered areas and it presents the results concerning the X-band SAR signal penetration effect on dry snow areas and blue ice region. Additionally, the relationship between SAR signal penetration depth and backscattering coefficient is exploited and discussed. In this paper, two study sites, Schirmacher area and Recovery Ice Stream are selected and it is found that the general X-band SAR signal penetration depth is around 3–7 meter on dry snow area while no penetration depth is expected on the blue-ice region.

A decade of progress in observing and modelling Antarctic subglacial water systems.

In the decade since the discovery of active Antarctic subglacial water systems by detection of subtle surface displacements, much progress has been made in our understanding of these dynamic systems. Here, we present some of the key results of observations derived from ICESat laser altimetry, CryoSat-2 radar altimetry, Operation IceBridge airborne laser altimetry, satellite image differencing and ground-based continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) experiments deployed in hydrologically active regions. These observations provide us with an increased understanding of various lake systems in Antarctica: Whillans/Mercer Ice Streams, Crane Glacier, Recovery Ice Stream, Byrd Glacier and eastern Wilkes Land. In several cases, subglacial water systems are shown to control ice flux through the glacier system. For some lake systems, we have been able to construct more than a decade of continuous lake activity, revealing internal variability on time scales ranging from days to years. This variability indicates that continuous, accurate time series of altimetry data are critical to understanding these systems. On Whillans Ice Stream, our results from a 5-year continuous GPS record demonstrate that subglacial lake flood events significantly change the regional ice dynamics. We also show how models for subglacial water flow have evolved since the availability of observations of lake volume change, from regional-scale models of water routeing to process models of channels carved into the subglacial sediment instead of the overlying ice. We show that progress in understanding the processes governing lake drainage now allows us to create simulated lake volume time series that reproduce time series from satellite observations. This transformational decade in Antarctic subglacial water research has moved us significantly closer to understanding the processes of water transfer sufficiently for inclusion in continental-scale ice-sheet models.

Extreme wind‐ice interaction over Recovery Ice Stream, East Antarctica

AbstractSurface snow accumulation over East Antarctica is an important climate indicator but a difficult parameter to constrain. Surface mass ablation dominates over persistent wind‐scour zones as near‐surface katabatic winds accelerate over locally steeper ice surface topography, and sublimate and redistribute snow. Here we quantify ablation rates and downwind redeposition of snow over wind‐scour zones in the upper Recovery Ice Stream catchment. Airborne radio echo‐soundings show a gradual ablation of ~16–18 m of firn, corresponding to ~200 years of accumulation, over these zones and ablation rates of ~54 kg m−2 a−1 (54 mm water equivalent a−1). We conclude that mass loss is dominated by sublimation and mass is transported downwind as water vapor, because snow redeposition downslope of the wind‐scour zones constitutes only a small fraction (<10%) of the cumulative mass loss.

Origin and dynamic significance of longitudinal structures ("flow stripes") in the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Abstract. Longitudinal ice-surface structures in the Antarctic Ice Sheet can be traced continuously down-ice for distances of up to 1200 km. A map of the distribution of ~ 3600 of these features, compiled from satellite images, shows that they mirror the location of fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams that are dominated by basal sliding rates above tens of metres per annum and are strongly guided by subglacial topography. Longitudinal ice-surface structures dominate regions of converging flow, where ice flow is subject to non-coaxial strain and simple shear. They can be traced continuously through crevasse fields and through blue-ice areas, indicating that they represent the surface manifestation of a three-dimensional structure, interpreted as foliation. Flow lines are linear and undeformed for all major flow units described here in the Antarctic Ice Sheet except for the Kamb Ice Stream and the Institute and Möller Ice Stream areas, where areas of flow perturbation are evident. Parcels of ice along individual flow paths on the Lambert Glacier, Recovery Glacier, Byrd Glacier and Pine Island Glacier may reside in the glacier system for ~ 2500 to 18 500 years. Although it is unclear how long it takes for these features to form and decay, we infer that the major ice-flow configuration of the ice sheet may have remained largely unchanged for the last few hundred years, and possibly even longer. This conclusion has implications for our understanding of the long-term landscape evolution of Antarctica, including large-scale patterns of glacial erosion and deposition.

Active lakes of Recovery Ice Stream, East Antarctica: a bedrock-controlled subglacial hydrological system

AbstractA connected system of active subglacial lakes was revealed beneath Recovery Ice Stream, East Antarctica, by ICESat laser altimetry. Here we combine repeat-track analysis of ICESat (2003–09), Operation IceBridge laser altimetry and radio-echo sounding (2011 and 2012), and MODIS image differencing (2009–2011) to learn more about the lake activity history, the surface and bedrock topographic setting of the lakes and the constraints on water flow through the system. We extend the lake activity time series to 2012 for the three lower lakes and capture two major lake drainages. One lake underwent a large deflation between 2009 and 2011 while another lake, which had been continuously filling between 2003 and 2010, started to drain after 2011. Most of the active lakes are located in a ~ 1000 km long bedrock trough under the main trunk of Recovery Ice Stream, whose base is ~ 1500– 2000 m below present-day sea level. The hydrologic system beneath Recovery Ice Stream is controlled by this unusually pronounced bedrock topography, in contrast to most Antarctic systems studied to date, which are controlled by the ice surface topography. Hydrologic connections among the lakes appear to be direct and responsive, and we reproduce the lake activity using a simple subglacial water model. We discuss potential causes of non-steady hydrologic behavior in major Antarctic catchments.

Onset of fast ice flow in Recovery Ice Stream, East Antarctica: a comparison of potential causes

AbstractRecovery Ice Stream has multiple branches reaching far into the East Antarctic ice sheet. We use new airborne and ground-based geophysics to give the first comprehensive overview of the upper catchment and, by constraining the physical setting, to advance our understanding of the controlling mechanisms for the onset of fast flow. The 400 km wide ice stream extends towards the Recovery Subglacial Lakes, a region characterized by a crustal boundary, a change in bed roughness, a bedrock topographic step and four topographic basins (A–D), three of which (A–C) contain subglacial water. All these characteristics are considered potential causal mechanisms that contribute to the onset of fast flow. In Lakes B and C the subglacial water is located in basins with sharp downstream ridges, in contrast to the gently sloping ridge on the downstream margin of Lake A. The fastest-flowing branch of the ice stream emanates from Lake A. The presence of multiple causal mechanisms along the four Recovery Lakes allows us to identify basal water as a dominant factor for the onset of fast flow, but only if it is stored in a shallow-sided basin where it can lubricate the flow downstream. Relatively minor topographic barriers appear to inhibit streaming.

Longitudinal surface structures (flowstripes) on Antarctic glaciers

Abstract. Longitudinal surface structures ("flowstripes") are common on many glaciers but their origin and significance are poorly understood. In this paper we present observations of the development of these longitudinal structures from four different Antarctic glacier systems; the Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf area, the Taylor and Ferrar Glaciers in the Ross Sea sector, Crane and Jorum Glaciers (ice-shelf tributary glaciers) on the Antarctic Peninsula, and the onset zone of a tributary to the Recovery Glacier Ice Stream in the Filchner Ice Shelf area. Mapping from optical satellite images demonstrates that longitudinal surface structures develop in two main situations: (1) as relatively wide flow stripes within glacier flow units and (2) as relatively narrow flow stripes where there is convergent flow around nunataks or at glacier confluence zones. Our observations indicate that the confluence features are narrower, sharper, and more clearly defined features. They are characterised by linear troughs or depressions on the ice surface and are much more common than the former type. Longitudinal surface structures within glacier flow units have previously been explained as the surface expression of localised bed perturbations but a universal explanation for those forming at glacier confluences is lacking. Here we propose that these features are formed at zones of ice acceleration and extensional flow at glacier confluences. We provide a schematic model for the development of longitudinal surface structures based on extensional flow that can explain their ridge and trough morphology as well as their down-ice persistence.

Recovery Lakes, East Antarctica: Radar assessment of sub-glacial water extent

[1] A fast-flowing tributary of Recovery ice stream penetrates more than 500 km into the interior of East Antarctica. Recent satellite-based studies found surface features in the onset area of this tributary that indicate a significant subglacial hydraulic system, including four large smooth basins, the typical surface expression of large subglacial lakes, as well as eleven smaller areas over which ice-sheet surface elevations rapidly changed by discharge/filling of subglacial water. Here we present the first ice-penetrating radar evidence of subglacial conditions in this area. We identified a distinct ice-water interface only over a limited area within the boundaries of the investigated large smooth basins, previously hypothesized to be water-filled lakes. The radar characteristics in some areas are similar to those of a drained lake, indicating that parts of the bed are wet, but not a typical lake. We also find evidence for discrete water bodies outside of the lake boundaries. The lines of evidence indicate that the northern most two Recovery Lakes have recently drained.

Antarctic subglacial conditions inferred from a hybrid ice sheet/ice stream model

Subglacial conditions of large polar ice sheets remain poorly understood, despite recent advances in satellite observation. Major uncertainties related to basal conditions, such as the temperature field, are due to an insufficient knowledge of geothermal heat flow. Here, a hybrid method is presented that combines numerical modeling of the ice sheet thermodynamics with a priori information using a simple assimilation technique. Additional data are essentially vertical temperature profiles measured in the ice sheet at selected spots, as well as the distribution of subglacial lakes. In this way, geothermal heat-flow datasets are improved to yield calculated temperatures in accord with observations in areas where information is available. Results of the sensitivity experiments show that 55% of the grounded part of the Antarctic ice sheet is at pressure melting point. Calculated basal melt rates are approximately 65 Gt year − 1 , which is 3% of the total surface accumulation. Although these sensitivity experiments exhibit small variations in basal melt rates, the impact on the ice age of basal layers is quite important. In areas that are characterized by relatively low melt rates, this may lead to standard deviations up to 50% (in a model run over a period of 10 6 years). Subglacial water flow is concentrated underneath the large outlet glaciers of Antarctica. The larger subglacial lakes are perched at the head of these subglacial water systems. An exception, however, is the lake system of the Recovery Ice Stream Catchment, that receives a substantial amount of subglacial melt water from the upstream catchment.

Subglacial topography inferred from ice surface terrain analysis reveals a large un‐surveyed basin below sea level in East Antarctica

A terrain analysis technique relating ice‐surface plan curvature to basal topography is applied to the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The technique suggests complex bed topography and a large subglacial basin more than 1500 m below present day sea level under the Recovery Glacier and its catchment in East Antarctica. Despite the importance of accurate subglacial topography for understanding the nature of ice flow and for numerical modeling, available data in this region are sparse. The presence of a large area of ice grounded below sea level, flowing at elevated velocities could have significant implications for the potential stability of this region of East Antarctica, previously thought to contain only small areas of marine ice sheet. The catchment region alone contains an ice volume equivalent to 2.6 m of global sea level rise, therefore it is important that the nature of the basal conditions in this region are better understood.

Simultaneous Least Squares Adjustment of Multiframe Velocities Derived From Interferometric and Speckle-Tracking Methods

This letter extends the simultaneous least squares adjustment method to the calibration and merging of velocity measurements, which are obtained by applying interferometric and speckle-tracking methods to multiple frames of repeat-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data. The underlying observation equations have been derived for velocity control points and tie points. By exploiting a set of tie points, individual frames within a strip or a block can be correlated with each other, and the parameters of calibration models for all individual frames can be simultaneously determined. With Radarsat InSAR data over the Recovery Glacier, Antarctica, we demonstrate that our simultaneous least squares adjustment method has effectively removed velocity discontinuities between adjacent frames and greatly reduced the velocity-control-point requirement.

Large subglacial lakes in East Antarctica at the onset of fast-flowing ice streams

Water plays a crucial role in ice-sheet stability and the onset of ice streams. Subglacial lake water moves between lakes and rapidly drains, causing catastrophic floods. The exact mechanisms by which subglacial lakes influence ice-sheet dynamics are unknown, however, and large subglacial lakes have not been closely associated with rapidly flowing ice streams. Here we use satellite imagery and ice-surface elevations to identify a region of subglacial lakes, similar in total area to Lake Vostok, at the onset region of the Recovery Glacier ice stream in East Antarctica and predicted by ice-sheet models. We define four lakes through extensive, flat, featureless regions of ice surface bounded by upstream troughs and downstream ridges. Using ice velocities determined using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), we find the onset of rapid flow (moving at 20 to 30 m yr(-1)) of the tributaries to the Recovery Glacier ice stream in a 280-km-wide segment at the downslope margins of these four subglacial lakes. We conclude that the subglacial lakes initiate and maintain rapid ice flow through either active modification of the basal thermal regime of the ice sheet by lake accretion or through scouring bedrock channels in periodic drainage events. We suggest that the role of subglacial lakes needs to be considered in ice-sheet mass balance assessments.

Integrating satellite observations with modelling: basal shear stress of the Filcher-Ronne ice streams, Antarctica

Using inverse methods constrained by recent satellite observations, we have produced a comprehensive estimate of the basal shear stress beneath the Filchner-Ronne ice streams. The inversions indicate that a weak bed (approx. 4-20kPa) underlies much of these ice streams. Compared to the Ross ice streams, the distribution of weak subglacial till is more heterogeneous, with 'sticky spots' providing much of the resistance to flow. A weak bed beneath Recovery ice stream extends several hundred kilometres inland with flow. Along this ice stream, discrepancies between thickness measurements and flux estimates suggest the existence of a deep (-1400m) trough not resolved by existing maps of subglacial topography. We hypothesize that the presence of this and other deep troughs is a major influence on this sector of the ice sheet that is not fully incorporated in current models of ice-sheet evolution.