Holocene ice-stream shutdown and drainage basin reconfiguration in northeast Greenland

Steven Franke*, Paul D. Bons, Julien Westhoff, Ilka Weikusat, Tobias Binder, Kyra Streng, Daniel Steinhage, Veit Helm, Olaf Eisen, John D. Paden, Graeme Eagles, Daniela Jansen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)
14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Reliable knowledge of ice discharge dynamics for the Greenland ice sheet via its ice streams is essential if we are to understand its stability under future climate scenarios. Currently active ice streams in Greenland have been well mapped using remote-sensing data while past ice-stream paths in what are now deglaciated regions can be reconstructed from the landforms they left behind. However, little is known about possible former and now defunct ice streams in areas still covered by ice. Here we use radio-echo sounding data to decipher the regional ice-flow history of the northeastern Greenland ice sheet on the basis of its internal stratigraphy. By creating a three-dimensional reconstruction of time-equivalent horizons, we map folds deep below the surface that we then attribute to the deformation caused by now-extinct ice streams. We propose that locally this ancient ice-flow regime was much more focused and reached much farther inland than today's and was deactivated when the main drainage system was reconfigured and relocated southwards. The insight that major ice streams in Greenland might start, shift or abruptly disappear will affect future approaches to understanding and modelling the response of Earth's ice sheets to global warming.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature Geoscience
Volume15
Issue number12
Pages (from-to)995-1001
Number of pages16
ISSN1752-0894
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Dec 2022

Keywords

  • FLOW DIRECTION
  • THERMAL STATE
  • SHEET
  • MODEL
  • STRATIGRAPHY
  • SUSTAIN
  • PATCHES
  • FOLDS

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