ACINN Graduate Seminar - WS 2024/25

2024-12-11 at 12:00 (on-line ONLY)

GEUS cryosphere work in the vicinity of Pituffik, Northwest Greenland

William Colgan

GEUS, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has been undertaking a variety of cryosphere investigations in Northwest Greenland in recent years. In the proglacial area, recent ice retreat has exposed an Early Pleistocene deposit at the base of Pingorsuit Mountain. The macrofossil species assemblage in this Pingorsuit Formation reflects a time when Northwest Greenland was +9°C warmer than present during the Early Pleistocene (>2M years old). At 480 m above sea-level, it is Greenland’s only terrestrial deposit from this period. The thin subglacial beds are now being rapidly eroded by meltwater. In the ice-sheet ablation area, we are monitoring climate and ice via the PROMICE programme. We are currently exploring the effects of surface roughness on surface mass balance, by establishing twin stations in regions of different surface morphology. We also use the logistical ease of accessing the ice-sheet at Pituffik to test new equipment. This includes melt-tip drilling technology to insert deep thermistor strings, which has performed poorly to date. Higher on the ice sheet, in the accumulation area, we have been monitoring the abandoned base at Camp Century. This includes ice-penetrating radar surveys, firn modelling projections, and ice-flow analyses. This has allowed us to assess the depth and spatial distribution of subsurface debris, and conclude that percolating surface meltwater will most likely not interact with the debris field through year 2100. Looking towards the future, GEUS is now exploring ways to adopt overland traverses, instead of chartered aircraft, for accessing ice-sheet science sites in the vicinity of Pituffik. This will lower the carbon footprint of our research, as well as increase our ground time on the ice sheet.

 

 

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