Jökulhlaups and sediment transport in Watson River, Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Mikkelsen ◽  
B. Hasholt ◽  
N. T. Knudsen ◽  
M. H. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
High Discharge ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Maximum Discharge ◽  
Annual Discharge ◽  
Gauging Station ◽  
Observation Period ◽  
Englacial Drainage

For 3 years, during a 4-year observation period (2007–2010), jökulhlaups were observed from a lake at the northern margin of Russells Gletscher. At a gauging station located on a bedrock sill near the outlet of Watson River into Sdr Strømfjord, discharge and sediment transport was monitored during the jökulhlaups. The stage rose up to 5.3 m and a maximum discharge of 1,430 m3 s−1 was recorded. The jökulhlaups were very different, indicating varying influences of weather and englacial drainage conditions. Although the jökulhlaups caused high discharge and sediment transport rates, their share of the annual discharge and sediment transport were less than 2%.

Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic orogenic processes: Danish Lithosphere Centre studies of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen, West Greenland

1998 ◽  
pp. 100-110
Author(s):  
Flemming Mengel ◽  
Jeroen A. M. Van Gool ◽  
Eirik Krogstad And the 1997 field crew
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Original Series ◽  
Research Results ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The Third ◽  
Field Season ◽  
Funding Cycle

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Mengel, F., van Gool, J. A. M., & and the 1997 field crewE. K. (1998). Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic orogenic processes: Danish Lithosphere Centre studies of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen, West Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 180, 100-110. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v180.5093 _______________ The Danish Lithosphere Centre (DLC) was established in 1994 and one of its principal objectives in the first five-year funding cycle is the study of Precambrian orogenic processes. This work initially focused on the thermal and tectonic evolution of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen of West Greenland. During the first two field seasons (1994 and 1995) most efforts were concentrated in the southern and central portions of the orogen. The 1997 field season was the third and final in the project in the Nagssugtoqidian orogen and emphasis was placed on the central and northern parts of the orogen in order to complete the lithostructural study of the inner Nordre Strømfjord area and to investigate the northern margin of the orogen (NNO in Fig. 1). This report is partly a review of selected research results obtained since publication of the last Review of Greenland activities (van Gool et al. 1996), and also partly a summary of field activities in Greenland during the summer of 1997.

scholarly journals Emergent stationarity in Yellow River sediment transport and the underlying shift of dominance: from streamflow to vegetation

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 549-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Ye ◽  
Qihua Ran ◽  
Xudong Fu ◽  
Chunhong Hu ◽  
Guangqian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Topographic Characteristics ◽  
The Yellow River Basin ◽  
Annual Scale ◽  
Annual Discharge

Abstract. Soil erosion and sediment transport play important roles in terrestrial landscape evolution and biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and contaminants. Although discharge is considered to be a controlling factor in sediment transport, its correlation with sediment concentration varies across the Yellow River basin (YRB) and is not fully understood. This paper provides analysis from gauges across the YRB covering a range of climates, topographic characteristics, and degrees of human intervention. Our results show that discharge control on sediment transport is dampened at gauges with large mean annual discharge, where sediment concentration becomes more and more stable. This emergent stationarity can be attributed to vegetation resistance. Our analysis shows that sediment concentration follows a bell shape with vegetation index (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) at an annual scale despite heterogeneity in climate and landscape. We obtain the counterintuitive result that, as mean annual discharge increases, the dominant control on sediment transport shifts from streamflow erosion to vegetation retardation in the YRB.

Simulation of the August 1979 sudden discharge of glacier-dammed Flood Lake, British Columbia

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 502-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry K. C. Clarke ◽  
David A. Waldron
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Computer Model ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Peak Discharge ◽  
Maximum Discharge ◽  
Flood Magnitude ◽  
Gauging Station

In August 1979 a glacier outburst from Flood Lake, British Columbia, released 150 × 106 m3 of water. The resulting flood was routed through the Stikine River and yielded a maximum discharge rate of 1200 m3 s−1 at a gauging station 90 km downstream from the glacier dam. We have used a computer model to simulate this outburst in order to test the usefulness of the model as a predictor of flood magnitude. The predicted peak discharge is 2160 m3 s−1 at the outlet tunnel of the ice dam and 1700 m3 s−1 at the gauging station.

scholarly journals Detecting Trends in the Annual Maximum Discharges in the Vah River Basin, Slovakia

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarína Jeneiová ◽  
Silvia Kohnová ◽  
Miroslav Sabo
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Trend Detection ◽  
Trend Test ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
Maximum Discharge ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Level Of Significance ◽  
River Catchments ◽  
Observation Period

Abstract A number of floods have been observed in the Slovak Republic in recent years, thereby raising awareness of and concern about flood risks. The paper focuses on the trend detection in the annual maximum discharge series in the Vah River basin located in Slovak Republic. Analysis was performed on data obtained from 59 gauging stations with minimum lengths of the observations from 40 years to 109 years. Homogeneity of the time series was tested by Alexandersson test for single shift at 5% level of significance. The Mann-Kendall trend test and its correction for autocorrelated data by Hamed and Rao (1998) were used to analyse the significance of detected changes in discharges. The series were analysed at different lengths of 40, 50, 60 years and whole observation period. Statistically significant rising and decreasing trends in the annual maximum discharge series were found in different regions of the Vah River catchments

scholarly journals Hydrogeological characterization of peculiar Apenninic springs

2014 ◽  
Vol 364 ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Cervi ◽  
M. Marcaccio ◽  
F. Petronici ◽  
L. Borgatti
Keyword(s):  
Low Flow ◽  
Spring Discharge ◽  
Balance Assessment ◽  
Groundwater Balance ◽  
High Discharge ◽  
Hydrogeological Characteristics ◽  
Discharge Monitoring ◽  
The One ◽  
Annual Discharge

Abstract. In the northern Apennines of Italy, springs are quite widespread over the slopes. Due to the outcropping of low-permeability geologic units, they are generally characterized by low-yield capacities and high discharge variability during the hydrologic year. In addition, low-flow periods (discharge lower than 1 Ls-1) reflect rainfall and snowmelt distribution and generally occur in summer seasons. These features strongly condition the management for water-supply purposes, making it particularly complex. The "Mulino delle Vene" springs (420 m a.s.l., Reggio Emilia Province, Italy) are one of the largest in the Apennines for mean annual discharge and dynamic storage and are considered as the main water resource in the area. They flow out from several joints and fractures at the bottom of an arenite rock mass outcrop in the vicinity of the Tresinaro River. To date, these springs have not yet been exploited, as the knowledge about the hydrogeological characteristics of the aquifer and their hydrological behaviour is not fully achieved. This study aims to describe the recharge processes and to define the hydrogeological boundaries of the aquifer. It is based on river and spring discharge monitoring and groundwater balance assessment carried out during the period 2012–2013. Results confirm the effectiveness of the approach, as it allowed the total aliquot of discharge of the springs to be assessed. Moreover, by comparing the observed discharge volume with the one calculated with the groundwater balance, the aquifer has been identified with the arenite slab (mean altitude of 580 m a.s.l.), extended about 5.5 km2 and located 1 km west of the monitored springs.

scholarly journals Contrasts between estimates of baseflow help discern multiple sources of water contributing to rivers

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Cartwright ◽  
B. Gilfedder ◽  
H. Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Local Minimum ◽  
Digital Filters ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Chemical Mass Balance ◽  
High Discharge ◽  
Annual Discharge ◽  
Total Discharge ◽  
Recursive Digital Filters

Abstract. This study compares baseflow estimates using chemical mass balance, local minimum methods, and recursive digital filters in the upper reaches of the Barwon River, southeast Australia. During the early stages of high-discharge events, the chemical mass balance overestimates groundwater inflows, probably due to flushing of saline water from wetlands and marshes, soils, or the unsaturated zone. Overall, however, estimates of baseflow from the local minimum and recursive digital filters are higher than those based on chemical mass balance using Cl calculated from continuous electrical conductivity measurements. Between 2001 and 2011, the baseflow contribution to the upper Barwon River calculated using chemical mass balance is between 12 and 25% of the annual discharge with a net baseflow contribution of 16% of total discharge. Recursive digital filters predict higher baseflow contributions of 19 to 52% of discharge annually with a net baseflow contribution between 2001 and 2011 of 35% of total discharge. These estimates are similar to those from the local minimum method (16 to 45% of annual discharge and 26% of total discharge). These differences most probably reflect how the different techniques characterise baseflow. The local minimum and recursive digital filters probably aggregate much of the water from delayed sources as baseflow. However, as many delayed transient water stores (such as bank return flow, floodplain storage, or interflow) are likely to be geochemically similar to surface runoff, chemical mass balance calculations aggregate them with the surface runoff component. The difference between the estimates is greatest following periods of high discharge in winter, implying that these transient stores of water feed the river for several weeks to months at that time. Cl vs. discharge variations during individual flow events also demonstrate that inflows of high-salinity older water occurs on the rising limbs of hydrographs followed by inflows of low-salinity water from the transient stores as discharge falls. The joint use of complementary techniques allows a better understanding of the different components of water that contribute to river flow, which is important for the management and protection of water resources.

Sediment Transport and Geomorphological Change in a High-Discharge Tropical Delta (Magdalena River, Colombia): Insights from a Period of Intense Change and Human Intervention (1990–2010)

2016 ◽  
Vol 319 ◽  
pp. 575-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Camilo Restrepo ◽  
Kerstin Schrottke ◽  
Camille Traini ◽  
Juan Carlos Ortíz ◽  
Andrés Orejarena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
High Discharge ◽  
Magdalena River

scholarly journals A new cycle of jökulhlaups at Russell Glacier, Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (202) ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Russell ◽  
Jonathan L. Carrivick ◽  
Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen ◽  
Jacob C. Yde ◽  
Meredith Williams
Keyword(s):  
Peak Discharge ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Lake Volume ◽  
Significant Attenuation ◽  
Dammed Lake ◽  
Lake Drainage

AbstractJökulhlaups in 2007 and 2008 from an ice-dammed lake at the northern margin of Russell Glacier, West Greenland, marked the onset of a renewed jökulhlaup cycle after 20 years of stability. We present a record of successive ice-dammed lake drainage events and associated ice-margin dynamics spanning ∼25 years. Robust calculations of lake volumes and peak discharges are made, based on intensive field surveys and utilizing high-spatial-resolution orthophotographs of the lake basin and ice margin. These data enable identification of controls on the behaviour of the ice-dammed lake and provide the first field-based examination of controls on jökulhlaup magnitude and frequency for this system. We find that Russell Glacier jökulhlaups have a much higher peak discharge than predicted by the Clague–Mathews relationship, which we attribute to an unusually short englacial/subglacial routeway and the presence of a thin ice dam that permits incomplete sealing of jökulhlaup conduits between lake drainage events. Additionally, we demonstrate that the passage of jökulhlaups through an interlinked system of proglacial bedrock basins produces significant attenuation of peak discharge downstream. We highlight that improved understanding of jökulhlaup dynamics requires accurate information about ice-dammed lake volume and ice-proximal jökulhlaup discharge.

scholarly journals The Palaeoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogen in West Greenland: current status of work by the Danish Lithosphere Centre

1996 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 88-94
Author(s):  
J Van Gool ◽  
M Marker ◽  
F Mengel ◽  
Field party
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Work Related ◽  
The North ◽  
West Greenland Current ◽  
The North Atlantic

The Danish Lithosphere Centre (DLC) has now completed its second season of field work in the Nagssugtoqidian orogen of West Greenland. The work is aimed at studying the orogenic evolution of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen and comparisons with other Early Proterozoic orogens on the northern margin of the North Atlantic Archaean craton (see Larsen, this report). This paper presents the preliminary results from the field work and the current status of laboratory work related to this project.

scholarly journals Multi-decadal retreat of marine-terminating outlet glaciers in northwest and central-west Greenland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taryn E. Black ◽  
Ian Joughin
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Sheet Surface ◽  
The Past ◽  
Glacier Terminus ◽  
Radar Satellite ◽  
Runoff Production ◽  
Observation Period

Abstract. The retreat and acceleration of marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland over the past two decades has been widely attributed to climate change. Here we present a comprehensive annual record of glacier terminus positions in northwest and central-west Greenland and compare it against local and regional climatology to assess the regional sensitivity of glacier termini to different climatic factors. This record is derived from optical and radar satellite imagery and spans 87 marine-terminating outlet glaciers from 1972 through 2021. We find that in this region, most glaciers have retreated over the observation period, and widespread regional retreat accelerated around 1996. The acceleration of glacier retreat coincides with the timing of sharp shifts in ocean surface temperatures, duration of sea-ice season, ice-sheet surface mass balance, and meltwater and runoff production. Our findings suggest that a variety of processes – such as ocean-interface melting, mélange presence and rigidity, and hydrofracture-induced calving – contribute to, but do not conclusively dominate, the observed regional retreat.

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