Water and sediment routing through glaciers in West Greenland

格陵兰冰盖是水和沉积物的主要出口国，向世界海洋输送淡水和重要的生物元素，如二氧化硅和铁。这些输入可以启动和调节海洋环流模式，驱动初级生产/碳反馈循环，这对当地和全球气候都很重要。我们对格陵兰岛的水和沉积物输出的大部分知识来自冰川终点的夏季融水采样。这不太可能代表冰盖内部的水流条件和沉积物运输路线，在那里融水可能更广泛但分布，沉积物可能定期冻结在冰川床上。该项目将使用冰穿透雷达，在夏季融化季节前后，对西格陵兰岛的Isunnguate Sermia、Russell Glacier和Leverett Glacier等冰川表面下进行探测，以评估水文和沉积物运输网络，帮助我们了解系统如何随时间和空间变化。雷达数据、航空图像和沉积物分析将被输入计算机模拟，以揭示变化的融水和沉积物条件可能对下游生物和碳储存系统以及气候反馈回路产生的影响。博士项目为地球物理分析、遥感、沉积物分析和数值模拟等方面的研究培训提供了极好的机会。预计学生将与国际（NSF和NERC资助）团队一起在格陵兰进行实地考察，探索冰川终点的化学和生物条件。冰川及其产生的融水将二氧化硅和铁等重要营养物质输送到世界海洋，在那里它们的沉积可以增强生物生命，并有助于减少大气中的二氧化碳。该项目旨在利用遥感、探地雷达和沉积物分析等技术，探索格陵兰岛等地冰川的水和沉积物出口。这些发现将告诉我们冰川目前在生物地球化学循环中所起的作用，以及随着冰川对气候变化的反应，这种作用在未来可能会如何变化。

The Greenland Ice Sheet is a major exporter of water and sediment, transporting fresh water and biologically important elements like silica and iron to the world's oceans. These inputs can initiate and regulate oceanic circulation patterns and drive primary production/carbon feedback loops, which are important for local and global climate.Most of our knowledge of water and sediment export in Greenland comes from summer meltwater sampling at glacial termini. This is unlikely to represent water flow conditions and sediment transport routes in the interior of the ice sheet, where meltwater may be more widespread but distributed and where sediments may be periodically frozen to the glacier bed. This project will use ice penetrating radar to peer beneath the surface of glaciers like Isunnguate Sermia, Russell Glacier and Leverett Glacier in West Greenland before and after the summer melt season to assess hydrological and sediment transport networks, helping us to understand how systems change over time and space. Radar data, aerial imagery and sediment analysis will be fed into computer simulations to reveal the impact changing meltwater and sediment conditions could have on downstream biological and carbon storage systems as well as climate feedback loops.The PhD project offers excellent opportunities for research training in geophysical analysis, remote sensing, sediment analysis and numerical modelling. It is anticipated that the student will undertake fieldwork in Greenland alongside an international (NSF and NERC funded) team exploring chemical and biological conditions at glacial termini.Glaciers and the melt water they produce transport important nutrients like silica and iron to the world's oceans, where their deposition can enhance biological life, and help to drawdown atmospheric CO2. This project aims to explore water and sediment exports from the glaciers in places like Greenland, using techniques such as remote sensing, ground penetrating radar and sediment analysis. Findings will inform us about the current role glaciers play in biogeochemical cycling, and how this may change in the future, as glaciers respond to climatic changes.