Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T01:50:55.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal hydrological and suspended sediment transport dynamics and their future modelling in the Orwell Glacier proglacial stream, Signy Island, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2020

Tim Stott Open the ORCID record for Tim Stott [Opens in a new window]  and
Peter Convey
Tim Stott*
Affiliation:
I.M. Marsh Campus, Liverpool John Moores University, Barkhill Road, LiverpoolL17 6BD, UK
Peter Convey
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, CambridgeCB3 0ET, UK
*
t.a.stott@ljmu.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Climate change in the Antarctic over the past 50+ years has caused contraction of ice and snow cover, longer melt seasons and intensified glacier melting. These changes affect erosion and sediment redistribution processes that are vital to our understanding of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and sediment input to oceans. This 79 day study of the Orwell Glacier meltwater stream on Signy Island (5 December 2019–21 February 2020) used 5 min recordings of turbidity, stream discharge (Q) and air temperature (AT), supplemented by 454 water samples from which suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was gravimetrically determined, to calculate daily suspended sediment loads (SSLs). Qmean was 47.8 ± 3.5 l s-1, SSCmean was 71.0 ± 15.9 mg l-1 and daily SSLmean was 75 ± 8 kg day-1 with a suspended sediment yield of 43.6 t km-2 yr-1. A multiple regression model predicted SSLs reliably (multiple r = 0.95, r2 = 0.91, n = 79) and, when run with ATmean + 1°C (expected on Signy Island by 2060) and ATmean + 2°C (expected by 2100) scenarios, the model predicted 7% and 13% increases in SSLs, respectively. The SSLs estimated in this study are low when compared with others from around the world.

Keywords

climate changeglacial hydrologysediment load
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 192 - 212
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aich, V., Zimmermann, A. & Elsenbeer, H. 2014. Quantification and interpretation of 573 suspended-sediment discharge hysteresis patterns: how much data do we need? Catena, 122, 120–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrand, N.E., Vaughan, D.G., Steiner, N., Tedesco, M., Kuipers Munneke, P., Van Den Broeke, M.R., & Hosking, J.S. 2013. Trends in Antarctic Peninsula surface melting conditions from observations and regional climate modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, 118, 315–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beylich, A.A., Laute, K. & Storms, J.E. 2017. Contemporary suspended sediment dynamics within two partly glacierized mountain drainage basins in western Norway (Erdalen and Bødalen, inner Nordfjord). Geomorphology, 287, 126–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhutiyani, M.R. 2000. Sediment load characteristics of a pro-glacial stream of Siachen Glacier and the erosion rate in Nubra valley in the Karakoram Himalayas, India. Journal of Hydrology, 227, 84–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bogen, J. 1989. Glacial sediment production and development of hydro-electric power in glacierized areas. Annals of Glaciology, 13, 6–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cannone, N., Ellis-Evans, J.C., Strachan, R., & Guglielmin, M. 2006. Interactions between climate, vegetation and active layer in maritime Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 18, 323–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cannone, N., Guglielmin, M., Convey, P., Worland, M.R. & Favero Longo, S.E. 2016. Vascular plant changes in extreme environments: effects of multiple drivers. Climatic Change, 134, 651–665.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caulkett, A.P. & Ellis-Evans, J.C. 1997. Chemistry of streams of Signy Island, maritime Antarctic: sources of major ions. Antarctic Science, 9, 3–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Convey, P. & Peck, L.S. 2019. Antarctic environmental change and biological responses. Science Advances, 5, eaaz0888.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Convey, P. & Smith, R.I.L. 2006. Responses of terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems to climate change. Plant Ecology, 182, 1–10.Google Scholar
Convey, P., Bindschadler, R., Di Prisco, G., Fahrbach, E., Gutt, J., Hodgson, D.A., Mayewski, P., et al. 2009. Antarctic climate change and the environment. Antarctic Science, 21, 541–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, A.J., Fox, A.J., Vaughan, D.G. & Ferrigno, J.G. 2005. Retreating glacier fronts on the Antarctic Peninsula over the past half-century. Science, 308, 541–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delaney, I. & Adhikari, S. 2020. Increased sub-glacial sediment discharge in a warming climate: consideration of ice dynamics, glacial erosion and fluvial sediment transport. Geophysical Research Letters, 47, e2019GL085672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Favero-Longo, S.E., Worland, M.R., Convey, P., Smith, R.I.L., Piervittori, R., Guglielmin, M. & Cannone, N. 2012. Primary succession of lichen and bryophyte communities following glacial recession on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, Maritime Antarctic. Antarctic Science, 24, 323–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, R.I. 1984. Sediment load of the Hunza River. In Miller, K.J., ed. International Karakoram Project, vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 581–598.Google Scholar
Gao, P. & Josefson, M. 2012. Event-based suspended sediment dynamics in a central New York watershed. Geomorphology, 139–140, 425–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geilhausen, M., Morche, D., Otto, J.C. & Schrott, L. 2013. Sediment discharge from the proglacial zone of a retreating Alpine glacier. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplementary Issues, 57, 29–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guglielmin, M., Ellis-Evans, J.C. & Cannone, N. 2008. Active layer thermal regime under different vegetation conditions in permafrost areas. A case study at Signy Island (Maritime Antarctica). Geoderma, 144, 73–85.Google Scholar
Guglielmin, M., Worland, M.R. & Cannone, N. 2012. Spatial and temporal variability of ground surface temperature and active layer thickness at the margin of maritime Antarctica, Signy Island. Geomorphology, 155, 20–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurnell, A., Hannah, D. & Lawler, D. 1996. Suspended sediment yield from glacier basins. In Walling, D.E. & Webb, B.W., eds. Erosion and sediment yield: global and regional perspectives. Wallingford: IAHS Press, 97–104.Google Scholar
Gurnell, A.M., Clark, M.J., Hill, C.T., Greenhalgh, J., Bogen, J., Walling, D.E. & Day, T. 1992. Reliability and representativeness of a suspended sediment concentration monitoring programme for a remote alpine pro-glacial river. In Bogen, J., Walling, D.E. & Day, T.J., eds. Erosion and sediment transport monitoring in river basins. Wallingford: IAHS Press, 24–28.Google Scholar
Herschy, R.W. 2009. Streamflow measurements, 3rd ed. London: Spon, 510 pp.Google Scholar
Hodgkins, R., Cooper, R., Wadham, J. & Tranter, M. 2003. Suspended sediment fluxes in a high-Arctic glacierised catchment: implications for fluvial sediment storage. Sedimentary Geology, 162, 105–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodson, A.J. & Ferguson, R.I. 1999. Fluvial suspended sediment transport from cold and warm-based glaciers in Svalbard. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 24, 957–974.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodson, A., Gurnell, A., Tranter, M., Bogen, J., Hagen, J.O. & Clark, M. 1998. Suspended sediment yield and transfer processes in a small high-Arctic glacier basin, Svalbard. Hydrological Processes, 12, 73–86.3.0.CO;2-S>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooke, J.M. 1979. An analysis of the processes of river bank erosion. Journal of Hydrology, 42, 39–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kavan, J., Ondruch, J., Nývlt, D., Hrbáček, F., Carrivick, J.L. & Láska, K. 2017. Seasonal hydrological and suspended sediment transport dynamics in proglacial streams, James Ross Island, Antarctica. Geografiska Annaler - Physical Geography, 99A, 38–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, J.C., Bannister, D., Hosking, J.S. & Colwell, S.R. 2017. Causes of the Antarctic region record high temperature at Signy Island, 30th January 1982. Atmospheric Science Letters, 18, 491–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein, M. 1984. Anti-clockwise hysteresis in suspended sediment concentration during individual storms. Catena, 11, 251–257.Google Scholar
Langlois, J.L., Johnson, D.W. & Mehuys, G.R. 2005. Suspended sediment dynamics associated with snowmelt runoff in a small mountain stream of Lake Tahoe (Nevada). Hydrological Processes, 19, 3569–3580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawler, D.M. 1986. River bank erosion and the influence of frost: a statistical examination. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 11, 227–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawler, D.M., Petts, G.E., Foster, I.D.L. & Harper, S. 2006. Turbidity dynamics during spring storm events in an urban headwater river system: the Upper Tame, West Midlands, UK. Science of the Total Environment, 360, 109–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leggat, M.S., Owens, P.N., Stott, T.A., Forrester, B.J., Déry, S.J. & Menounos, B. 2015. Hydrometeorological drivers and sources of suspended sediment flux in the pro-glacial zone of the retreating Castle Creek Glacier, Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia, Canada. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 40, 1542–1559.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mao, L. & Carrillo, R. 2017. Temporal dynamics of suspended sediment transport in a glacierized Andean basin. Geomorphology, 287, 116–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, D.H. & Maling, D.H. 1967. The geology of the South Orkney Islands: I. Signy Island, vol. 25. London: HMSO, 32 pp.Google Scholar
Moragoda, N. & Cohen, S. 2020. Climate-induced trends in global riverine water discharge and suspended sediment dynamics in the 21st century. Global and Planetary Change, 191, 103199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orwin, J.F. & Smart, C.C. 2004. Short-term spatial and temporal patterns of suspended sediment transfer in proglacial channels, Small River Glacier, Canada. Hydrological Processes, 18, 1521–1542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pepin, E., Carretier, S., Guyot, J.L. & Escobar, F. 2010. Specific suspended sediment yields of the Andean rivers of Chile and their relationship to climate, slope and vegetation. Hydrological Sciences Journal - Journal des Sciences Hydrologiques, 55, 1190–1205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perolo, P., Bakker, M., Gabbud, C., Moradi, G., Rennie, C. & Lane, S.N. 2019. Sub-glacial sediment production and snout marginal ice uplift during the late ablation season of a temperate valley glacier. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44, 1117–1136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, K.S. 1984. Some observations on suspended sediment dynamics in Storbregrova, Jotunheimen. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 9, 101–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Royles, J., Ogée, J., Wingate, L., Hodgson, D.A., Convey, P. & Griffiths, H. 2012. Carbon isotope evidence for recent climate-related enhancement of CO2 assimilation and peat accumulation rates in Antarctica. Global Change Biology, 18, 3112–3124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, P., Haritashya, U.K., Ramasastri, K.S. & Kumar, N. 2005. Diurnal variations in discharge and suspended sediment concentration, including runoff-delaying characteristics, of the Gangotri Glacier in the Garhwal Himalayas. Hydrological Processes, 19, 1445–1457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, H.G. & Dragovich, D. 2009. Interpreting sediment delivery processes using suspended sediment-discharge hysteresis patterns from nested upland catchments, south-eastern Australia. Hydrological Processes, 23, 2415–2426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R.I.L. 1982. Plant succession and re-exposed moss banks on a deglaciated headland in Arthur Harbour, Anvers Island. BAS Bulletin, No. 51, 193–199.Google Scholar
Stott, T.A. & Dercon, G. 2019. Impact of climate change on land, water and ecosystem quality in polar and mountainous regions: gaps in our knowledge. Climate Research, 77, 115–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stott, T.A. & Grove, J.R. 2001. Short-term discharge and suspended sediment fluctuations in the pro-glacial Skeldal River, north-east Greenland. Hydrological Processes, 15, 407–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stott, T.A. & Mount, N.J. 2007. Alpine pro-glacial suspended sediment dynamics in warm and cool ablation seasons: implications for global warming. Journal of Hydrology, 332, 259–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stott, T.A., Nuttall, A.M. & Biggs, E. 2014. Observed run-off and suspended sediment dynamics from a minor glacierized basin in south-west Greenland. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 114, 93–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stott, T.A., Nuttall, A.M., Eden, N., Smith, K. & Maxwell, D. 2008. Suspended sediment dynamics in the Morteratsch pro-glacial zone, Bernina Alps, Switzerland. Geografiska Annaler - Physical Geography, 90A, 299–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stott, T.A., Leggat, M.S., Owens, P.N., Forrester, B.J., Déry, S.J. & Menounos, B. 2016. Suspended sediment dynamics in the pro-glacial zone of the rapidly retreating Castle Creek Glacier, British Columbia, Canada. In Beylich, A.A., Dixon, J.C. & Zwolinski, Z., eds. Source-to-sink fluxes in undisturbed cold environments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 313–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swift, D.A., Nienow, P.W. & Hoey, T.B. 2005. Basal sediment evacuation by sub-glacial meltwater: suspended sediment transport from Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 30, 867–883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Syvitski, J.P. 2002. Sediment discharge variability in Arctic rivers: implications for a warmer future. Polar Research, 21, 323–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomson, J.E. 1968. The geology of the South Orkney Islands: II. The petrology of Signy Island, vol. 62. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey, 30 pp.Google Scholar
Turner, J., Bindschadler, R., Convey, P., Di Prisco, G., Fahrbach, E., Gutt, J., et al. eds. 2009. Antarctic climate change and the environment. Cambridge: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.Google Scholar
Turner, J., Colwell, S.R., Marshall, G.J., Lachlan-Cope, T.A., Carleton, A.M., Jones, P.D., et al. 2005. Antarctic climate change during the last 50 years. International Journal of Climatology, 25, 279–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, J., Lu, H., White, I., King, J.C., Phillips, T., Hosking, J.S., et al. 2016. Absence of 21st century warming on Antarctic Peninsula consistent with natural variability. Nature, 535, 411–415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warburton, J. 1990. An alpine proglacial fluvial sediment budget. Geografiska Annaler - Physical Geography, 72A, 261–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yeshaneh, E., Eder, A. & Blöschl, G. 2014. Temporal variation of suspended sediment transport in the Koga catchment, north western Ethiopia and environmental implications. Hydrological Processes, 28, 5972–5984.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, Z., Beilman, D.W. & Loisel, J. 2016. Transformations of landscape and peat-forming ecosystems in response to late Holocene climate change in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Geophysical Research Letters, 43, 7186–7195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar