Subglacial hydrology from high-resolution ice-flow simulations of the Rhine Glacier during the Last Glacial Maximum:  a proxy for glacial erosion

Cohen, Denis; Jouvet, Guillaume; Zwinger, Thomas; Landgraf, Angela; Fischer, Urs H.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-189-2023

Articles | Volume 72, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-189-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Subglacial erosional landforms and their relevance for the...

https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-189-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 72, issue 2

Research article

|

21 Aug 2023

Research article |

| 21 Aug 2023

Subglacial hydrology from high-resolution ice-flow simulations of the Rhine Glacier during the Last Glacial Maximum: a proxy for glacial erosion

Denis Cohen, Guillaume Jouvet, Thomas Zwinger, Angela Landgraf, and Urs H. Fischer

Model code and software

ElmerCSC/elmerfem: Elmer 9.0 (release-9.0) Juha Ruokolainen, Mika Malinen, Peter Råback, Thomas Zwinger, Eelis Takala, Juhani Kataja, Fabien Gillet-Chaulet, Sami Ilvonen, Rupert Gladstone, Mikko Byckling, Mondher Chekki, Cheng Gong, Pavel Ponomarev, Eef van Dongen, Fredrik Robertsen, Iain Wheel, Samuel Cook, t7saeki, luzpaz, and Rich_B. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7892181

Short summary

During glacial times in Switzerland, glaciers of the Alps excavated valleys in low-lying regions that were later filled with sediment or water. How glaciers eroded these valleys is not well understood because erosion occurred near ice margins where ice moved slowly and was present for short times. Erosion is linked to the speed of ice and to water flowing under it. Here we present a model that estimates the location of water channels beneath the ice and links these locations to zones of erosion.