Exploring controls on ice stream destabilisation during the LGM/Holocene transition in West Greenland

Abstract:

Deglacial chronologies from West Greenland enable investigation of the role of climate and topography in controlling ice stream dynamics. The Uummannaq ice stream system (UIS) in particular has a comprehensive deglacial chronology which, when coupled with geometry, provides a framework for exploring controls on ice stream dynamics under changing climatic conditions. Here, we use a 2D numerical model to simulate grounding line-retreat behaviour and surface thinning in order explore the principal drivers of linear and non-linear ice stream behaviour during the end of the last glacial cycle.

Deglaciation of the UIS began on the outer shelf at ~14.8 ka with ice retreat eastward to Ubekendt Ejland by ~12.4 ka. This initial retreat coincided with increasing air temperature, increasing solar radiation and sea-level rise. Awide, mid-shelf, trough also facilitated rapid retreat. The UIS then withdrew eastward ~ 100 km by ~11.4 ka – 10.8 ka as the northern and southern feeder zones unzipped. This coincided with increasing insolation and peak sea-level, but bathymetric over-deepening and fjord widening were also influential. Staircases of lateral moraines throughout the region point to step-wise thinning as ice retreated between 14.8 - 11.0 ka. By 8.7 ka the southern arm of the UIS had reached Store Gletscher and thereafter it retreated beyond the present day grounding line. This coincided with increased air/ocean temperatures and peak summer insolation. In contrast, the northern arm of the UIS stabilised until ~6.5 ka and became unresponsive to both atmospheric and ocean forcing due to topographic pinning.

New research has adopted a 2D model approach to establish and quantify the relative importance of various mechanisms in governing UIS dynamics. These model results indicate that the non-linear retreat of the UIS is strongly influenced by vertical and lateral constrictions in the marine trough system which regulates grounding line stability. In turn, grounding line stability clearly controls upstream changes in ice surface elevation, and such changes can be linked to lateral moraine staircases which infer slow, incremental thinning along the margins of the UIS at different times. Our findings confirm that topography is a critical factor in modulating ice stream response to climate change over 100-1000 year timescales.