Journal article

Glacier surge dynamics of Sortebrae, east Greenland, from synthetic aperture radar feature tracking

H Pritchard, T Murray, A Luckman, T Strozzi, S Barr

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE | AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION | Published : 2005

Abstract

We have measured the surface flow rate of the large east Greenland glacier, Sortebrœ, through both the initiation and termination of a major surge using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) feature tracking, optimized to minimize error. The Sortebrœ surge began between November and January 1992-1993, after at least 6 weeks of subfreezing temperatures over the whole glacier, and propagated rapidly up-glacier from a central nucleus. Sortebræ reached sustained fast flow rates of up to 24 m d-1, and the active phase lasted for 28-32 months before terminating in June 1995. Termination was abrupt, coinciding with the arrival of the spring thaw and the apparent release of a large volume of stored water f..

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