Jeremy C. Ely

Ice stream motion facilitated by a shallow-deforming and accreting bed

Ice streams drain large portions of ice sheets and play a fundamental role in governing their response to atmospheric and oceanic forcing, with implications for sea-level change. The mechanisms that generate ice stream flow remain elusive. Basal sliding and/or bed deformation have been hypothesized, but ice stream beds are largely inaccessible. Here we present a comprehensive, multi-scale study of the internal structure of mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) formed at the bed of a palaeo ice stream. Analyses were undertaken at macro- and microscales, using multiple techniques including X-ray tomography, thin sections and ground penetrating radar (GPR) acquisitions. Results reveal homogeneity in stratigraphy, kinematics, granulometry and petrography. The consistency of the physical and geological properties demonstrates a continuously accreting, shallow-deforming, bed and invariant basal conditions. This implies that ice stream basal motion on soft sediment beds during MSGL formation is accommodated by plastic deformation, facilitated by continuous sediment supply and an inefficient drainage system.

Widespread movement of meltwater onto and across Antarctic ice shelves

Surface meltwater drains across ice sheets, forming melt ponds that can trigger ice-shelf collapse, acceleration of grounded ice flow and increased sea-level rise. Numerical models of the Antarctic Ice Sheet that incorporate meltwater’s impact on ice shelves, but ignore the movement of water across the ice surface, predict a metre of global sea-level rise this century in response to atmospheric warming. To understand the impact of water moving across the ice surface a broad quantification of surface meltwater and its drainage is needed. Yet, despite extensive research in Greenland and observations of individual drainage systems in Antarctica, we have little understanding of Antarctic-wide surface hydrology or how it will evolve. Here we show widespread drainage of meltwater across the surface of the ice sheet through surface streams and ponds (hereafter ‘surface drainage’) as far south as 85° S and as high as 1,300 metres above sea level. Our findings are based on satellite imagery from 1973 onwards and aerial photography from 1947 onwards. Surface drainage has persisted for decades, transporting water up to 120 kilometres from grounded ice onto and across ice shelves, feeding vast melt ponds up to 80 kilometres long. Large-scale surface drainage could deliver water to areas of ice shelves vulnerable to collapse, as melt rates increase this century. While Antarctic surface melt ponds are relatively well documented on some ice shelves, we have discovered that ponds often form part of widespread, large-scale surface drainage systems. In a warming climate, enhanced surface drainage could accelerate future ice-mass loss from Antarctic, potentially via positive feedbacks between the extent of exposed rock, melting and thinning of the ice sheet.

Manual mapping of drumlins in synthetic landscapes to assess operator effectiveness

Mapped topographic features are important for understanding processes that sculpt the Earths surface. This paper presents maps that are the primary product of an exercise that brought together 27 researchers with an interest in landform mapping wherein the efficacy and causes of variation in mapping were tested using novel synthetic DEMs containing drumlins. The variation between interpreters (e.g. mapping philosophy, experience) and across the study region (e.g. woodland prevalence) opens these factors up to assessment. A priori known answers in the synthetics increase the number and strength of conclusions that may be drawn with respect to a traditional comparative study. Initial results suggest that overall detection rates are relatively low (34–40%), but reliability of mapping is higher (72–86%). The maps form a reference dataset.

Using UAV acquired photography and structure from motion techniques for studying glacier landforms: application to the glacial flutes at Isfallsglaciären

© 2016 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Glacier and ice sheet retreat exposes freshly deglaciated terrain which often contains small-scale fragile geomorphological features which could provide insight into subglacial or submarginal processes. Subaerial exposure results in potentially rapid landscape modification or even disappearance of the minor-relief landforms as wind, weather, water and vegetation impact on the newly exposed surface. Ongoing retreat of many ice masses means there is a growing opportunity to obtain high resolution geospatial data from glacier forelands to aid in the understanding of recent subglacial and submarginal processes. Here we used an unmanned aerial vehicle to capture close-range aerial photography of the foreland of Isfallsglaciaren, a small polythermal glacier situated in Swedish Lapland. An orthophoto and a digital elevation model with ~2 cm horizontal resolution were created from this photography using structure from motion software. These geospatial data was used to create a geomorphological map of the foreland, documenting moraines, fans, channels and flutes. The unprecedented resolution of the data enabled us to derive morphological metrics (length, width and relief) of the smallest flutes, which is not possible with other data products normally used for glacial landform metrics mapping. The map and flute metrics compare well with previous studies, highlighting the potential of this technique for rapidly documenting glacier foreland geomorphology at an unprecedented scale and resolution. The vast majority of flutes were found to have an associated stoss-side boulder, with the remainder having a likely explanation for boulder absence (burial or erosion). Furthermore, the size of this boulder was found to strongly correlate with the width and relief of the lee-side flute. This is consistent with the lee-side cavity infill model of flute formation. Whether this model is applicable to all flutes, or multiple mechanisms are required, awaits further study.

The periodic topography of ice stream beds: Insights from the Fourier spectra of mega-scale glacial lineations

Ice stream bed topography contains key evidence for the ways ice streams interact with, and are potentially controlled by, their beds. Here we present the first application of two–dimensional Fourier analysis to 22 marine and terrestrial topographies from 5 regions in Antarctica and Canada, with and without mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs). We find that the topography of MSGL-rich ice stream sedimentary beds is characterized by multiple, periodic wavelengths between 300 and 1200 m and amplitudes from decimeters to a few meters. This periodic topography is consistent with the idea that instability is a key element to the formation of MSGL bedforms. Dominant wavelengths vary among locations and, on one paleo ice stream bed, increase along the direction of ice flow by 1.7±0.52% km-1. We suggest that these changes are likely to reflect pattern evolution via downstream wavelength coarsening, even under potentially steady ice stream geometry and flow conditions. The amplitude of MSGLs is smaller than that of other fluvial and glacial topographies, but within the same order of magnitude. However, MSGLs are a striking component of ice stream beds because the topographic amplitude of features not aligned with ice flow is reduced by an order of magnitude relative to those oriented with the flow direction. This study represents the first attempt to automatically derive the spectral signatures of MSGLs. It highlights the plausibility of identifying these landform assemblages using automated techniques and provides a benchmark for numerical models of ice stream flow and subglacial landscape evolution.

Flow-stripes and foliations of the Antarctic ice sheet

Longitudinal surface structures (LSSs) are flow parallel curvilineations visible on satellite imagery which are commonly observed on ice shelves, ice streams and glaciers. Their distribution and genesis has the ability to inform us about ice sheet history and glacial processes. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed for their formation. Here, we present continental-scale mapping of these features across the entire Antarctic ice sheet. The accompanying map details 42,311 polylines representing LSSs identified on satellite imagery (Landsat, RADARSAT and MODIS). The subtlety of these features provides many challenges for their identification and mapping. This work will provide the basis for future research on the morphology and formative conditions of these features in order to shed light on their genesis.

Spatial organisation of drumlins

Ice-sheets flowing over soft sediments produce undulations in the bed, typically of metres in relief, of which drumlins are the most abundant and widely investigated. Consensus regarding their mechanism of formation has yet to be achieved. In this paper we examine the spatial organisation of drumlins in order to provide an improved description of the phenomenon and to guide hypotheses of their formation. We review the literature highlighting contradictory findings regarding drumlin spatial organisation and then use this to motivate our study based on a large sample (42,488) of drumlins from Canada, Britain and Norway. Are there typical arrangements in drumlin positioning and are they organised in a regular spatial manner (patterned) or are they distributed randomly? We recognise that drumlin fields are inherently patchy and therefore apply inhomogeneous spatial statistics in order to study their distribution. This shows that whilst drumlins are occasionally randomly placed, their main state is non- random. They exhibit a strong and statistically significant signal of regularity across lengths scales of 100 – 1200 m. We conclude that patterning is a near ubiquitous property of drumlins. This finding of regularity demonstrates spatial self-organisation in the bedforming process with drumlins as an emergent manifestation of subglacial sediment mobility. Kilometre-scale interactions between drumlins must occur as they evolve, or interactions may arise as a consequence of growth or migration. Hypotheses or models are required that can explain the regular spacing of drumlins. We highlight three suggestions for such self-organisation: instability in the coupling of ice flow - sediment flux - bed shape; local feedback between sediment mobility and relief; and coarsening by growth or migration.

Paleofluvial and subglacial channel networks beneath Humboldt Glacier, Greenland

The identification of subglacial drainage systems can inform our understanding of past and present hydrological processes, landscape evolution, and ice dynamics. Here, we present evidence from satellite imagery, digital elevation models, and radio-echo sounding data for a series of channelized networks with contrasting paleofluvial and subglacial origins beneath Humboldt Glacier, northern Greenland. A >250-km-long, dendritic paleofluvial channel network beneath the northern portion of Humboldt is interpreted as a preglacial feature. Roughly linear channels beneath the southern portion of Humboldt, which display a similar distribution to tunnel valleys found on the beds of former ice sheets, are likely to have been eroded by subglacial meltwater routed along the ice-sheet bed. We suggest that basal meltwater is actively being routed down both the paleofluvial and subglacially formed channel networks to the coast. Inheritance of the preglacial channel network may have influenced the present-day location and dynamics of Humboldt Glacier and enhanced selective erosion at its down-glacier end.

Using the size and position of drumlins to understand how they grow, interact and evolve

Drumlins are subglacial bedforms streamlined in the direction of ice flow. Common in deglaciated landscapes, they have been widely studied providing rich information on their internal geology, size, shape, and spacing. In contrast with bedform investigations elsewhere in geomorphology (aeolian and fluvial dunes and ripples for example) most drumlin studies derive observations from relict, and thus static features. This has made it difficult to gain information and insights about their evolution over time, which likely hampers our understanding of the process(es) of drumlin formation. Here we take a morphological approach, studying drumlin size and spacing metrics. Unlike previous studies which have focussed on databases derived from entire ice sheet beds, we adopt a space-for-time substitution approach using individual drumlin flow-sets distributed in space as proxies for different development times/periods. Framed and assisted by insights from aeolian and fluvial geomorphology, we use our metric data to explore possible scenarios of drumlin growth, evolution and interaction. We study the metrics of the size and spacing of 36,222 drumlins, distributed amongst 71 flow-sets, left behind by the former British-Irish Ice Sheet, and ask whether behaviour common to other bedform phenomena can be derived through statistical analysis. Through characterising and analysing the shape of the probability distribution functions of size and spacing metrics for each flow-set we argue that drumlins grow, and potentially migrate, as they evolve leading to pattern coarsening. Furthermore, our findings add support to the notion that no upper limit to drumlin size exists, and to the idea that perpetual coarsening could occur if given sufficient time. We propose that the framework of process and patterning commonly applied to non-glacial bedforms is potentially powerful for understanding drumlin formation and for deciphering glacial landscapes.

The glacial geomorphology of the western cordilleran ice sheet and Ahklun ice cap, Southern Alaska

ABSTRACT During the late Wisconsinan, Southern Alaska was covered by two large ice masses; the western arm of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet and the Ahklun Mountains Ice Cap. Compared to the other ice sheets that existed during this period (e.g. the British-Irish, Laurentide and Fennoscandian ice sheets), little is known about the geomorphology they left behind. This limits our understanding of their flow pattern and retreat. Here we present systematic mapping of the glacial geomorphology of the two ice masses which existed in Southern Alaska. Due to spatially variable data availability, mapping was conducted using digital elevation models and satellite images of varying resolutions. Offshore, we map the glacial geomorphology using available bathymetric data. For the first time, we document >5000 subglacial lineations, recording ice flow direction. The distribution of moraines is presented, as well as features related to glacial meltwater drainage patterns (eskers and meltwater channels). Prominent troughs were also mapped on Alaskas continental shelf. This map provides the data required for a glacial inversion of these palaeo-ice masses.