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1.
Our understanding of Lake Vostok, the huge subglacial lake beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, has improved recently through the identification of key physical and chemical interactions between the ice sheet and the lake. The north of the lake, where the overlying ice sheet is thickest, is characterized by subglacial melting, whereas freezing of lake water occurs in the south, resulting in ~210 m of ice accretion to the underside of the ice sheet. The accreted ice contains lower concentrations of the impurities normally found in glacier ice, suggesting a net transfer of material from meltwater into the lake. The small numbers of microbes found so far within the accreted ice have DNA profiles similar to those of contemporary surface microbes. Microbiologists expect, however, that Lake Vostok, and other subglacial lakes, will harbour unique species, particularly within the deeper waters and associated sediments. The extreme environments of subglacial lakes are characterized by high pressures, low temperatures, permanent darkness, limited nutrient availability, and oxygen concentrations that are derived from the ice that provides the meltwater. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

2.
Subglacial lakes provide unique habitats, but the exact nature of physical and geochemical conditions are still a matter of debate and await direct sampling of water. Due to its isolation from external atmospheric forcing other environmental parameters influence the flow characteristics within the lake. In this study we use an improved treatment of the physical processes at the ice–water boundary interface to identify and quantify the impact of (1) the geothermal heat flux, (2) the heat flux from the lake into the ice, (3) the influence of the salinity of the lake water, and (4) the ice thickness on the size of the freezing area and the freeze/melt rates. We show that the modelled basal mass imbalance (that is the produced melt water minus the re-frozen water) depends on the geothermal heating as well as the heat flux into the ice. The circulation and the temperature distribution within subglacial Lake Vostok are rather stable against variations of geothermal heat flux, heat flux into the ice sheet, salinity of the lake, and small changes of the ice thickness above the lake. However, the flow regime for any subglacial lake with less than 2000 m ice thickness above, will be substantially different from those that experience higher pressures. This is because the buoyancy–temperature relationship reverses at this depth.  相似文献   

3.
Lake Vostok, isolated from direct exchange with the atmosphere by about 4 km of ice for millions of years, provides a unique environment. This inaccessibility raises the importance of numerical models to investigate the physical conditions within the lake. Using a three-dimensional numerical model and the best available geometry, we test different parameter settings to define a standard model configuration suitable for studying flow in this subglacial lake. From our model runs we find a baroclinic circulation within the lake that splits into three different parts: Along a topographic ridge in the northern part of Lake Vostok, bottom water masses are transported eastward, diverging away from the ridge. In the lake’s surface layer, the flow in these two vertical overturning cells has opposite directions. In the southern part of the lake, where freezing occurs across about 3,500 km2, two opposing gyres split the water column vertically. The general flow is stronger in the southern basin with horizontal velocities in the order of 1 mm/s. The strongest upwelling, found in the eastern part of this basin, is about 25 μm/s. We estimate the lower limit of the overturning timescale to be about 2.5 years vertically and 8.6 years horizontally. The basal mass loss of ice from the ice sheet floating on the lake is 5.6 mm/year (equivalent to a fresh water flux of 2.78 m3/s, or a basal ice loss of 0.09 km3/year). This imbalance indicates either a constant growth of the lake or its continuous (or periodical) discharge into a subglacial drainage system.  相似文献   

4.
Lake Vostok, located beneath more than 4 km of ice in the middle of East Antarctica, is a unique subglacial habitat and may contain microorganisms with distinct adaptations to such an extreme environment. Melting and freezing at the base of the ice sheet, which slowly flows across the lake, controls the flux of water, biota and sediment particles through the lake. The influx of thermal energy, however, is limited to contributions from below. Thus the geological origin of Lake Vostok is a critical boundary condition for the subglacial ecosystem. We present the first comprehensive maps of ice surface, ice thickness and subglacial topography around Lake Vostok. The ice flow across the lake and the landscape setting are closely linked to the geological origin of Lake Vostok. Our data show that Lake Vostok is located along a major geological boundary. Magnetic and gravity data are distinct east and west of the lake, as is the roughness of the subglacial topography. The physiographic setting of the lake has important consequences for the ice flow and thus the melting and freezing pattern and the lake’s circulation. Lake Vostok is a tectonically controlled subglacial lake. The tectonic processes provided the space for a unique habitat and recent minor tectonic activity could have the potential to introduce small, but significant amounts of thermal energy into the lake.  相似文献   

5.
Detailed facies analysis of hyaloclastites and associated lavas from eight table mountains and similar "hyaloclastite volcanoes" in the Icelandic rift zone contradict a rapid and continuous, "monogenetic", entirely subglacial evolution of most volcanoes studied. The majority of the exposed hyaloclastite deposits formed in large, stable lakes as indicated by widespread, up to 300-m-thick, continuous sections of deep water, shallow water and emergent facies. Salient features include extensively layered or bedded successions comprising mainly debris flow deposits, turbidites, base surge and fallout deposits consisting of texturally and compositionally variable, slightly altered hyaloclastites, as well as sheet and pillow lavas. In contrast, chaotic assemblages of coarser-grained, more poorly sorted and more strongly palagonitized hyaloclastite tuffs and breccias, as well as scoria and lava are interpreted to have formed under sub- or englacial conditions in small, chimney-like ice cavities or ice-bound lakes. Irregularly shaped and erratically arranged hyaloclastite bodies produced at variable water levels appear to have resulted mainly from rapid changes of the eruptive environment due to repeated build-up and drainage of ice-bound lakes as well as the restricted space between the ice walls. We distinguish a "deep water" facies formed during high water levels of the lake, a hydroclastic shallow water and emergent facies (leakage of the lake or growth of the volcano above the water surface). Our model implies the temporary existence of large, stable lakes in Iceland probably formed by climatically induced ice melting. The highly complex edifices of many table mountains and similar volcanoes were constructed during several eruptive periods in changing environments characterized by contrasting volcanic and sedimentary processes. Received: 10 June 1997 / Accepted: 28 July 1998  相似文献   

6.
We present a geoid model for the area of Lake Vostok, Antarctica, from a combination of local airborne gravity, ice-surface and ice-thickness data and a lake bathymetry model. The topography data are used for residual terrain modeling (RTM) in a remove–restore approach together with GOCE satellite data. The quasigeoid is predicted by least-squares collocation (LSC) and subsequently converted to geoid heights. Special aspects of that method in presence of an ice sheet are discussed.It is well known that a body freely floating in water is in a state of hydrostatic equilibrium (HE). This usually applies, e.g., to ice shelves or sea ice. However, it has been shown that this is valid also for the ice sheet covering the subglacial Lake Vostok. Thus, we demonstrate the use of such a refined regional geoid model for glaciological and geophysical applications by means of the HE surface of that lake. The mean quadratic residual geoid signal (0.56 m) w.r.t. the GOCE background model exceeds the residual variations of the estimated apparent lake level (ALL) (0.26 m) within the central part of the lake. An approach considering the actual geopotential at the ALL has been derived and subsequently applied. In this context, downward continuation of the potential field within the ice sheet as well as the latitudinal tilt of off-geoid equipotential surfaces are discussed. In view of the accuracy of the ice-thickness measurements that dominate the total error budget of the estimated ALL these effects are negligible. Thus, the HE surface of subglacial lakes may safely be described by a constant height bias in small-scale regional applications. However, field continuation is significant with respect to the formal uncertainty of the quasigeoid, which is at the level of 5 cm given that accurate airborne gravity data (±2 mGal) are available.  相似文献   

7.
As fundamental parameters of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, ice thickness and subglacial topography are critical factors for studying the basal conditions and mass balance in Antarctica. During CHINARE 24 (the 24th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition, 2007/08), the research team used a deep ice-penetrating radar system to measure the ice thickness and subglacial topography of the “Chinese Wall” around Kunlun Station, East Antarctica. Preliminary results show that the ice thickness varies mostly from 1600 m to 2800 m along the “Chinese Wall”, with the thickest ice being 3444 m, and the thinnest ice 1255 m. The average bedrock elevation is 1722 m, while the minimum is just 604 m. Compared with the northern side of the ice divide, the ice thickness is a little greater and the subglacial topography lower on the southern side, which is also characterized by four deep valleys. We found no basal freeze-on ice in the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains area, subglacial lakes, or water bodies along the “Chinese Wall”. Ice thickness and subglacial topography data extracted from the Bedmap 2 database along the “Chinese Wall” are consistent with our results, but their resolution and accuracy are very limited in areas where the bedrock fluctuates intensely. The distribution of ice thickness and subglacial topography detected by ice-penetrating radar clarifies the features of the ice sheet in this “inaccessible” region. These results will help to advance the study of ice sheet dynamics and the determination of future locations of the GSM’s geological and deep ice core drilling sites in the Dome A region.  相似文献   

8.
Numerical experiments suggest that the last glaciation severely affected the upper lithosphere groundwater system in NW Poland: primarily its flow pattern, velocities and fluxes. We have simulated subglacial groundwater flow in two and three spatial dimensions using finite difference codes for steady‐state and transient conditions. The results show how profoundly the ice sheet modifies groundwater pressure heads beneath and some distance beyond the ice margin. All model runs show water discharge at the ice forefield driven by ice‐sheet‐thickness‐modulated, down‐ice‐decreasing hydraulic heads. In relation to non‐glacial times, the transient 3D model shows significant changes in the groundwater flow directions in a regionally extensive aquifer ca. 90 m below the ice–bed interface and up to 40 km in front of the glacier. Comparison with empirical data suggests that, depending on the model run, only between 5 and 24% of the meltwater formed at the ice sole drained through the bed as groundwater. This is consistent with field observations documenting abundant occurrence of tunnel valleys, indicating that the remaining portion of basal meltwater was evacuated through a channelized subglacial drainage system. Groundwater flow simulation suggests that in areas of very low hydraulic conductivity and adverse subglacial slopes water ponding at the ice sole was likely. In these areas the relief shows distinct palaeo‐ice lobes, indicating fast ice flow, possibly triggered by the undrained water at the ice–bed interface. Owing to the abundance of low‐permeability strata in the bed, the simulated groundwater flow depth is less than ca. 200 m. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
Both the inflow and outflow of supra‐permafrost water to lakes play important roles in the hydrologic process of thermokarst lakes. The accompanying thermal effects on the adjacent permafrost are required for assessing their influences on the development of thermokarst lakes. For these purposes, the lake water level, temperature dynamics, and supra‐permafrost water flow of a lake were monitored on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. In addition, the spatial and temporal variation of the active layer thickness and permafrost distribution around the lake were investigated by combining ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography, and borehole temperature monitoring. The results revealed that the yearly unfrozen supra‐permafrost water flow around the lake lasted approximately 5 months. The temperature and water level measurements during this period indicate that the lake water was recharged by relatively colder supra‐permafrost water from the north‐western lakeshore and was discharged through the eastern lakeshore. This process, accompanied by heat exchange with the underlying permafrost, might cause a directional difference of the active layer thickness and permafrost characteristics around the lake. Specifically, the active layer thickness variation was minimal, and the ice‐rich permafrost was found adjacent to the lakeshore along the recharge groundwater pathways, whereas a deeper active layer and ice‐poor permafrost were observed close to the lakeshore from which the warm lake water was discharged. This study suggests that the lateral flow of warm lake water can be a major driver for the rapid expansion of thermokarst lakes and provides clues for evaluating the relationships between the thermokarst expansion process and climate warming.  相似文献   

10.
Interpretation of new ice core data and reappraisal of existing data, both from the basal part of the Vostok ice core, give strong support to a kind of thermohaline circulation in Lake Vostok. Although the salinity of the lake is considered as weak (less than 1‰), the prominent influence of salinity at high pressure and low temperature on water density makes such a circulation possible. As a consequence, subglacial melting along the northern shores of the lake is balanced, further south, by frazil ice production in the upper water column, its accretion and consolidation at the ice–water interface followed by accreted ice export out of the system together with the southeasterly glacier flow. The dynamics of the system is documented by a stable water isotope budget estimate, by inferences concerning accreted ice formation and by an investigation of ice properties at the transition between meteoric ice and accreted ice. This complex behaviour is the controlling factor on water, biota and sediment fluxes in the lake environment.  相似文献   

11.
Proglacial icings are one of the most common forms of extrusive ice found in the Canadian Arctic. However, the icing adjacent to Fountain Glacier, Bylot Island, is unique due to its annual cycle of growth and decay, and perennial existence without involving freezing point depression of water due to chemical characteristics. Its regeneration depends on the availability of subglacial water and on the balance between ice accretion and hydro‐thermal erosion. The storage and conduction of the glacial meltwater involved in the accretion of the icing were analyzed by conducting topographic and ground penetrating radar surveys in addition to the modelling of the subglacial drainage network and the thermal characteristics of the glacier base. The reflection power analysis of the geophysical data shows that some areas of the lower ablation zone have a high accumulation of liquid water, particularly beneath the centre part of the glacier along the main supraglacial stream. A dielectric permittivity model of the glacier – sediment interface suggests that a considerable portion of the glacier is warm based; allowing water to flow through unfrozen subglacial sediments towards the proglacial outwash plain. All these glacier‐related characteristics contribute to the annual regeneration of the proglacial icing and allow for portions of the icing to be perennial. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

12.
The hydraulic properties of lake beds control the interactions between lakes and ground water systems, but these properties are normally difficult to measure directly. The authors'method combines seismic reflection and electrical measurements to map the relative hydraulic conductivity of lake bed sediments. A shipboard seismic profiling system provides sediment thickness, while a towed electrical array yields longitudinal conductance and electrical chargeability. The sediment's leakance (hydraulic conductivity/thickness) can be calculated from the longitudinal conductance data. Leakance may then be converted to relative hydraulic conductivity through the seismically derived sediment thicknesses. Simultaneously acquired electrical chargeability provides an independent measure of clay content. The seismic and electrical systems are computer automated and yield production rates of approximately five line-kilometers/hour or 300 electrical soundings/hour. The systems provide continuous hydraulic information along the ship track rather than the point information derived from coring.
The procedure and systems have been used to map the bed of Lake Michigan offshore from an area of heavy pumpage. This location has been chosen to test the method because lake water has intruded the aquifer in plumes largely controlled by lake bed hydraulics. Mapping these plumes onshore permits the inference of the spatial distribution of offshore hydraulic conductivities. Offshore seepage measurements and numerical, chemical transport modeling of this site have confirmed the reliability of the geophysically derived hydraulic conductivities and have also demonstrated the improvement in numerical results achieved through the availability of spatially determined hydraulic conductivities.  相似文献   

13.
Near-surface processes on glaciers, including water flow over bare ice and through seasonal snow and firn, have a significant effect on the speed, volume and chemistry of water flow through the glacier. The transient nature of the seasonal snow profoundly affects the water discharge and chemistry. Water flow through snow is fairly slow compared with flow over bare ice and a thinning snowpack on a glacier decreases the delay between peak meltwater input and peak stream discharge. Furthermore, early spring melt flushes the snowpack of solutes and by mid-summer the melt water flowing into the glacier is fairly clean by comparison. The firn, a relatively constant feature of glaciers, attenuates variations in water drainage into the glacier by temporarily storing water in saturated layer. Bare ice exerts opposite influences by accentuating variations in runoff by water flowing over the ice surface. The melt of firn and ice contributes relatively clean (solute-free) water to the glacier water system.  相似文献   

14.
Chen's technique of computing synthetic seismograms,which decomposes every vector with a set of basis of orthogonality and completeness before applying the Luco-Apsel-Chen(LAC)generalized reflection and transmission coefficients method,is confirmed to be efficient in dealing with elastic waves in multi-layered media and accurate in any frequency range.In this article,we extend Chen's technique to the computation of coupled seismic and electromagnetic(EM)waves in layered porous media.Expanding the involved mechanical and electromagnetic fields by a set of scalar and vector wave-function basis,we obtain the fundamental equations which are subsequently solved by using a recently developed version of the LAC generalized reflection and transmission coefficients method.Our approach and corresponding program is validated by reciprocity tests.We also show a numerical example of a two-layer model with an explosion source.The P-to-EM conversion waves radiated from the interface may have potential application.  相似文献   

15.
Previous discussions of the catastrophic drainage of ice-dammed lakes have centred on mechanisms where characteristics of the lake are crucial to drainage initiation, for example dam flotation or tunnel formation at a critical lake depth. This paper describes a mechanism for lake drainage where drainage initiation depends on the characteristics of the glacier and is independent of the characteristics of the lake. Prediction of this mechanism must be based on glacier dynamics, whereas the mechanisms most commonly discussed previously are best predicted primarily on the basis of lake evolution. An ice-dammed lake at the margin of the glacier Solheimajokull, in southern Iceland, was observed to drain rapidly into the sub- or englacial drainage system, supplying water and debris to the bed or interior of the glacier. Geomorphological evidence suggests that the lake drains and refills periodically, discharging up to 13300 m3 of water into the glacier-hydrological system. The depth of the maximum lake is insufficient to cause either flotation of the ice margin or tunnel opening by plastic deformation of the ice, and we suggest that sudden drainage is related to ice-bed separations associated with specific glacier flow states rather than to a critical lake depth threshold. This mechanism of lake drainage has implications for conditions at the glacier bed, for the development of basal ice and for the entrainment of debris into the glacier, as well as for the prediction of potentially hazardous catastrophic drainage events and jokulhlaups from ice-dammed lakes.  相似文献   

16.
This work is devoted to the problem of localizing the 14C cosmogenic radionuclide in a firn layer covering glaciers. The data on 14C in ice samples from the GISP2 ice core drilled on a Greenland ice dome (Summit) are analyzed. It has been indicated that experimental values of the 14C concentration are systematically smaller than theoretically calculated values, which indicates that firn grains partially lose 14C. Diffusion of cosmogenic 14C in firn grains and hydration of 14CO2 in a disordered ice layer, which is formed on a firn grain surface and at the boundary between ice monocrystals, are considered. It has been indicated that these processes are among the main ones responsible for the level of radiocarbon concentration in firn and ice samples.  相似文献   

17.
利用2003~2008年间的ICESat卫星激光测高数据,通过块域交叉点分析提取南极大陆冰盖表面高程变化信息,同时探讨了卫星激光测高不同任务间的系统偏差,结合冰盖地表粒雪密度模型探测南极大陆冰盖质量变化,并对其原因做了初步分析.结果显示南极大陆冰盖高度变化具有明显的年周期信号,平均周年振幅为2.21 cm.在南极大陆的...  相似文献   

18.
To better understand the linkage between lake area change, permafrost conditions and intra‐annual and inter‐annual variability in climate, we explored the temporal and spatial patterns of lake area changes for a 422 382‐ha study area within Yukon Flats, Alaska using Landsat images of 17 dates between 1984 and 2009. Only closed basin lakes were used in this study. Among the 3529 lakes greater than 1 ha, closed basin lakes accounted for 65% by number and 50% by area. A multiple linear regression model was built to quantify the temporal change in total lake area with consideration of its intra‐annual and inter‐annual variability. The results showed that 80.7% of lake area variability was attributed to intra‐annual and inter‐annual variability in local water balance and mean temperature since snowmelt (interpreted as a proxy for seasonal thaw depth). Another 14.3% was associated with long‐term change. Among 2280 lakes, 350 lakes shrank, and 103 lakes expanded. The lakes with similar change trends formed distinct clusters, so did the lakes with similar short term intra‐annual and inter‐annual variability. By analysing potential factors driving lake area changes including evaporation, precipitation, indicators for regional permafrost change, and flooding, we found that ice‐jam flooding events were the most likely explanation for the observed temporal pattern. In addition to changes in the frequency of ice jam flooding events, the observed changes of individual lakes may be influenced by local variability in permafrost distributions and/or degradation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

19.
Bulk runoff and meteorological data suggest the occurrence of two meltwater outburst events at Finsterwalderbreen, Svalbard, during the 1995 and 1999 melt seasons. Increased bulk meltwater concentrations of Cl? during the outbursts indicate the release of snowmelt from storage. Bulk meltwater hydrochemical data and suspended sediment concentrations suggest that this snowmelt accessed a chemical weathering environment characterized by high rock:water ratios and long rock–water contact times. This is consistent with a subglacial origin. The trigger for both the 1995 and 1999 outbursts is believed to be high rates of surface meltwater production and the oversupply of meltwater to areas of the glacier bed that were at the pressure melting point, but which were unconnected to the main subglacial drainage network. An increase in subglacial water pressure to above the overburden pressure lead to the forcing of a hydrological connection between the expanding subglacial reservoir and the ice‐marginal channelized system. The purging of ice blocks from the glacier during the outbursts may indicate the breach of an ice dam during connection. Although subglacial meltwater issued continually from the glacier terminus via a subglacial upwelling during both melt seasons, field observations showed outburst meltwaters were released solely via an ice‐marginal channel. It is possible that outburst events are a seasonal phenomenon at this glacier and reflect the periodic drainage of meltwaters from the same subglacial reservoir from year to year. However, the location of this reservoir is uncertain. A 100 m high bedrock ridge traverses the glacier 6·5 km from its terminus. The overdeepened area up‐glacier from this is the most probable site for subglacial meltwater accumulation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

20.
We consider the thermodynamic and fluid dynamic processes that occur during subglacial effusive eruptions. Subglacial eruptions typically generate catastrophic floods (jökulhlaups) due to melting of ice by lava and generation of a large water cavity. We consider the heat transfer from basaltic and rhyolitic lava eruptions to the ice for typical ranges of magma discharge and geometry of subglacial lavas in Iceland. Our analysis shows that the heat flux out of cooling lava is large enough to sustain vigorous natural convection in the surrounding meltwater. In subglacial eruptions the temperature difference driving convection is in the range 10–100??°C. Average temperature of the meltwater must exceed 4??°C and is usually substantially greater. We calculate melting rates of the walls of the ice cavity in the range 1–40?m/day, indicating that large subglacial lakes can form rapidly as observed in the 1918 eruption of Katla and the 1996 eruption of Gjálp fissure in Vatnajökull. The volume changes associated with subglacial eruptions can cause large pressure changes in the developing ice cavity. These pressure changes can be much larger than those associated with variation of bedrock and glacier surface topography. Previous models of water-cavity stability based on hydrostatic and equilibrium conditions may not be applicable to water cavities produced rapidly in volcanic eruptions. Energy released by cooling of basaltic lava at the temperature of 1200??°C results in a volume deficiency due to volume difference between ice and water, provided that heat exchange efficiency is greater than approximately 80%. A negative pressure change inhibits escape of water, allowing large cavities to build up. Rhyolitic eruptions and basaltic eruptions, with less than approximately 80% heat exchange efficiency, cause positive pressure changes promoting continual escape of meltwater. The pressure changes in the water cavity can cause surface deformation of the ice. Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the development of a water cavity by melting ice from a finite source area at its base. The results confirm that the water cavity develops by convective heat transfer.  相似文献   

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