Determining the evolution of an alpine glacier drainage system by solving inverse problems

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License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_2EA1F92FFA4F
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Determining the evolution of an alpine glacier drainage system by solving inverse problems
Journal
Journal of Glaciology
Author(s)
Irarrazaval Inigo, Werder Mauro A., Huss Matthias, Herman Frederic, Mariethoz Gregoire
ISSN
0022-1430
1727-5652
Publication state
Published
Issued date
06/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
67
Number
263
Pages
421-434
Language
english
Abstract
Our understanding of the subglacial drainage system has improved markedly over the last decades due to field observations and numerical modelling. However, integrating data into increasingly complex numerical models remain challenging. Here we infer two-dimensional subglacial channel networks and hydraulic parameters for Gorner Glacier, Switzerland, based on available field data at five specific times (snapshots) across the melt season of 2005. The field dataset is one of the most complete available, including borehole water pressure, tracer experiments and meteorological variables. Yet, these observations are still too sparse to fully characterize the drainage system and thus, a unique solution is neither expected nor desirable. We use a geostatistical generator and a steady-state water flow model to produce a set of subglacial channel networks that are consistent with measured water pressure and tracer-transit times. Field data are used to infer hydraulic and morphological parameters of the channels under the assumption that the location of channels persists during the melt season. Results indicate that it is possible to identify locations where subglacial channels are more likely. In addition, we show that different network structures can equally satisfy the field data, which support the use of a stochastic approach to infer unobserved subglacial features.
Keywords
Glacier modelling, glaciological instruments and methods, subglacial processes
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
10/03/2021 14:18
Last modification date
03/12/2022 6:48
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