Abstract
Increased melting of tidewater glaciers had been widely reported in Greenland and Svalbard, and one possible reason has been attributed in the interaction of warming ocean water with the portion of the ice terminus in contact with the sea. In Kongsfjorden, there are five major tidewater glaciers positioned in the innermost part of the fjord and it experiences a periodic intrusion of warm water of Atlantic origin down to the innermost part. These warm veins are expected to provide the heat for melting of tidewater glaciers. The aim of this paper is to report on the hydrology and ocean heat content (OHC) in Kongsfjorden, especially focussing on its innermost part. OHC estimates were based on calculations of the volume of water in the major basins of Kongsfjorden as inferred by a dedicate and accurate bathymetric survey and by CTD casts. Ocean water after interaction with freshwater of glacial origin evidenced a drop in temperature up to 2 \(^{\circ }\)C. We calculated OHC over a profile ranging from the lower limit of surface fresh water exiting the fjord (−7.5 m) to 40 m depth m, assuming deeper heat was not relevant to regularly interact with glaciers because of the depth of the submerged moraine. OHC in outer area was \(4.66 \times 10^{16}\) J, whereas in the southern part was \(1.47 \times 10^{16}\) J and was \(1.17 \times 10^{16}\) J in the northern part of tidewater glaciers fronts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aliani S, Bartholini G, Degl’Innocenti F, Delfanti R, Galli C, Lazzoni E, Lorenzelli R, Malaguti A, Meloni R, Papucci C, Salvi S, Zaborska A (2004) Multidisciplinary investigations in the marine environment of the inner Kongsfjord, Svalbard, at the glacier-sea interfaces (September 2000 and 2001). Chem Ecol 20(1):19–28
Benn DI, Warren CR, Mottram RH (2007) Calving processes and the dynamics of calving glaciers. Earth Sci Rev 82(3–4):143–179. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2007.02.002
Blaszczyk M, Jania J, Hagen JO (2009) Tidewater glaciers of Svalbard: recent changes and estimates of calving fluxes. Pol Polar Res 30:85–142
Cottier F, Tverberg V, Inall M, Svendsen H, Nilsen F, Griffiths C (2005) Water mass modification in an Arctic fjord through cross-shelf exchange: the seasonal hydrography of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. J Geophys Res Oceans 110(C12005):2156–2202
Hagen JO, Kohler J, Melvold K, Winther JG (2003) Glaciers in Svalbard: mass balance, runoff and freshwater flux. Polar Res 22(2):145–159. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2003.tb00104.x
Harms A, Tverberg V, Svendsen H (2007) Physical qualification and quantification of the water masses in the Kongsfjorden-Krossfjorden system cross section. In: OCEANS 2007—Europe, pp 1–6. doi:10.1109/OCEANSE.2007.4302332
Hellmer HH, Olbers DJ (1989) A two-dimensional model for the thermohaline circulation under an ice shelf. AntArctic Sci 1(04):325–336
Holland PR, Jenkins A, Holland DM (2008) The response of ice shelf basal melting to variations in ocean temperature. J Clim 21:2558–2572
Hop H, Pearson T, Hegseth EN, Kovacs K, Wiencke C, Kwasniewski S, Eiane K, Mehlum F, Gulliksen B, Wlodarska-Kowalczuk M, Lydersen C, Weslawski J, Cochrane S (2002) The marine ecosystem of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Polar Res 21(1):167–208
Howe JA, Moreton SG, Morri C, Morris P (2003) Multibeam bathymetry and the depositional environments of Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden, western Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Polar Res 22(2):301–316. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2003.tb00114.x
Inall ME, Nilsen F, Cottier FR, Daae R (2015) Shelf/fjord exchange driven by coastal-trapped waves in the Arctic. J Geophys Res Oceans. doi:10.1002/2015JC011277
Ingvaldsen R, Reitan BM, Svendsen H, Asplin L (2001) The upper layer circulation in Konskfjorden and Krossfjorden—a complex fjord system on the west coast of Svalbard. Mem Natl Inst Polar Res 54:393–407
Ito H, Kudoh S (1997) Characteristics of water in Kongsfiorden, Svalbard. Proc NIPR Symp Polar Meteorol Glaciol 11:211–232
Jackson RH, Straneo F, Sutherland DA (2014) Externally forced fluctuations in ocean temperature at Greenland glaciers in non-summer months. Nature Geosci. doi:10.1038/ngeo2186
Jenkins A (1991) A one-dimensional model of ice shelf-ocean interaction. J Geophys Res 96(C11):20,671–20,677. doi:10.1029/91JC01842
Jenkins A (2011) Convection-driven melting near the grounding lines of ice shelves and tidewater glaciers. J Phys Oceanogr 41:C08043. doi:10.1029/2007JC004368
Motyka R, Hunter L, Echelmeyer K, Connor C (2003) Submarine melting at the terminus of a temperate tidewater glacier, Leconte glacier, Alaska, USA. Ann Glaciol 36:57–65. doi:10.3189/172756403781816374
O’Leary M, Christoffersen P (2013) Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting. Cryosphere 7(1):119–128. doi:10.5194/tc-7-119-2013
Sciascia R, Straneo F, Cenedese C, Heimbach P (2013) Seasonal variability of submarine melt rate and circulation in an East Greenland fjord. J Geophys Res Oceans 118(5):2492–2506. doi:10.1002/jgrc.20142
Straneo F, Heimbach P (2013) North atlantic warming and the retreat of Greenland’s outlet glaciers. Nature 504(7478):36–43
Straneo F, Heimbach P, Sergienko O, Hamilton G, Catania G, Griffies S, Hallberg R, Jenkins A, Joughin I, Motyka R, Pfeffer WT, Price SF, Rignot E, Scambos T, Truffer M, Vieli A (2013) Challenges to understand the dynamic response of Greenland’s marine terminating glaciers to oceanic and atmospheric forcing. Bull Am Meteorol Soc. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00100
Sund M, Eiken T, Rolstad Denby C (2011) Velocity structure, front position changes and calving of the tidewater glacier Kronebreen, Svalbard. Cryosphere Discuss 5(1):41–73. doi:10.5194/tcd-5-41-2011. http://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/5/41/2011/
Svendsen H, Beszczynska-Møller A, Hagen JO, Lefauconnier B, Tverberg V, Gerland S, Ørbæk JB, Bischof K, Papucci C, Zajaczkowski M, Azzolini R, Bruland O, Wiencke C, Winther JG, Dallmann W (2002) The physical environment of Kongsfjorden-Krossfjorden, an Arctic fjord system in Svalbard. Polar Res 21(1):133–166
van der Veen CJ (2002) Calving glaciers. Prog Phys Geogr 26:96–122
Vieli A, Nick F (2011) Understanding and modelling rapid dynamic changes of tidewater outlet glaciers: issues and implications. Surv Geophys 32(4–5):437–458
Warren C, Greene D, Glasser N (1995) Glaciar Upsala, Patagonia: rapid calving retreat in fresh water. Ann Glaciol 21:311–316
Xu Y, Rignot E, Menemenlis D, Koppes M (2012) Numerical experiments on subaqueous melting of Greenland tidewater glaciers in response to ocean warming and enhanced subglacial discharge. Ann Glaciol 53(60):229–234. doi:10.3189/2012AoG60A139
Xu Y, Rignot E, Fenty I, Menemenlis D, Flexas MM (2013) Subaqueous melting of Store glacier, West Greenland from three-dimensional, high-resolution numerical modeling and ocean observations. Geophys Res Lett 40(17):4648–4653. doi:10.1002/grl.50825
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Dirigibile Italia staff and Kings Bay for logistic support, the Captain and crew of the ship Teisten as well as Wojtek Moskal for his invaluable help in many occasions. This project was part funded by Progetto Premiale ARCA, RS also acknowledges the Ritmare project. This is Contribution Number 1891 of CNR-ISMAR of Bologna.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This peer-reviewed article is a result of the multi and interdisciplinary research activities based at the Arctic Station “Dirigibile Italia”, coordinated by the “ Dipartimento Scienze del Sistema Terra e Tecnologie per l’Ambiente” of the National Research Council of Italy.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aliani, S., Sciascia, R., Conese, I. et al. Characterization of seawater properties and ocean heat content in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard Archipelago. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 27 (Suppl 1), 155–162 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0544-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0544-4