Investigating meltwater flow beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet using a multi-tracer approach
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Geosciences
Abstract
See lead proposal - Bristol University
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Peter Nienow (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bagshaw E
(2012)
E-tracers: Development of a low cost wireless technique for exploring sub-surface hydrological systems
in Hydrological Processes
Chandler D
(2013)
Evolution of the subglacial drainage system beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet revealed by tracers
in Nature Geoscience
COWTON T
(2016)
Variability in ice motion at a land-terminating Greenlandic outlet glacier: the role of channelized and distributed drainage systems
in Journal of Glaciology
Cowton T
(2013)
Evolution of drainage system morphology at a land-terminating Greenlandic outlet glacier
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Davison B
(2019)
The Influence of Hydrology on the Dynamics of Land-Terminating Sectors of the Greenland Ice Sheet
in Frontiers in Earth Science
Hawkings J
(2015)
The effect of warming climate on nutrient and solute export from the Greenland Ice Sheet
in Geochemical Perspectives Letters
Hawkings J
(2016)
The Greenland Ice Sheet as a hot spot of phosphorus weathering and export in the Arctic
in Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Hawkings JR
(2014)
Ice sheets as a significant source of highly reactive nanoparticulate iron to the oceans.
in Nature communications
Hawkings JR
(2017)
Ice sheets as a missing source of silica to the polar oceans.
in Nature communications
Linhoff B
(2017)
Utility of 222Rn as a passive tracer of subglacial distributed system drainage
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
| Title | Science advisor for the documentary film 'Aquarela' |
| Description | A film by Aconite Productions and iconic Russian director Victor Kossakovsky about the power, beauty and potentially destructive nature of water in all its forms - with the inevitable links to climate change and environmental warnings. I acted as a scientific (and location) advisor for the glacier and iceberg content of the documentary filmed in Greenland, I am in the credits as a Science Advisor and was invited to the film premier (attending the UK premiere in Glasgow). |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The film premiered at the Venice International film festival. In the UK, it premiered at the Glasgow film festival in Feb 2019. |
| URL | https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/culture/whatson/enjoy-the-wonders-of-nature-in-the-winter/ |
| Description | This information is covered by the return from the main Grant Holder (P.I. Wadham) at Bristol University. |
| Exploitation Route | This information is covered by the return from the main Grant Holder (P.I. Wadham) at Bristol University. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Education Environment |
| Title | Greenland ice motion data |
| Description | The database includes ice velocity data collected as part of this NERC grant and is stored at the Polar Data Centre as Tedstone, A. & Nienow, P. "Ice motion measurements, south-west Greenland Ice Sheet" v2 (2018) Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK. doi:10.5285/1f69fba3-4c62-47ad-8119-08cfeec05e46 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The data is being used by other researchers including citation in: Koziol et al, The Cryosphere, 11, 2783-2797, 2017. Incorporating modelled subglacial hydrology into inversions for basal drag. |
| URL | http://doi.org/ch3p |
| Title | Ice motion measurements, south-west Greenland Ice Sheet |
| Description | From May 2009 to May 2013, seven dual-frequency GPS receivers were deployed along a 120 km-long transect in the south-west of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Two additional dual-frequency GPS receivers were deployed perpendicular to longitudinal ice flow at ~14 km inland: one 5 km distant from June 2011 to May 2013, and another 2.5 km distance from May 2012 to May 2013. Each receiver recorded position observations every 10 seconds or 30 seconds (depending on configuration), enabling resolution of horizontal and vertical ice motion. Sites were powered by solar panels and operated 24 hours a day during summer but shut down in the autumn. Absolute ice displacements at each site were obtained for each summer and winter period in the absence of continuous measurements. Position measurements were kinematically corrected relative to an off-ice base station using TRACK (Chen, 1999). Daily velocities were then obtained by differencing across 24-hour periods, whilst continuous velocities were obtained through application of a sliding 6-hour differencing window. At each GPS site we also measured (1) the near-surface air temperature every 15 minutes year-round, (2) net seasonal ablation using ablation stakes, and (3) at several selected sites melt rates using sonic ranging sensors. This version 1 of the dataset has been succeeded by a new version with ice motion records at 1-day resolution rather than 2-day resolution. In other respects the dataset has not changed. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Title | Ice motion measurements, south-west Greenland Ice Sheet (version 2) |
| Description | From May 2009 to May 2013, seven dual-frequency GPS receivers were deployed along a 120 km-long transect in the south-west of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Two additional dual-frequency GPS receivers were deployed perpendicular to longitudinal ice flow at ~14 km inland: one 5 km distant from June 2011 to May 2013, and another 2.5 km distance from May 2012 to May 2013. Each receiver recorded position observations every 10 seconds or 30 seconds (depending on configuration), enabling resolution of horizontal and vertical ice motion. Sites were powered by solar panels and operated 24 hours a day during summer but shut down in the autumn. Absolute ice displacements at each site were obtained for each summer and winter period in the absence of continuous measurements. Position measurements were kinematically corrected relative to an off-ice base station using TRACK (Chen, 1999). Daily velocities were then obtained by differencing across 24-hour periods, whilst continuous velocities were obtained through application of a sliding 6-hour differencing window. At each GPS site we also measured (1) the near-surface air temperature every 15 minutes year-round, (2) net seasonal ablation using ablation stakes, and (3) at several selected sites melt rates using sonic ranging sensors. This version 2 of the dataset updates the previously 2-day temporal resolution of the ice motion records to 1-day resolution. In other respects the dataset has not changed. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Title | Proglacial discharge measurements, Leverett Glacier, south-west Greenland (2009-2012) |
| Description | Measurements of water discharge, suspended sediment concentration and electrical conductivity during the melt seasons of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 in the proglacial river draining from the tongue of Leverett Glacier, a land-terminating glacier in the south-west of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The measurements were made in a stable bedrock section approximately 2 km downstream from the glacier terminus. Data loggers recorded measurements every 15 minutes from approximately May to August each year. Water depth (stage) was converted to discharge (Q) using season-specific ratings curves derived from repeat dye-dilution injections undertaken across the stage values. Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was obtained by calibrating turbidity sensor readings with sediment samples taken in-situ and then filtered, dried and weighed. Electrical conductivity (EC) was recorded using a water conductivity probe; the data were filtered for bad values and corrected for temperature, but no smoothing was applied. These version 2 files are presented as CSV lists, with some summary metadata included as comments at the start of each file; they essentially contain the same data as the previous version files. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Description | Boat of Garten 'Boat talks' - 'The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk to the series of talks at Boat of Garten entitled 'Boat talks' - 'The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/boat-talks-the-stability-of-the-greenland-ice-sheet-with-professor-pe... |
| Description | Midlothian Science Festival talk at IKEA - 'The Greenland Ice Sheet in a warming world'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | About 30 members of the public attended my talk, 'The Greenland Ice Sheet in a warming world' at IKEA as part of the Midlothian Science Festival. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://midlothiansciencefestival.com/event/climate-change-greenlands-ice-sheet/ |
| Description | Royal Society of Edinburgh - 'Winter Wonders' public event - talk and discussion. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Royal Society of Edinburgh - 'Winter Wonders' public event - talk and discussion. Invited talk with Prof David Sugden whom spoke about Antartica, I spoke about the Greenland Ice Sheet and we discussed and answered questions from the floor. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/culture/whatson/enjoy-the-wonders-of-nature-in-the-winter/ |
| Description | Science advisor to "Aquarela", a cinematic climate science documentary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I contributed expert glacial knowledge to the film/documentary 'Aquarela' on water, ice and climate change - I am acknowledged in the credits and attended the UK premier as a guest |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/11/aquarela-review-victor-kossakovsky-climate-crisis-docum... |
| Description | Talk at Kingussie High School - 'Climate change, ice-sheets and satellites' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at Kingussie High School to their S4 and S5 Geography Higher class - 'Climate change, ice-sheets and satellites' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Talk at a science festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Evening talk at IKEA, Edinburgh as part of the Midlothian Science Festival entitled 'Science in Extreme Conditions'. Talk focussed on investigations of Greenland Ice Sheet stability, especially with respect to the importance of collecting hard won field based data sets to support the science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk to the Probus Club of Lomond, Drymen - 'The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited to give a talk to the Probus Club of Lomond in Drymen, Scotland - talk title 'The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |