Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, UK.
Nat Commun. 2020 Nov 25;11(1):5983. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19805-7.
Fjord dynamics influence oceanic heat flux to the Greenland ice sheet. Submarine iceberg melting releases large volumes of freshwater within Greenland's fjords, yet its impact on fjord dynamics remains unclear. We modify an ocean model to simulate submarine iceberg melting in Sermilik Fjord, east Greenland. Here we find that submarine iceberg melting cools and freshens the fjord by up to ~5 °C and 0.7 psu in the upper 100-200 m. The release of freshwater from icebergs drives an overturning circulation, resulting in a ~10% increase in net up-fjord heat flux. In addition, we find that submarine iceberg melting accounts for over 95% of heat used for ice melt in Sermilik Fjord. Our results highlight the substantial impact that icebergs have on the dynamics of a major Greenlandic fjord, demonstrating the importance of including related processes in studies that seek to quantify interactions between the ice sheet and the ocean.
峡湾动力影响海洋热量向格陵兰冰盖的输送。冰山在格陵兰峡湾内融化会释放大量淡水，但它对峡湾动力的影响仍不清楚。我们修改了一个海洋模型，以模拟格陵兰东部的塞尔米利克峡湾的冰山融化。我们发现，冰山融化使峡湾温度降低了 5°C 左右，盐度降低了 0.7 个实用盐度单位，在 100-200 米的上层。冰山释放的淡水引发了翻转环流，导致净向上峡湾热通量增加了约 10%。此外，我们发现冰山融化所消耗的热量超过了塞尔米利克峡湾内冰融化所消耗热量的 95%。我们的研究结果突出表明冰山对一个主要的格陵兰峡湾动力的巨大影响，这表明在研究中量化冰盖与海洋之间的相互作用时，必须考虑相关过程。
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