Direct measurement of glacier ice melt: boundary layer details are critical for submarine melt prediction at near-vertical ice faces

Direct measurement of glacier ice melt: boundary layer details are critical for submarine melt prediction at near-vertical ice faces | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 3 April 2025 V2 Latest version Share on Direct measurement of glacier ice melt: boundary layer details are critical for submarine melt prediction at near-vertical ice faces Authors : Kaelan J Weiss 0009-0005-8171-2599 [email protected] , Jonathan D Nash 0000-0003-4005-9368 , Meagan Elizabeth Wengrove 0000-0001-7391-8574 , Noah Osman , Nadia Cohen , Rebecca H. Jackson 0000-0002-3763-8820 , Ken Zhao 0000-0002-6260-4315 , Erin Christine Pettit 0000-0002-6765-9841 , Jasmine Nahorniak , and David A Sutherland 0000-0002-2843-8608 Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173990485.58646573/v2 Published Geophysical Research Letters Version of record Peer review timeline 341 views 201 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Parameterization of submarine melting represents a large source of uncertainty in modeling ice sheet response to climate change. Here we present in-situ observations of melt at near-vertical ice faces using a novel instrument platform mounted rigidly to icebergs. We investigate boundary layer dynamics controlling melt across 31 measurement periods that span a range of momentum and thermal forcing (1-12 cm/s flows and 3-10 K). While melt generally scales with velocity and temperature, we find substantially enhanced melt linked with unsteady forcing. Several implementations of the 3-equation melt parameterization show melt can be predicted within a factor of 2 if the model is evaluated with peak near-boundary velocities and flows are quasi-steady. However, if flows are unsteady or the model is evaluated with low-resolution velocities, melt is underpredicted by 2-75x. We conclude that understanding the detailed character of near-boundary flows is critical for submarine melt predictions. Supplementary Material File (supporting_information_weiss_et_al_2025_grl_revised.pdf) Download 3.50 MB File (weiss_et_al_2025_grl_revised.pdf) Download 2.17 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 18 February 2025 V2 Version 2 03 April 2025 Peer review timeline Published Geophysical Research Letters Version of Record 9 Jun 2025 Published Copyright This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Keywords boundary layer ice-ocean interactions icebergs melt rate parameterization observations submarine melt Authors Affiliations Kaelan J Weiss 0009-0005-8171-2599 [email protected] Oregon State University View all articles by this author Jonathan D Nash 0000-0003-4005-9368 Oregon State University View all articles by this author Meagan Elizabeth Wengrove 0000-0001-7391-8574 Oregon State University View all articles by this author Noah Osman Oregon State University View all articles by this author Nadia Cohen Oregon State University View all articles by this author Rebecca H. Jackson 0000-0002-3763-8820 Tufts University View all articles by this author Ken Zhao 0000-0002-6260-4315 Oregon State University View all articles by this author Erin Christine Pettit 0000-0002-6765-9841 Oregon State University View all articles by this author Jasmine Nahorniak Oregon State University View all articles by this author David A Sutherland 0000-0002-2843-8608 University of Oregon View all articles by this author Funding Information National Science Foundation OPP-2023674 Nash, Pettit, Wengrove and Skyllingstad Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 341 views 201 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Kaelan J Weiss, Jonathan D Nash, Meagan Elizabeth Wengrove, et al. Direct measurement of glacier ice melt: boundary layer details are critical for submarine melt prediction at near-vertical ice faces. Authorea . 03 April 2025. 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