Which Drivers Control the Suspended Sediment Flux in a High Arctic Glacierized Basin (Werenskioldbreen, Spitsbergen)?

Abstract

A unique data set of suspended sediment transport from the Breelva, which drains the Werenskioldbreen (Southwestern Spitsbergen), is reported for the period 2007–2012. This basin is thoroughly described hydrologically, glaciologically, and chemically. However, until now there was a lack of full recognition of mechanical denudation. This study extends the information on quantitative suspended sediment load (SSL), amounting to 37.30–130.94 kt per year, and also underlines the importance of its modification by high discharge events, triggered by intense snowmelt or heavy rainfall. The large floods during the hydrologically active season transported even 83% of the total SSL. The variability of the SSL is controlled by glacial storage and release mechanisms. Particularly interesting is the second half of the hydrologically active season when intense rainfall events plays a key role in shaping the sediment supply pattern. The main source of fine mineral matter is the basal moraine, drained by subglacial outflows. Their higher mobilization occurs when the hydrostatic pressure increases, often as a result of rainwater supply to the glacier system. An increasing precipitation trend for Hornsund fjord region determines a positive trend predicted for sediment flux.

Polish Polar Research

“…Here, the main supply of water is the melting snow and ice, but the hydrologically active season is getting longer (Nowak and Hodson 2013;Wawrzyniak and Osuch 2019), and it is influencing the water cycle in glaciated catchments (Nowak et al 2021). For example, in the southern part of Svalbard the climatically driven changes are causing more frequent extreme rainfall events in late autumn and increasing the amount of rainwater in the total runoff (Majchrowska et al 2015;Łepkowska and Stachnik 2018). These changes in the hydrological cycle in glaciated and unglaciated catchments are reflected in the course of fluvial processes and the transformation of river channel patterns.…”

A decade of glaciological and meteorological observations in the Arctic (Werenskioldbreen, Svalbard)

“…The internal marginal zone of the glacier is closed by a distinct arc of the ice-cored terminal moraine with one river gorge. Such a hydrological system allows the glacier basin to be treated as a closed research laboratory for many hydrological and interdisciplinary studies (Majchrowska et al, 2015;Stachnik et al, 2016b;Łepkowska and Stachnik, 2018;Gwizdała et al, 2018;Stachnik et al, 2019). The glacier is situated 15 km to the north from the Polish Polar Station Hornsund.…”

A decade of glaciological and meteorological observations in the Arctic (Werenskioldbreen, Svalbard)

“…The glacier's forefield is closed by a distinct arc of the ice-cored terminal moraine with one river gorge. Such a hydrological system allows the glacier basin to be treated as a welldefined research laboratory for many hydrological and interdisciplinary studies (Majchrowska et al, 2015;Stachnik et al, 2016b;Łepkowska and Stachnik, 2018;Gwizdała et al, 2018;Stachnik et al, 2019;Osuch et al, 2022). The glacier is situated 15 km to the north from the Polish Polar Station Hornsund.…”