Abstract ID: 28.7494 | Accepted as Poster | Poster | 2025-02-28 12:45 - 14:15 | Ágnes‐Heller‐Haus/Small Lecture Room

Changing glacier dynamics and increased melting have almost certainly altered glacial erosion in the Arctic and Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Glaciers are becoming thinner, and their sliding speed varies greatly with climatic fluctuations. Consequently, the amount of sediment produced by glacial erosion is likely to change as global warming intensifies. In addition, increased glacier melt may create the transport capacity needed to mobilize additional sediment and extend the subglacial network. Recent observations show that sediment discharge increase from year to year in mountain environments, but few data are available for Greenland glaciers. The question is therefore whether glacial sediment supply in GrIS follows the same trend as in mountain environments. To address this issue, we examine the south-western Qalerallit Imaa fjord in Greenland with a transect of seven sediment cores. Several analyses will be carried out, including laser granulometry to discriminate between different sedimentary sources, and XRF imaging to locate and track the temporal evolution of IRDs, calibrated via 210Pb dating. These analysis will enable catastrophic episodes to be quantified. In addition, sedimentation rates, erosion rates and sediment fluxes will be calculated. These results will then be linked to satellite records of ice velocities, atmospheric temperature measurements, meltwater circulation models, and compared with data from other study sites. All this will yield insights in to the processes controlling sediment export from the GrIS and their response to climate change.