Observations of Inertial Currents in a Lagoon in Southeastern Iceland using Terrestrial Radar Interferometry and Automated Iceberg Tracking

Denis Voytenko, Timothy H. Dixon, Mark E. Luther, Chad Lembke, Ian M. Howat, Santiago de la Pena

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Warming ocean currents are considered to be a contributing factor to the retreat of marine-terminating glaciers worldwide, but direct observations near the ice–ocean interface are challenging. We use radar intensity imagery and an iceberg tracking algorithm to produce half-hourly current maps within an imaged portion of Jökulsárlón, a proglacial lagoon in southeastern Iceland. Over our 43.5-h observation period, the lagoon has clockwise circulation with current speeds of order 3–8 cm/s and occasional strong glacier outflows of up to ∼15 cm/s. The currents driven by the glacial outflows appear to be dominantly inertial.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalComputers & Geosciences
Volume82
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2015

Keywords

  • Terrestrial radar interferometry
  • Iceberg tracking
  • Inertial currents

Disciplines

  • Earth Sciences

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