Seasonal speed-up of large Greenland marine-terminating outlet glacier related to surface melt-induced changes in subglacial hydrology

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has experienced increased rates of mass loss over the last decade due to increased surface melt and runoff and accelerated ice discharge. Two principal links between climate and ice discharge have been proposed. The first suggests that changes at the calving front of marine-terminating glaciers reduce resistive forces resulting in glacier acceleration and thinning or ‘draw-down’, while the second postulates that increased surface melt reaches the ice sheet bed locally and causes enhanced basal sliding, again leading to draw-down. Marine-terminating GrIS outlet glaciers generally display less sensitivity to variations in surface meltwater availability. Seasonal velocity variations have previously been explained by variations in calving rates due to the break up of the seasonal ice mélange or the ungrounding of ice near the terminus. Here we present sub-daily GPS ice velocity, surface lowering and air temperature measurements spanning the 2009 melt season along a flow line of Kangiata Nunata Sermia (KNS), the largest marine-terminating outlet glacier in South West Greenland. Surface velocity was measured at four GPS sites located 32-76 km from the calving front. A timelapse camera was installed with a field of view encompassing the calving terminus of KNS. The seasonal growth and drainage of supra-glacial lakes within the catchment was identified from MODIS imagery. The GPS data show multiple 2- to 12- day speed up events, often coincident with surface uplift, superimposed on a period of generally elevated velocity lasting 2 to 3 months. Reductions in lake volume were coincident with speed-up events at the nearby GPS sites providing strong evidence that these lakes drained to the glacier bed. These large volumes of meltwater were interpreted to be input to an inefficient, distributed drainage system creating episodes of high subglacial water pressure, hydraulic jacking and enhanced basal sliding. We conclude that between 36 km and 72 km from its calving front seasonal variations in ice velocity at KNS are principally related to surface melt induced changes in subglacial hydrology rather than changes at the calving front.