Effects of ice-front collapse and flood generation on a proglacial river channel near kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord), west greenland
✍ Scribed by Andrew J. Russell; Frank G. M. Van Tatenhove; Roderik S. W. Van De Wal
- Book ID
- 102862750
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1995
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 962 KB
- Volume
- 9
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6087
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✦ Synopsis
River discharge measurements downstream of the Russell Glacier, near Kangerlussuaq (Ssndre Strsmfjord), West Greenland revealed the occurrence of short-term discharge fluctuations during the 1991 melt season. Frontal ice-cliff collapse results in temporary river damming, producing initial decreases in discharge and subsequent sudden flood peaks on dam failure. Fluctuations are less than two hours in duration, with a maximum discharge fluctuation magnitude of 50 m3 s-l, double that of normal ablation-controlled diurnal fluctuations. As such, these events are exceeded in magnitude only by periodic jokulhlaups resulting from the drainage of an ice-dammed lake further up-glacier. The concentration of discharge fluctuations at the beginning of the melt season, the large number of ice blocks within the flow and the confinement of flows between ice block levees all add to the effectiveness of these events in terms of channel erosion and sediment transport.