(a)–(f) Frames of the time-lapse photographic sequence of the Lake Ponting drainage

Figure 7. (a)–(f) Frames of the time-lapse photographic sequence of the Lake Ponting drainage. (g) Details of (f) showing the blocks in figure 6(b) and the flow generated from the overspilling of a lake upstream Lake Ponting and responsible for the quick increase in lake depth before its drainage (see figure 2).

Abstract

Supraglacial lake drainage on the Greenland ice sheet opens surface-to-bed connections, reduces basal friction, and temporarily increases ice flow velocities by up to an order of magnitude. Existing field-based observations of lake drainages and their impact on ice dynamics are limited, and focus on one specific draining mechanism. Here, we report and analyse global positioning system measurements of ice velocity and elevation made at five locations surrounding two lakes that drained by different mechanisms and produced different dynamic responses. For the lake that drained slowly (>24 h) by overtopping its basin, delivering water via a channel to a pre-existing moulin, speedup and uplift were less than half those associated with a lake that drained rapidly (~2 h) through hydrofracturing and the creation of new moulins in the lake bottom. Our results suggest that the mode and associated rate of lake drainage govern the impact on ice dynamics.