The Subglacial Lake That Wasn't There: Improved Interpretation From Seismic Data Reveals a Sediment Bedform at Isunnguata Sermia

Abstract

Abstract Radio Echo Sounding (RES) surveys conducted in May 2010 and April 2011 revealed a 2 km 2 flat area with increased bed reflectivity at the base of Isunnguata Sermia at the western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. This flat reflector was located within a localized subglacial hydraulic potential (hydropotential) minimum, as part of a complex and elongated trough system. By analogy with comparable features in Antarctica, the initial interpretation of such a feature was a potential subglacial lake. In September 2013 a co‐located seismic survey revealed a 1,750 m by 540 and 37 m thick stratified lens‐shaped bedform at the base of a subglacial trough system. Amplitude Versus Angle (AVA) analysis yields a derived reflection coefficient R = 0.09 ± 0.14 indicative of consolidated sediments possibly overlain by dilatant till. The bed and flank on the northern side of the trough consist of unconsolidated, possibly water‐bearing sediments with R = −0.10 ± 0.08, whereas on the southern side it consists of more consolidated material. We interpret the trough as a key component of the wider subglacial drainage network, for which the sediments on its northern side act as a localized water‐storage reservoir. Given the observation of seasonally forming and rapidly draining supraglacial meltwater lakes in this area, we interpret the lens‐shaped bedform as deposited by episodically ponding meltwater within the subglacial trough system. Our results highlight the importance of transient subglacial hydrological and sedimentological processes such as drainage events for the interaction of ice sheets and their substrates, to understand ice dynamics in a warming climate.

Plain Language Summary A ground based radar survey in West Greenland showed an unusually flat, highly reflective zone in an otherwise rough bed suggesting a possible subglacial lake beneath the ice. The highly reflective zone was part of a drainage system transporting meltwater under the ice sheet. We performed a detailed seismic survey across the area which, unlike radar signals, has the advantage of penetrating through the overlying ice into any rock, sediments and water below it. Analysis of our reflection data reveal that the flat area was in fact an elongated lens‐shaped bedform consisting of layered (stratified) sediments. However at a larger angle of incidence, analysis showed the bedform is possibly overlain by a thin layer of water‐bearing sediments likely saturated by ponding water. Our interpretation is that episodically draining meltwater from upstream is locally accumulating beneath the ice sheet at this locality, thereby depositing the lens‐shaped bedform over many melt seasons.

Key Points Seismic data show that a subglacial lake implied by high reflectivity in radar data is in fact a lens‐shaped sediment bedform Seismic reflectivity analysis suggests the lens‐shaped bedform is possibly overlain by a thin layer of water‐bearing sediments The subglacial bedform is stratified and likely deposited through episodically ponding of upstream derived meltwater