GlacioBurst - Glaciohydrological Characteristics of the Outburst Floods of Ice-Dammed Lake A.P. Olsen (NE-Greenland)

D Binder, G Boffi, S Mertl, G Weyss, B Kulessa, M Citterio, A Wieser, W Schoner
2016
This is a Full Scientific Report resulting from NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility Loan 995, principal investigator Prof Bernd Kulessa

Abstract

Object of investigation were the annual glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) at the Southeast outlet glacier of the A. P. Olsen Ice Cap, Northeast Greenland. Therefore, a geodetic and geophysical approach was chosen to monitor the glacier’s response during a fill- and drain cycle of the glacier-dammed lake. The monitoring network was installed in Spring 2012 and was operated for two years (GEF Loan 957 and 995). A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was used to retrieve a snapshot of en- and subglacial characteristics. The all-year round monitoring strategy was based on a network of parallel GPS and passive seismic sensors. First analysis of the gathered data show distinct high active events before the GLOF itself, and a stepwise increase of seismicity right after the outburst.