Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland
<p>Subglacial discharge has significant impacts on water circulation, material transport, and biological productivity in proglacial fjords of Greenland. To help clarify the fjord water properties and the effect of subglacial discharge, we investigated the properties of vertical water mass prof...
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doaj-681dfc8d64e94888b2a057e84cf71ac62020-11-25T02:02:17ZengCopernicus PublicationsOcean Science1812-07841812-07922020-05-011654556410.5194/os-16-545-2020Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern GreenlandY. Ohashi0S. Aoki1Y. Matsumura2S. Sugiyama3S. Sugiyama4N. Kanna5D. Sakakibara6Department of Ocean Sciences, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, 108-8477, JapanInstitute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0819, JapanAtmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, 277-8564, JapanInstitute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0819, JapanArctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 001-0021, JapanArctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 001-0021, JapanArctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 001-0021, Japan<p>Subglacial discharge has significant impacts on water circulation, material transport, and biological productivity in proglacial fjords of Greenland. To help clarify the fjord water properties and the effect of subglacial discharge, we investigated the properties of vertical water mass profiles of Bowdoin Fjord in northwestern Greenland based on summer hydrographic observations, including turbidity, in 2014 and 2016. We estimated the fraction of subglacial discharge from the observational data and interpreted the observed differences in subglacial plume behavior between two summer seasons with the numerical model results. At a depth of 15–40 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>, where the most turbid water was observed, the maximum subglacial discharge fractions near the ice front were estimated to be <span class="inline-formula">∼6</span> % in 2014 and <span class="inline-formula">∼4</span> % in 2016. The higher discharge fraction in 2014 was likely due to stronger stratification, as suggested by the numerical experiments performed with different initial stratifications. Turbidity near the surface was higher in 2016 than in 2014, suggesting a stronger influence of turbid subglacial discharge. The higher turbidity in 2016 could primarily be attributed to a greater amount of subglacial discharge, as inferred from the numerical experiments forced by different amounts of discharge. This study suggests that both fjord stratification and the amount of discharge are important factors in controlling the vertical distribution of freshwater outflow.</p>https://www.ocean-sci.net/16/545/2020/os-16-545-2020.pdf |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Y. Ohashi S. Aoki Y. Matsumura S. Sugiyama S. Sugiyama N. Kanna D. Sakakibara |
spellingShingle |
Y. Ohashi S. Aoki Y. Matsumura S. Sugiyama S. Sugiyama N. Kanna D. Sakakibara Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland Ocean Science |
author_facet |
Y. Ohashi S. Aoki Y. Matsumura S. Sugiyama S. Sugiyama N. Kanna D. Sakakibara |
author_sort |
Y. Ohashi |
title |
Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland |
title_short |
Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland |
title_full |
Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland |
title_sort |
vertical distribution of water mass properties under the influence of subglacial discharge in bowdoin fjord, northwestern greenland |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
series |
Ocean Science |
issn |
1812-0784 1812-0792 |
publishDate |
2020-05-01 |
description |
<p>Subglacial discharge has significant impacts on water circulation,
material transport, and biological productivity in proglacial fjords of
Greenland. To help clarify the fjord water properties and the effect of
subglacial discharge, we investigated the properties of vertical water mass
profiles of Bowdoin Fjord in northwestern Greenland based on summer
hydrographic observations, including turbidity, in 2014 and 2016. We
estimated the fraction of subglacial discharge from the observational data
and interpreted the observed differences in subglacial plume behavior
between two summer seasons with the numerical model results. At a depth of
15–40 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>, where the most turbid water was observed, the maximum subglacial
discharge fractions near the ice front were estimated to be <span class="inline-formula">∼6</span> % in 2014 and <span class="inline-formula">∼4</span> % in 2016. The higher discharge
fraction in 2014 was likely due to stronger stratification, as suggested by
the numerical experiments performed with different initial stratifications.
Turbidity near the surface was higher in 2016 than in 2014, suggesting a
stronger influence of turbid subglacial discharge. The higher turbidity in
2016 could primarily be attributed to a greater amount of subglacial
discharge, as inferred from the numerical experiments forced by different
amounts of discharge. This study suggests that both fjord stratification and
the amount of discharge are important factors in controlling the vertical
distribution of freshwater outflow.</p> |
url |
https://www.ocean-sci.net/16/545/2020/os-16-545-2020.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT yohashi verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland AT saoki verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland AT ymatsumura verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland AT ssugiyama verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland AT ssugiyama verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland AT nkanna verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland AT dsakakibara verticaldistributionofwatermasspropertiesundertheinfluenceofsubglacialdischargeinbowdoinfjordnorthwesterngreenland |
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1724953971449135104 |