Articles | Volume 9, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-589-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-589-2017
Review article
 | 
18 Aug 2017
Review article |  | 18 Aug 2017

Multibeam bathymetry and CTD measurements in two fjord systems in southeastern Greenland

Kristian Kjellerup Kjeldsen, Reimer Wilhelm Weinrebe, Jørgen Bendtsen, Anders Anker Bjørk, and Kurt Henrik Kjær

Abstract. We present bathymetry and hydrological observations collected in the summer of 2014 from two fjord systems in southeastern Greenland with a multibeam sonar system. Our results provide a detailed bathymetric map of the fjord complex around the island of Skjoldungen in Skjoldungen Fjord and the outer part of Timmiarmiut Fjord and show far greater depths compared to the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean. The hydrography collected shows different properties in the fjords with the bottom water masses below 240 m in Timmiarmiut Fjord being 1–2 °C warmer than in the two fjords around Skjoldungen, but data also illustrate the influence of sills on the exchange of deeper water masses within fjords. Moreover, evidence of subglacial discharge in Timmiarmiut Fjord, which is consistent with satellite observations of ice mélange set into motion, adds to our increasing understanding of the distribution of subglacial meltwater. Data are available through the PANGAEA website at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.860627.

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Short summary
Here we present bathymetric and hydrographic measurements from two fjords in southeastern Greenland surveyed in 2014, leading to improved knowledge of the fjord morphology and an assessment of the variability in water masses in the fjords systems. Data were collected as part of a larger field campaign in which we targeted marine and terrestrial observations to assess the long-term behavior of the Greenland ice sheet and provide linkages to modern observations.
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