Radar-sounding evidence for a subglacial groundwater table in Hiawatha
Crater, Greenland
Abstract
Recent airborne radar-sounding surveys by NASAs Operation IceBridge
revealed a large impact crater in the Hiawatha glacier region of
northwest Greenland. The radar data used to identify the craters
morphology included a 2016 survey carried out with a new ultrawideband
radar system that demonstrated unprecedented levels of detail in the
radar images. Notably, an unusual flat, specular reflector below the
ice-bed interface was identified by visual inspection potentially as a
groundwater table. However, this observation, and characterization of
overlying material, has yet to be confirmed by a detailed radiometric
analysis. This work analyzes four different flight segments with
potential subglacial groundwater reflectors to constrain the bed geology
and thermal regime, and probability that the sub-bed reflector is indeed
a groundwater table. First, we exploit variation in the thickness of the
subglacial layer between the ice-bed interface and the proposed ground
water table to determine dielectric loss values. The bed material
estimated is most likely a mixture of ice, dry sand, and air – with
minuscule groundwater present in the layer between the ice-bed interface
and the reflector. Lastly, we use the subglacial layer loss values to
determine the radar reflectivity difference between the ice-bed
interface and sub-bed reflector. The analyses are consistent with the
presence of a groundwater table and are useful for providing additional
geophysical constraints on the groundwater system beneath Hiawatha
Crater. This detection is possible for subglacial settings that consist
of a dry/frozen bed around 15 meters thick between the ice and water
table in conjunction with a 150 to 520 MHz chirp radar system. Such
groundwater sources are a commonly neglected but likely important
component of glacier hydrology; they can drive water into till, elevate
porewater pressures, reduce shear strength and significantly influence
ice sheet dynamics and thus, sea level rise.