Springtime measurements of CO2 exchange over seasonal sea ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago using eddy covariance show that CO2 was generally released to the atmosphere during the cold (ice surface temperatures less than about –6˚C) early part of the season, but was absorbed from the atmosphere as warming advanced. Hourly maximum efflux and uptake rates approached 1.0 and –3.0 μmol m–2 s–1, respectively. These CO2 flux rates are far greater than previously reported over sea ice and are comparable in magnitude to exchanges observed within other systems (terrestrial and marine). Uptake generally occurred for wind speeds in excess of 6 m s–1 and corresponded to local maxima in temperature at the snow–ice interface and net radiation. Efflux, on the other hand, occurred under weaker wind speeds and periods of local minima in temperature and net radiation. the wind speeds associated with uptake are above a critical threshold for drifting and blowing snow, suggesting that ventilation of the snowpack and turbulent exchange with the brine-wetted grains are an important part of the process. Both the uptake and release fluxes may be at least partially driven by the temperature sensitivity of the carbonate system speciation in the brine-wetted snow base and upper sea ice. the period of maximum springtime CO2 uptake occurred as the sea-ice permeability increased, passing a critical threshold allowing vertical brine movement throughout the sea-ice sheet. At this point, atmospheric CO2 would have been available to the under-ice sea-water carbonate system, with ramifications for carbon cycling in sea-ice-dominated polar waters.

Methane consumption in upland soils represents an important part of the biologically mediated sink of tropospheric methane. The present study focuses on the role of glacier forefields as a potential methane sink. The role of these environments, though increasing in size, has not yet been taken into account in the global methane budget. Net methane fluxes were analysed based on a static chamber method on a proglacial chronosequence from the Mittivakkat valley, southeast Greenland. Methane uptake could be measured in 7of the 12 study sites, with highest rates in the oldest materials from the chronosequence, suggesting that methane oxidation potential may increase during glacier recession (80–150 years). In the chamber located at the glacier front, net methane production was observed, indicating that the microbial community changes after glacial recession from being net methanogenic to becoming net methanotrophic. Diversity analyses based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) from the methanotrophic communities responsible for methane uptake at atmospheric levels demonstrate that methanotrophic microbial diversity changes along the chronosequence and show that there is a tendency to a larger diversity in the oldest part of the chronosequence. Sequencing of DNA retrieved from the DGGE revealed a restricted diversity of the methanotrophic community: GenBank accession numbers HM534684–HM534736.

The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) includes a comprehensive pre-site survey on the inland ice plateau of Dronning Maud Land. This paper focuses on the investigation of the 18O content of shallow firn and ice cores. These cores were dated by profiles derived from dielectric-profiling and continuous flow analysis measurements. the individual records were stacked in order to obtain composite chronologies of 18O contents and accumulation rates with enhanced signal-to-noise variance ratios. These chronologies document variations in the last 200 and 1000 years. The18O contents and accumulation rates decreased in the 19th century and increased during the 20th century. Using the empirical relationships between stable isotopes, accumulation rates and the 10 m firn temperature, the variation of both parameters can be explained by the same temperature history. But other causes for these variations, such as the build-up of the snow cover, cannot be excluded. A marked feature of the 1000 year chronology occurs during the period AD 1180–1530 when the 18Ocontents remains below the long-term mean. Cross-correlation analyses between five cores from the Weddell Sea region and Dronning Maud Land show that 18O records can in some periods be positively correlated and in others negatively correlated, indicating a complex climatic history in time and space.

A puzzling phenomenon of ice-stream flow is the stick–slip motion displayed by Whillans Ice Stream (WIS), West Antarctica. In this study we test the hypothesis that the WIS stick–slip motion has features similar to those of other known stick–slip systems, and thus might be of the same origin. To do so, we adapt a simple mechanical model widely used in seismology to study classic stick–slip behavior observed in tectonic faults, in which the difference between static and dynamic friction allows for the generation and spatial propagation of abrupt slip events. We show how spatial variability in friction properties, as well as a periodic forcing intended to mimic the effect of tides, can reproduce the observed duration and periodicity of stick–slip motion in an ice stream. An intriguing aspect of the association of WIS with mechanical stick–slip oscillators is that the onset of stick–slip cycling from a condition of permanent slip appears to be associated with the reduction in overall speed of WIS. If this association is true, then stick–slip behavior of WIS is a transitional phase of behavior associated with the ice stream's recent deceleration.

Global warming is causing an apparent rapid retreat of many glaciers worldwide. In addition to mass-balance investigation, the determination and monitoring of total glacial ice volume and ice-thickness distribution are important parameters for understanding the interactions between climate and the complex glacier system. Because of spatially irregular and sparse datasets, scaling of volume and ice-thickness distribution is often a challenging problem. This study focuses on two small (<2 km2) temperate glaciers in the Hohe Tauern (Eastern Alps) region of central Austria. The period 2003–04 saw the first use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to determine the total ice volume and ice-thickness distribution of the two glaciers. A centre frequency of 20 MHz was used in point measuring mode. Despite variable data quality, bedrock reflections up to depths of >100m were identified in the data. The acquired GPR data are irregularly distributed and the spatial density is too low to calculate reasonable bedrock topography with standard interpolation approaches. Thus one main focus of this study was to develop an appropriate interpolation technique. Eventually, kriging technique and a glacial mechanically based interpolation parameter were used. Mean calculated ice thicknesses for the two investigated glaciers are 40–50 m, with a maximum of 150–165 m. No direct validation data are available, so different considerations support the computed bedrock topography.

The acoustic impedance of the subglacial material beneath 7.2 km profiles on four ice streams in Antarctica has been measured using a seismic technique. The ice streams span a wide range of dynamic conditions with flow rates of 35–464 m a–1. The acoustic impedance indicates that poorly lithified or dilated sedimentary material is ubiquitous beneath these ice streams. Meanacoustic impedance across each profile correlates well with basal shear stress and the slipperiness of the bed, indicating that acoustic impedance is a good diagnostic not only for the porosity of the subglacial material, but also for its dynamic state (deforming or non-deforming). Beneath two of the ice streams, lodged (non-deforming) and dilated (deforming) sediment coexist but their distribution is not obviously controlled by basal topography or ice thickness. Their distribution may be controlled by complex material properties or the deformation history. Beneath Rutford Ice Stream, lodged and dilated sediment coexist and are distributed in broad bands several kilometres wide, whileon Talutis Inlet there is considerable variability over much shorter distances; this may reflect differences in the mechanism of drainage beneath the ice streams. The material beneath the slow-moving Carlson Inlet is probably lodged but unlithified sediment; this is consistent with the hypothesis that Carlson Inlet was once a fast-flowing ice stream but is now in a stagnant phase, which could possibly be revivedby raised basal water content. The entire bed beneath fast-flowing Evans Ice Stream is dilated sediment.

Over 80% of the flow of the Upper Indus River is derived from less than 20% of its area: essentially from zones of heavy snowfall and glacierized basins above 3500 m elevation. The trans-Himalayan contribution comes largely from an area of some 20 000 km2 of glacierized basins, mostly along the axis of the Greater Karakoram range and especially from 20-30 of the largest glacier basins. Very few glaciological investigations have so far been undertaken in this the major glacierized region of Central Asia. Biafo Glacier, one of the largest of the Karakoram glaciers, drains south-eastwards from the central Karakoram crest. Its basin covers a total area of 853 km2, 628 km2 of which are permanent snow and ice, with 68% of the glacier area forming the accumulation zone. This paper describes investigations of snow accumulation, ablation, glacier movement, and glacier depth undertaken in the period 1985–87, set against a background of investigations carried out over the last 130 years. Biafo Glacier differs from most of the other Karakoram glaciers in being nourished mainly by direct snowfall rather than by avalanching; this has the advantage of allowing extensive investigation of accumulation over a broad range of altitude.

Snow-accumulation studies in the Biafo Glacier basin have indicated that annual accumulation varies from 0.9 to 1.9 m of water equivalent between 4650 and 5450 m a.s.l. This suggests an annual moisture input above the equilibrium line of approximately 0.6 km3. Monopulse radar measurements indicate the presence of ice thickness as great as 1400 m at the equilibrium line, although these results may not be completely reliable. Mean surface velocity during the summer of 0.8 m d−1 has been measured near to the equilibrium line. Calculations of annual ice flux through the vertical cross-profile at the equilibrium line indicate a throughput of 0.7 km3 a−1. Estimates from stake ablation measurements also suggest that ice loss on Biafo Glacier is about 0.7 km3 a−1. The close agreement between these three sets of measurements is reassuring, indicating that the ablation zone of Biafo Glacier, whose area covers 0.09% of the whole Upper Indus basin, produces approximately 0.9% of the total run-off. However, it should be mentioned that this estimate does not include water originating from seasonal snow melt, either above or below the equilibrium line, or from rainfall. Net annual ice losses due to wastage of the glacier since 1910 are probably of the order of 0.4-0.5 m a−1; this would represent between 12 and 15% of annual water yield from melting ice.

Results of a new glacier inventory of the upper Huasco valley, which lies within the arid Norte Chico zone of the Chilean Andes, are presented for 2004. Despite the high altitude, the glaciation in this region is limited in extent and is not classical mountain glaciation, which poses difficulties in completing standard inventory attribute tables. Small cornice-style ridgeline features constitute a large number of the non-transient ice bodies identified, and glaciers with surface areas <0.1 km2 comprise 18% of the glacierized area and 3% of the water resource stored as glacier ice within the Huasco valley. Rock glaciers are an important component of the cryosphere, comprising 12% of the total water volume stored in glacial features. Changes in glacier area over the last ~50 years are in line with those for glaciers in central Chile despite the contrasting climate conditions. Projections of glacier area change based on glacier hypsometry and zero isotherm shifts predicted using the PRECIS regional model temperature change for IPCC scenario B2 conditions suggest that the survival of 65% of glacier area and 77% of active rock-glacier area will be threatened under forecast conditions for the end of the 21st century.

We identify a series of basal crevasses along a 31 km transect across the northern sector of the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica, using in situ ground-penetrating radar. The basal crevasses propagate from a region of multiple, shallow basal fractures to form widely spaced (0.5–2.0 km) but deeply incised (70–134 m) features. Surface troughs, observed in visible imagery, exist above the basal crevasses as the ice vertically shears to reach hydrostatic equilibrium, while widespread surface crevassing occurs along the crests and on the flanks of the undulations, primarily aligned with the topography. We suggest, based on the location of the surface crevasses and the along-flow evolution of the basal crevasses, that the former are induced by a bending stress created by gradients in hydrostatic forces. Using a linear elastic fracture mechanics model, we investigate the sensitivity of basal crevasse propagation to observed trends of ice-shelf thinning and acceleration. Basal crevasses are large-scale structural weaknesses that can both control meltwater ponding and induce surface crevassing. Together, these features may represent an important mechanism in both past and future ice-shelf disintegration events on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Amplitude-versus-angle (AVA) analysis of a seismic reflection line, imaged 13 km from Russell Glacier terminus, near the western margin of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS), suggests the presence of sediment at the bed. The analysis was complicated by the lack of identifiable multiples in the data due to a highly irregular and crevassed ice surface, rendering deeper seismic returns noisy. A modified technique for AVA processing of glacial seismic data using forward modelling with primary reflection amplitudes and simulated multiple amplitudes is presented here. Our analysis demonstrates that AVA analysis can be applied to areas with noisy seismic returns and indicates that sediment underlies the seismic study site. Our data are inconsistent with the common assumption that the GrIS is underlain only by hard bedrock, but consistent with the presence of subglacial sediment with porosity between 30% and 40%. As analysis and modelling of ice-sheet dynamics requires a sound knowledge of the underlying basal materials, subglacial sediment should be taken into account when considering ice dynamics in this region of the GrIS.

Snow distribution is a dominating factor in sea-ice mass balance in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, through its roles in insulating the ice and contributing to snow-ice production. the wind has long been qualitatively recognized to influence the distribution of snow accumulation on sea ice, but the relative importance of drifting and blowing snow has not been quantified over Antarctic sea ice prior to this study. the presence and magnitude of drifting snow were monitored continuously along with wind speeds at two sites on an ice floe in the Bellingshausen Sea during the October 2007 Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic (SIMBA) experiment. Contemporaneous precipitation measurements collected on board the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer and accumulation measurements by automated ice mass-balance buoys (IMBs) allow us to document the proportion of snowfall that accumulated on level ice surfaces in the presence of high winds and blowing-snow conditions. Accumulation on the sea ice during the experiment averaged <0.01 m w.e. at both IMB sites, during a period when European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts analyses predicted >0.03 m w.e. of precipitation on the ice floe. Accumulation changes on the ice floe were clearly associated with drifting snow and high winds. Drifting-snow transport during the SIMBA experiment was supply-limited. Using these results to inform a preliminary study using a blowing-snow model, we show that over the entire Southern Ocean approximately half of the precipitation over sea ice could be lost to leads.

Estimating soil-water flow during ground freezing is important for understanding factors affecting spring farming, soil microbial activity below the frozen soil, and permafrost thawing behavior. In this study, we performed a column freezing experiment using three different unsaturated soils (sand, loam and silt loam) to obtain a detailed dataset of temperature, water-content and pressure-head change under freezing conditions. The liquid water content and pressure head in the three soils decreased with decreasing temperature. Three soil temperature stages were found: unfrozen, stagnating near 0˚C and frozen. The temperature and duration of the stagnation stage differed among the soil types. The changes in liquid water content and pressure head during the freezing process were highly dependent on the soil-water retention curve. Water flowed through the frozen area in silt loam and sand, but no water flux was observed in the frozen loam. The freezing soil columns tended to contain more liquid water than estimated from retention curves measured at room temperature, especially at the early stage of freezing.

High-resolution chemical records from an 80.4m ice core from the central Himalaya demonstrate climatic and environmental changes since 1844. the chronological net accumulation series shows a sharp decrease from the mid-1950s, which is coincident with the widely observed glacier retreat. A negative correlation is found between the ice-core δ18O record and the monsoon precipitation for Indian region 7. the temporal variation of the terrestrial ions (Ca2+ and Mg2+) is controlled by both the monsoon precipitation for Indian regions 3,7 and 8, located directly south and west of the Himalaya, and the dust-storm duration and frequency in the northern arid regions, such as the Taklimakan desert, China. the NH4+ profile is fairly flat until the 1940s, then substantially increases until the end of the 1980s, with a slight decrease during the 1990s which may reflect new agricultural practices. the SO42– and NO3– profiles show an apparent increasing trend, especially during the period 1940s–80s. Moreover, SO42– concentrations for the East Rongbuk Glacier core are roughly double that of the nearby Dasuopu core at Xixabangma, Himalaya, due to local human activity including that of climbing teams who use gasoline for cooking, energy and transport.

Despite its large area covered by glaciers and ice caps, detailed glacier inventory data are not yet available for most parts of Baffin Island, Canada. Automated classification of satellite data could help to overcome the data gaps. Along-track stereo sensors allow the derivation of a digital elevation model (DEM) and glacier outlines from the same point in time, and are particularly useful for this task. While part I of this study describes the remote-sensing methods, in part II we present an analysis of the derived glacier inventory data for 662 glaciers and an application to glacier volume and volume-change calculations. Among other things, the analysis reveals a mean glacier elevation of 990 m, with a weak dependence on aspect and a close agreement of the arithmetic mean with the statistical mean elevation as derived from the DEM. A strong scatter of mean slope is observed for glaciers <1 km2, and the derived glacier thickness differs by a factor of two for glaciers of the same size. For the period from about 1920 to 2000 the relative area change is –12.5% (264 glaciers), with a strong dependence on glacier size. Mean mass loss as derived from volume changes is about –0.15 mw.e. a–1.

A long-standing problem in avalanche dynamics is to model the flow of a mixed flowing/powder avalanche. Here we use the thermodynamic concept of configurational energy to describe the blow-out of air from the avalanche core. Configurational energy is the mean potential energy associated with the location of snow and ice particles in the avalanche core. As such, configurational energy determines the avalanche flow density. Expansion of the particle ensemble reduces the flow density and leads to the intake of air. Compression of the particle ensemble causes the blow-out of the intaken air, now laden with ice dust. Once formed, the cloud moves independently of the flowing avalanche with the initial momentum acquired in the core. Configurational energy changes in the avalanche core are therefore intimately related to the formation of the powder suspension cloud. In this paper we use the concept of configurational energy to predict the mass of air taken into and blown out of the core. This requires calculating the dispersive pressure arising from random particle movements and configuration changes related to the expansion and collapse of the flowing particle ensemble. The ice avalanche that struck the Everest base camp on 25 April 2015 is simulated using the proposed concept.

Basal ice at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet was studied with respect to its physical characteristics and microbiological community. The basal ice contained high concentrations of dissolved ferrous Fe and must therefore be anoxic. Oxygen consumption experiments indicate that 50% of the oxidation was due to biological activity while the rest could be attributed to chemical processes, most likely weathering reactions with ferrous Fe. At least six different Fe-containing mineral sources were detected in basal ice together with potential bioavailable Fe nanoparticles. An active denitrifier population was identified due to formation of 30N-dinitrogen gas after amendment of anoxic sediment slurries with 15N-NO3−. Sulfate reduction could not be detected. The solid ice facies contained an abundant (∼108 cells cm−3) and complex microbial community that harbored representatives of at least eight major phyla within the domain Bacteria. The clone library was dominated by members of the β-subdivision of proteobacteria of which the largest proportion was affiliated to the genus Rhodoferax that comprises facultative aerobic iron reducers. The second most abundant phylum was Bacteroidetes. The solid ice facies had many physical similarities with the overlying debris-rich banded ice facies, indicating that they formed by similar subglacial processes and harbor similar microbial communities. This study extends our knowledge of life in subglacial environments such as beneath ice sheets. GenBank accession numbers: HM439882-HM439950; HQ144215-HQ144221.

Icebergs calved from tidewater glaciers represent about one third to one half of the freshwater flux from the Greenland ice sheet to the surrounding ocean. Using multiple satellite datasets, we quantify the first fjord-wide distributions of iceberg sizes and characteristics for three fjords with distinct hydrography and geometry: Sermilik Fjord, Rink Isbræ Fjord and Kangerlussuup Sermia Fjord. We estimate average total iceberg volumes in summer in the three fjords to be 6.4 ± 1.5, 1.7 ± 0.40 and 0.16 ± 0.09 km3, respectively. Iceberg properties are influenced by glacier calving style and grounding line depth, with variations in size distribution represented by exponents of power law distributions that are −1.95 ± 0.06, −1.87 ± 0.05 and −1.62 ± 0.04, respectively. The underwater surface area of icebergs exceeds the subsurface area of glacial termini by at least one order of magnitude in all three fjords, underscoring the need to include iceberg melt in fjord freshwater budgets. Indeed, in Sermilik Fjord, we calculate summertime freshwater flux from iceberg melt of 620 m3 s−1 (±140 m3 s−1), similar in magnitude to subglacial discharge. The method developed here can be extended across Greenland to assess relationships between glacier calving, iceberg discharge and freshwater production.

With rapid and accelerated Arctic sea-ice loss, it is beneficial to update and baseline historical change on the regional scales from a consistent, intercalibrated, long-term time series of sea-ice data for understanding regional vulnerability and monitoring ice state for climate adaptation and risk mitigation. In this paper, monthly sea-ice extents (SIEs) derived from a passive microwave sea-ice concentration climate data record for the period of 1979–2015, are used to examine Arctic-wide and regional temporal variability of sea-ice cover and their decadal trends for 15 regions of the Arctic. Three unique types of SIE annual cycles are described. Regions of vulnerability within each of three types to further warming are identified. For the Arctic as a whole, the analysis has found significant changes in both annual SIE maximum and minimum, with −2.41 ± 0.56% per decade and −13.5 ± 2.93% per decade change relative to the 1979–2015 climate average, respectively. On the regional scale, the calculated trends for the annual SIE maximum range from +2.48 to −10.8% decade−1, while the trends for the annual SIE minimum range from 0 to up to −42% decade−1.

The Katla caldera is located under the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap and is one of the most hazardous volcanoes in Iceland due to major jökulhlaups that accompany eruptions. Subglacial geothermal activity is manifested in several 10–50m deep depressions (ice cauldrons) within and at the caldera rim and the total geothermal heat output is of the order of a few hundred megawatts. A short-lived but powerful pulse in geothermal heat output took place in 1999, probably including a minor subglacial eruption, when new ice cauldrons formed in three places and an unexpected jökulhlaup occurred. Following these events, a comprehensive monitoring program was set up for Katla, including ice surface elevation profiling from aircraft, to monitor variations in geothermal heat and detect signs of subglacial water accumulation. A radar altimeter coupled with a kinematic GPS is used, achieving an absolute elevation accuracy of 3m and internal consistency of 1–2 m. Profiles across the caldera are flown twice a year. An annual accumulation-ablation cycle in surface elevation with amplitude of 5–10m is observed. By removing this cycle from the data, changes due to subglacial geothermal activity are obtained. After the events in 1999, a decline in geothermal activity was observed. In 2001–03 some ice cauldrons expanded and deepened by 10–15 m, indicating renewed increase in geothermal activity. This trend is also apparent for 2003–05. The increase in geothermal power amounts to a few tens of megawatts. It is likely that the increased thermal output is related to increased seismicity and caused by magma inflow.

To simulate a glacial lake outburst flood, we employ a comprehensive physically based general two-phase mass flow model (Pudasaini, 2012). This model accounts for a strong interaction between the solid and fluid phases and incorporates buoyancy and other dominant physical aspects of the mass flows such as enhanced non-Newtonian viscous stress, virtual mass force and generalized drag. Our real two-phase mass flow simulation describes explicit evolution of the solid and fluid phases and the debris bulk as a whole, akin to torrential debris flows or debris floods during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). The emptying of a lake following rapid collapse of a restraining dam, the consequent downslope motion of a mixed solid–fluid mass, and the tendency of the mass to form extruding plumes are analyzed in detail for different flow configurations, volumes, conduit geometries and boundary conditions. The solid and fluid phases evolve completely differently and reveal fundamentally different dynamical behaviours. During the flow, the relatively long fluid tail follows the solid-rich dense frontal surge head. The bulk debris develops into a frontal and side levee as derived from the initial frontal moraine dam. Results show that our high-resolution, unified simulation strategies and the advanced model equations can be applied to study the flow dynamics of a wide range of geophysical mass flows such as snow and rock–ice avalanches, debris flows and flash floods as well as GLOFs. This may help substantially in forming a basis for appropriate mitigation measures against potential natural hazards in high mountain slopes and valleys.